Nine yards again

Posted by Hector on December 16, 2002

In Reply to: Nine yards again posted by Bob on December 16, 2002

: : : : Just to add more fuel to the fire, grist to the mill, bolts to the works and confusions to the reign, here's an extract from 'The Hunt Museum: essential guide,' Scala Publishers/Hunt Museum, 2002, ISBN 1 85759 287 5, p. 154. It refers to Sybil Connolly, fashion designer [1921-'98].

: : : : 'She was especially celebrated for her use of linen, which she pleated to produce a delicate fabric; it took nine yards of linen to produce one pleated yard.'

: : : Ah, but the book was published in 2002. A thinly-veiled attempt by the author(s) or publisher to purloin the PFW9Y Big Cash Prize.
: : : But we remain vigilant.

: : And rightly so! I'll ask the contributor for her source(s) and report back asap. Maybe she'll share the P with me.

: Decision of the judges is final.

I still contend that "The Whole Nine Yards" has it's origins in England at the time of the Black Death when the double grave for any Peer of the Realm and his spouse required the removal of 9 cubic yards of good graveyard soil to ensure that the burial was properly executed below the 6ft level. Normally Peers of the Realm and their spouses were buried in the crypt but in the case of the Black Death this was forbidden and all infected bodies had to be interred at least 6 ft below the surface to prevent further infections. I search the records on a continual basis to establish a clear line of proof for my assertion and will advise just as soon as I have a watertight case.

Yours etc.

Hector