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Pastimes : SI Grammar and Spelling Lab

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To: The Philosopher who wrote (3680)	11/25/2000 5:28:58 AM
From: On the QT	Read Replies (1) of 4710

Then there is: "The whole nine yards All of it - full measure. It has been said that tailors used nine yards of material for top quality suits (or shirts), but this is difficult to confirm. Concrete trucks have a nine cubic yards capacity and this has been put forward as an explanation of the origin. To me at least this seems an attractive but, as the phrase pre-dates concrete trucks, hardly plausible explanation. I worked for a time on the construction of the complex elevated motorway intersection Spaghetti Junction in the English West Midlands. This was made largely from concrete and unexplained short measure from the delivery vehicles was rife. For evidence witness the unusually large number of concrete driveways around there. mstahl@nothnbut.net also reports that 'World War II aircraft B-52 bomb bay had a total of nine square yards of bombs. Hence, give them the whole nine yards'. The phrase had clearly been part of the language for some time before WW II though. For more phrases and sayings visit the Phrase Finder". shu.ac.uk

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