The whole nine yards

Posted by Les Sobel on August 27, 2003

My father served in the US NAvy during World War 2. We had discussed this phrase and according to him it referred to the length of the ammo belts used in the machine guns in Dive bombers and other World war 2 fighter planes. They were nine yards long. When crewmen were questioned about how much ammunition was loaded in a plane the response was "The Whole Nine yards". This was early 1942.

• The whole nine yards L. Collins 01/September/03
• The whole nine yards R. Berg 27/August/03