# The whole TEN yards! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 10, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-ten-yards/339341 "2006-01-10T18:12:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rahess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@rahess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rahess)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-ten-yards/339341/1 "2006-01-10T18:12:57Z")
I have come across this website in my effort to learn the origin of the prase “The whole nine yards.” I don’t know if this is a tired, old debate on this message board, but I do know this: I hear this phrase more and more it seems; There doesn’t seem to be consensus on the origin; Most people assume it’s related to football; Nine yards in football means you came up a yard short! So I propose this: I want the phrase “The whole nine yards” replaced with “The whole ten yards.” It just makes total sense! So please, from now on, ten yards…not just nine. Make the first down, reach that goal, don’t come up a yard short! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-ten-yards/339341/2 "2006-01-10T19:17:45Z")
Yes, very old, very tired. No one in the language game seriously believes it comes from football, either. Although that’s just a fraction of the silly things people do believe about this expression. [Link to Cecil’s original column](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_252.html). Some of the many older threads. > **[the whole nine yards](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=341359)** > > the whole nine yards the phrase “the whole nine yards” is not as old as many people might imagine. its first known published use was in a 1966 novel by elaine shephard called “doom pussy” about air force pilots in vietnam. the quote is as follows... > **[Classic: The Whole 9 Yards...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=310955)** > > Hey all, Concerning this classic on the origin of the phrase “the whole 9 yards”: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_252.html I understand that it’s origins come from WW2 (or maybe 1) fighter/bomber pilots, when they expended all wing gun... > **[whole nine yards](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=328465)** > > http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_252.html I must agree with the thread referring to the whole nine yards as ammo length. My uncle was a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater. He told me that the expression “whole nine yards” meant firing... > **[The whole nine yards](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=293431)** > > Concerning story about the whole nine yards Link: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_252.html … it is military in origin WWI A/C took exactly 27ft of ammunition in each wing, when the gun loaders would ask the pilot how much to put in the... > **[the whole nine yards](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=277395)** > > I’m positive that there is a thread about this already, but with a lack of search function…i wouldn’t know where to begin. I once heard that the origins of “the whole nine yards” was that airplanes in world war 2 had ammunition belts that were 9... > **[The Whole Nine Yards](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=269118)** > > First, as a window into my present mind set I probably should warn you I just tried to fold an ATM receipt more than seven times. Also, I’d like to make clear I spend my lonely, wee hours watching the Discovery Channel instead of getting wooed into... > **[did the whole nine yards issue ever get resolved](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=166516)** > > the original column was right here. http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_252.html > **[the real whole nine yards](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=254889)** > > Now this is in fact the correct origination of the expression the whole nine yards, although details are somewhat hazy. During the Second world war fighter planes were equipped with machine guns or cannon, in the modern sense of the word, that is a... > **[The Whole Nine Yards, Another idea](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=255052)** > > Here is another idea as to where this expression came from. In India women wear saris and the traditional length for the average sari is six yards. However, for very formal occasions or in very traditional situations. women can wear a sari that is... > **[The whole nine yards...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=139059)** > > re… http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_252.html The whole nine yards comes from the American boom years of the 50’s. The selling of houses became more difficult as the suburbs sprang up. The developers would therefor install many houses with... > **["the whole nine yards"](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=118488)** > > Regarding the expression “the whole nine yards” (see http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_252.html ), this site http://www.top-greetings.com/jokes/ includes the following paragraphs. Received from: Factmaster \*\*\* Today’s Useless Fact \*\*\* Why... > **[The whole nine yards](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=63008)** > > I understand that the origin of the phrase “The whole nine yards.” has been in dispute. I remember reading that it originated from the approximate amount of cloth in an authentic kilt. (Not the kind of newfangled kilt that Prince Charles sports from... > **[the whole nine yards](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=1734)** > > I cannot verify this, but a veteran I trust informed me that “the whole nine yards” refers to 27 foot cartridge belts used in WWII aircraft. Any truth? > **[yards, and nine of them ...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=1379)** > > (reference http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_252.html)) No, I don’t think I have an answer, but I have an observation which might relate. The other day I was watching a MASH rerun, and a bit of the dialog reminded me that a yard used to be a... > **[The Whole Nine Yards Explanation](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=573)** > > I was very surprised to see while browsing the archives that the origin of this phrase was never finnaly settled. I was even more surprised to see that even with a dozen suggestions, no one was even remotely close to the true genesis of this phrase.... Interesting how most of these threads were started by guests. It’s the one answer that everybody thinks they know the answer to, and that “what I heard someplace” is a good enough piece of research to share. Still no definite answer in sight, though.