Help make Alexa smarter on Alexa Answers. Sign in with Amazon

Sign in with Amazon

History

Where is the saying the whole nine yards come from?

2 Answers

A .50 caliber machine gun belt is 27 feet long, which is equivalent to nine yards. Thus, the saying "I shot the whole nine yards"

{{ relativeTimeResolver(1573700372608) }}

LIVE

Points

54

Rating

The earliest known idiomatic use of the phrase is from 1907 in Southern Indiana. The phrase is related to the expression the whole six yards, used around the same time in Kentucky and South Carolina. Both phrases are variations on the whole ball of wax, first recorded in the 1880s.

{{ relativeTimeResolver(1574369892328) }}

LIVE

Points

19

Rating

Similar Questions

Where did the saying the whole nine yards originate?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the term the whole nine yards originate?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the saying helena handbasket come from?

History • 1 Answer

What's the origin of the term the whole nine yards?

History • 1 Answer

Browse more History questions.

What is the origin of the term the whole nine yards?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the saying quit cold turkey come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the term cloud nine come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the mennonites come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where do the aztecs come from?

History • 2 Answers

Join Alexa Answers

Help make Alexa smarter and share your knowledge with the world

Where did the visigoths come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the titanic come from?

History • 3 Answers

Where did the mayflower come from?

History • 3 Answers

Where did the spartans come from?

History • 4 Answers

Where did the lamps come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the slovaks come from?

History • 1 Answer

Browse more History questions.

Where do the vikings come from?

History • 2 Answers

Where did the plague come from?

History • 2 Answers

Where do the normans come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the normans come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the term malarkey come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the paleo indians come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the name lanna come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the term jonesing come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the name hollywood come from?

History • 1 Answer

Where did the name apollo come from?

History • 2 Answers

Join Alexa Answers

Help make Alexa smarter and share your knowledge with the world