On 6/30/2014 7:45 PM, Stanley Halpin wrote:
On Jun 30, 2014, at 7:36 PM, Jack Davis <[email protected]>
wrote:
So interesting, John. Thanks. I've parked much of the information
to be read later. As an aside; claimed basis for the
expression,"whole nine yards." Explained to me some years ago:
Second WW fighter plane machine guns were supplied with bullet
bandoliers of nine yards in length. If a gunner emptied the
bandoliers of bullets, it was said: "he gave them the whole nine
yards." I wonder where the expression "really" comes from. <G>
Jack
Wikipedia says:
Its origin is unknown and has been described as "the most prominent
etymological riddle of our time.”
The WWII explanation is dismissed as not consistent with a first
published usage in 1907.
First published usage was with reference to a baseball game. My
theory: A yard has three feet. An inning has three outs. A full nine
yards = a full nine innings of play.
stan
Yeah, I like it as substitution slang, except ... doesn't an inning
actually have six outs - three to a side?
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Science - Questions we may never find answers for.
Religion - Answers we must never question.
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