Idiom
The whole nine yards
The whole nine yards means everything possible, the full amount, or the complete version of something.
How people use it
People use it after go or get, or at the end of a list: They went the whole nine yards for the wedding, with a band, fireworks and a carriage. It is informal and usually upbeat. It suggests doing something completely, with nothing held back. Many people assume it is a football phrase, but in American football ten yards, not nine, earns a first down, so that explanation does not work. Use it as a fixed phrase; changing the number (the whole ten yards) sounds like a mistake or a joke.
Also said: go the whole nine yards.
Examples
- For Grace's birthday, her parents went the whole nine yards: balloons, a magician and a three-layer cake.
- The new kitchen has the whole nine yards, including a pantry and two ovens.
- Once Ben starts cleaning, he goes the whole nine yards and even washes the windows.
Where it comes from
No one knows where it comes from. Popular stories say it refers to the length of World War II aircraft ammunition belts, the amount of concrete in a cement truck, or the fabric in a Scottish kilt, but researchers have found the phrase in American newspapers as early as 1907, before most of those explanations could apply. A version with six yards also appeared around the same time, which suggests the number was never a real measurement.
Check yourself
1. If a hotel package includes the whole nine yards, what do you get?
Answer: Everything, the full package. The whole nine yards means the complete set of everything.
2. Which statement about the origin is true?
Answer: No one knows for sure where it comes from. The phrase was in print by 1907, and none of the popular stories has been proven.
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