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The (New) Whole 9 Yards

Posted by DJB on August 30, 2000

In Reply to: The (New) Whole 9 Yards posted by Barney on February 29, 2000

The phrase "Give em' the whole nine yards" comes from an infantry unit in the South Pacific, while trying to defeat the enemy. Squads with the 30 caliber, water cooled machine gun, used belt feed ammunition that came in 27 foot lengths. Hence when confronted with well entrenched, or over-whelming odds, the expression came to be known when they fired the whole length of ammunition belt at the enemy.

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