There are 3 expressions that have been imperialized, even though their origins are different then what is now used. They are:
1.) A miss is a good as a mile Originally, it was a miss is as good as an ell. The ell is not common in imperial, so the expression was modified to use an imperial unit. 2.) A journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step. The original saying was that a journey of a 1000 Li begins with a single step. The Li was changed to 1000 miles to make it sound right to Americans. 3.) 10 gallon hat The 10 ten gallon hat has nothing to do with gallons as a volume measure but is from a Spanish word that means stripes or braids and refers to the decorations on the hat. The point I was trying to make is that sayings have changed in the past and there shouldn't be any problem with them changing again in the future. A miss is as good as a metre. I wouldn't touch that with a 10 m pole. But at this time, the most important thing is metrication of the US economy and its industries. Sayings can come whenever the conversion of the more important things is completed. Euric -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Pat Naughtin Sent: Sunday, 2003-11-23 18:29 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:27652] The whole nine yards Dear All, Does anyone know the origin of the expression, 'The whole nine yards'? The reason that I ask is that my wife was reading a novel (Sleeper Spy by William Safire) when she came across the claim that 'The whole nine yards' referred to a full load of ready-mixed cement. The metric connection in asking this question is the thought that populist lines like 'The whole nine yards' do efforts toward metrication little good. Cheers, Pat Naughtin LCAMS Geelong, Australia Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.543 / Virus Database: 337 - Release Date: 2003-11-21 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.543 / Virus Database: 337 - Release Date: 2003-11-21
