The capacity of a truck.

William Safire (New York Times)

The Straight Dope: What's the origin of "the whole nine yards"?

This view was advanced by William Safire in his "On Language" column in the New York Times Magazine.

What does the expression "the whole nine yards" mean? - Yahoo! Answers

This view was advanced by William Safire in his "On Language" column in the New York Times Magazine.

nineyards.com

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

Another possible explanation is that nine yards is the average capacity of a ready-mix concrete truck.

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

Alternative explanations suggest it might actually be the capacity of a coal truck, the volume of trash in a "standard" garbage truck, or the capacity of a West Virginia ore wagon instead — but there’s no more evidence to support this idea than of the concrete truck hypothesis.

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

While it is true that the average such truck in the late 1980s might have been about nine cubic yards, in the early 1960s when the phrase first appeared the average truck had a capacity of six and a half cubic yards or slightly less, according to a widely-quoted article in Ready Mixed Concrete Magazine (August 1964 issue).

straightdope.com

The Straight Dope: What's the origin of "the whole nine yards"?

If you anticipated a bitterly cold winter, naturally you asked for the whole nine yards.

The Straight Dope: What's the origin of "the whole nine yards"?

More commonly, however, you hear that the expression comes from the capacity of ready-mix concrete trucks.

The Straight Dope: What's the origin of "the whole nine yards"?

Concrete trucks supposedly contain nine cubic yards when fully loaded.

The Straight Dope: What's the origin of "the whole nine yards"?

Others have told me that coal trucks in New England originally had three sections that contained three cubic yards of coal apiece.

Yahoo Answers

What does the expression "the whole nine yards" mean? - Yahoo! Answers

If you anticipated a bitterly cold winter, naturally you asked for the whole nine yards.

What does the expression "the whole nine yards" mean? - Yahoo! Answers

Others have told me that coal trucks in New England originally had three sections that contained three cubic yards of coal apiece.

What does the expression "the whole nine yards" mean? - Yahoo! Answers

Concrete trucks supposedly contain nine cubic yards when fully loaded.

semissourian.com

seMissourian.com: Speak Out : History : A long Lesson

If you anticipated a bitterly cold winter, naturally you asked for the whole nine yards.

Fighter pilots in the Pacific in WW2.

* 5 * clear * clear * clear * clear * clear NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration - United States)

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet before being loaded into the fuselage.

Answerbag.com

What is the origin of the phrase "the whole nine yards"? | Answerbag

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

nineyards.com

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

One problem: ammunition is counted in rounds or by weight, not by the length of the belt, so it would have been unlikely for anyone to refer to the it by length.

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

So, giving somebody the "whole nine yards" would mean you’d fired all your ammunition at them.

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

Another problem is that the people telling the story can’t seem to agree on exactly which WWII fighter it was we’re talking about — sometimes it’s RAF Spitfires in the Battle of Britian, sometimes it’s US pilots in the South Pacific.

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

Perhaps the most popular explanation of the moment is that nine yards equated to the length of a belt of ammo for a machine gun on a WWII fighter plane.

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

And the third problem is that the phrase itself seems to have originated sometime in the 1960s, well after the end of WWII.

msu.edu

Fun Factoids

When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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55 Incredible Facts

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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Lesser known facts - Syncrat Publishing

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the Pacific.

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To what does the term 'the whole nine yards' refer?

The term 'the whole 9 yards' came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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Interesting Trivia

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the Pacific.

Interesting Trivia

If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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The term the whole 9 yards came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the ...

When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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Funny Story number 57

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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Freeze the Brass Balls of a Monkey

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the Pacific.

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

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The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

FUN FACTS TO KNOW AND TELL:

6. The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the Pacific.

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The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the Pacific.

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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Really useful trivia

If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

Really useful trivia

When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

Really useful trivia

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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The Origin of Everyday Expressions

When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet before being loaded into the fuselage.

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Square Wheels Newsletter 13

The term, "the whole 9 yards," came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

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The Humor Bin - Interesting Trivia, Book 1

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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DidJaKnow Trivia

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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The Whole 9 Yards | Out of step – Military jokes and military ...

The term “the whole 9 yards” came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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Humor Break

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet before being loaded into the fuselage.

Random Interesting Stuff

When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet before being loaded into the fuselage.

sonic.net

Interesting Stuff</header>

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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Did you know?

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

Did you know?

When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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phishhook.com • View topic - INTERESTING FACTS

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The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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IT operations, (1316003104) 283. The term “the whole 9 yards”...

When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

IT operations, (1305786906) 283. The term “the whole 9 yards”...

The term “the whole 9 yards” came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage.

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Funny "true" military stories.

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The Whole Nine Yards

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Whole nine yards « Barbaryalan's Blog

The term “the whole 9 yards” came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific.

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Interesting Stories - USAFA Community

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It is unknown.

Wikipedia

The whole nine yards - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There is no consensus on the origin, though many early published quotations are now available for study.

phrases.org.uk

The meaning and origin of "the whole nine yards"

At the outset it should be said that no one is 100% sure of the origin, although many have a fervent belief that they are.

nineyards.com

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

Unfortunately, none of them can be proven to be correct, and most of them don’t pan out when subjected to scrutiny.

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

So, for the moment at least, it appears that the true origins of the whole nine yards will remain shrouded in mystery.

The yardarms of a sailing ship.

straightdope.com

The Straight Dope: What's the origin of "the whole nine yards"?

A captain who had sent up all the canvas he could in order to squeeze out max velocity would thus be said to be giving it "the whole nine yards."

The Straight Dope: What's the origin of "the whole nine yards"?

A typical ship, he claimed, would have three masts with three yards apiece, or nine yards in all.

The Straight Dope: What's the origin of "the whole nine yards"?

One guy told me that the expression comes from the nautical term "yard," meaning one of the horizontal poles that hold up the sails on a square-rigged sailing ship.

nineyards.com

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

The problems with this are that square-rigged sailing ships were not in common use in the 1960s when the phrase originated, and that big square-rigged ships commonly had more than nine yards.

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

Shifting from the air to the sea, some say that the phrase refers to the long spars (or "yardarms", the crosspieces on the masts, from which the sails were hung) on a square-rigged sailing ship.

tribes.tribe.net

Origins of Phrases and Terms - ! Trivia Tribe ! - tribe.net

A typical ship, he claimed, would have three masts with three yards apiece, or nine yards in all.

Origins of Phrases and Terms - ! Trivia Tribe ! - tribe.net

A captain who had sent up all the canvas he could in order to squeeze out max velocity would thus be said to be giving it "the whole nine yards."

Yahoo Answers

What does the expression "the whole nine yards" mean? - Yahoo! Answers

A typical ship, he claimed, would have three masts with three yards apiece, or nine yards in all.

Montagnard hill tribes in the Vietnam War.

phrases.org.uk

The meaning and origin of "the whole nine yards"

One possible source for this would be the Montagnard hill tribes, who were known by the US forces as 'the Yards'.

The meaning and origin of "the whole nine yards"

In 1970, the US author Robert L. Mole published The Montagnards of South Vietnam: A Study of Nine Tribes.

The meaning and origin of "the whole nine yards"

Some reports suggest that these nine tribes are the source of the 'nine' in TWNY; other US service memoirs claim that Special Operations Group teams consisted of three US soldiers and nine Yards.

Yahoo Answers

What's the origin of the phrase "the whole nine yards"? - Yahoo ...

In 1970, the US author Robert L. Mole published The Montagnards of South Vietnam: A Study of Nine Tribes.

What's the origin of the phrase "the whole nine yards"? - Yahoo ...

One possible source for this would be the Montagnard hill tribes, who were known by the US forces as 'the Yards'.

douban.com

[节目] A Phrase A Week

One possible source for this would be the Montagnard hill tribes, who were known by the US forces as 'the Yards'.

[节目] A Phrase A Week

In 1970, the US author Robert L. Mole published The Montagnards of South Vietnam: A Study of Nine Tribes.

A nine-yard charge in the military.

phrases.org.uk

The meaning and origin of "the whole nine yards"

One such example is from a U.S. drill sergeant who claims that the phrase originated in Fort Benning, Georgia, where soldiers were trained in the 'tree-second rush'.

The meaning and origin of "the whole nine yards"

This involved running nine yards in three seconds before diving to ground to avoid sniper fire.

The meaning and origin of "the whole nine yards"

Of all the explanations I've heard this one seems to me to be the most believable and certainly fits the phrase's meaning, although without documentary evidence it is just another plausible story.

Yahoo Answers

What's the origin of the phrase "the whole nine yards"? - Yahoo ...

This involved running nine yards in three seconds before diving to ground to avoid sniper fire.

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[节目] A Phrase A Week

This involved running nine yards in three seconds before diving to ground to avoid sniper fire.

The length of cloth required to make a garment.

nineyards.com

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

Many others attribute it to the length of cloth required to make a garment.

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

Garments suggested include: a man’s three-piece suit, a sarong, a sari, a kilt, a kimono, a bridal veil, a nun’s habit, a maharajah’s ceremonial sash, even a burial shroud.

The length of a hangman's noose.

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The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

Moving from the military to law enforcement, it has been postulated that the phrase refers to either the length of a hangman’s noose or the distance one would have to run to get from a cell block to the outer wall of a prison.

Mystical properties of the number nine.

nineyards.com

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

Some have suggested that the phrase might be related to some mystical significance of the number nine, and is related to the British phrase dressed to the nines, as well as other uses of the word nine such as the nine tailors and the nine muses.

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

While this is a possible explanation, there’s no evidence to either support or disprove it.

The size of a soldier's pack.

nineyards.com

The origin of the phrase The Whole Nine Yards » NineYards.com » Clayton NC

Back on dry land again, another military-related explanation is that it refers to the size of a soldier’s pack.