Hmmm, good question, Nancy. I know that, like a lot of common phrases, there are different explanations for this one. The one I remember goes back to WWII, I believe. It looks like you have two different answers in mind, so I'll wait for clues and smart answers from other trivia friends.

TM

Have we had this one before or have I seen it somewhere else. I have used this phrase myself when referring to the whole works but I'm also thinking it has to do with the length of a certain item, are we on the same wave link TM?

Annette

Aah, your wavelength may be skewed. The first reference is much earlier. No lesser light than William Safire, a language columnist at the New York Times, asked listeners for information regarding the origin of the phrase on Larry King's radio show in 1982. Safire ended up writing nine columns on this subject.
Oho, where does that leave us?

Nancy.

Being a language fan myself and one who regularly read Safire, I have no answer. :)

Cynthia

I thinks you have me on this one Nancy, nothing else is coming to mind right now :(.

Annette

I'm drawing a blank.

Well, let's see, some explanations offered are:

* Perhaps the most commonly offered explanation is that World War II (1939 - 1945) aircraft machine gun belts were nine yards long. There are many versions of this explanation with variations regarding type of plane, nationality of gunner, and geographic area.

* Another common explanation is that "nine yards" is a cubic measure and refers to the volume of a concrete mixer.

* the volume of graves;

* the length of bridal veils

* kilts

* burial shrouds

* bolts of cloth, or saris

* a very long list

* ritual disembowelment

* shipyards

* the structure of certain sailing vessels

* and American football.

Hmmmmm......Verrry interesting (said with a pseudo-German accent)

Nancy.

I was thinking gun belt.

Annette

The one about 9 yards in a concrete mixer sounds shaky to me. Even the concrete mixing trucks you see on the road can hold only about 5 or 6 yards.

The machine gun belt is the one I remember and my favorite.

TM

Still going with no answer...

I am thinking of the bolt of cloth and when someone ordered the bolt they would say give me the whole nine yards.

Bobbie, that sounds plausible to me.

TM

Well, I sent you out on a bit of a wild goose chase. There really is no know answer. Mr. Safire put the question to America, and found no plausible answers - huh.

The whole nine yards or full nine yards is a colloquial American phrase meaning "everything, the whole lot" or, when used as an adjective, "all the way," as in, "The Army came out and gave us the whole nine yards on how they use space systems." Its origin is unknown and has been described as "the most prominent etymological riddle of our time."

The earliest known example of this phrase is from 1907 in southern Indiana. It is related to the expression "the whole six yards," used around the same time in Kentucky and South Carolina. Both phrases are variations on the whole ball of wax, first recorded in the 1880s. They are part of a family of expressions in which an odd-sounding item, such as enchilada, shooting match, or shebang, is substituted for "ball of wax." The choice of the number nine may be related to the expression "to the nines" (to perfection).

The phrase was introduced to a national audience by Elaine Shepard in the Vietnam War novel The Doom Pussy (1967). Use of the phrase became widespread in the 1980s and 1990s. Much of the interest in the phrase's etymology can be attributed to New York Times language columnist William Safire, who wrote extensively on this question.

The earliest known use of the phrase is from The Mitchell Commercial, a newspaper in the small town of Mitchell, Indiana, in their 2 May 1907 edition:
"This afternoon at 2:30 will be called one of the baseball games that will be worth going a long way to see. The regular nine is going to play the business men as many innings as they can stand, but we can not promise the full nine yards."

The phrase was used three more times in the Mitchell Commercial over the next seven years, in the forms "give him the whole nine yards" (i.e., tell someone a big story), "take the whole nine yards" (i.e., take everything), and "settled the whole nine yards" (i.e., resolved everything).

In other uses from this time period, the phrase was given as "the whole six yards." In 1912, a local newspaper in Kentucky asked readers to, "Just wait boys until the fix gets to a fever heat and they will tell the whole six yards." The six-yard form of the phrase also appears in a 1921 headline in a local South Carolina paper.

The phrase is not known to have been used in writing thereafter until a 1956 issue of Kentucky Happy Hunting Ground, where it appears in an article on fishing. After describing the contests and prizes, the author writes, "So that's the whole nine-yards." It appeared in an article on hunting the following year, this time unhyphenated.
So, it's probably not a phrase we all grew up, yet it has become ubiquitous!! Amazing.

It was a silly question, just to see what you might come up with - thanks for playing with me.

For everyone:

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!!! Annette, we are having leftover soup from our Thanksgiving - you? See you all next week!

Nancy.

Nancy we're having meatloaf topped with a tomato/ brown sugar/touch of mustard sauce, baked potatoes and creamed corn (yeah out of a can). For desert a very decadent chocolate ganache thingy :). I was thinking a rosemary dijon mustard encrusted pork loin roast/mushroom gravy, candied yams, brussel sprouts and garlic mashed potatoes but DH wanted meatloaf so meatloaf it is :).

Annette

No plausible answer, huh. Thanks for the laugh and stars.

Annette, your meatloaf dinner sounds great. Just what my DH would like. Think I will appropriate your menu for our Tuesday's dinner, if you don't mind.

Happy holiday to you all.

lol. Life is funny sometimes, yes? I didn't mean to be cruel, but I found it to be interesting.

One day I will share my lovely peasant roast pork recipe, that I got from a french Canadian chef.

This phrase has haunted for a while, and I chased it for another time. Thought it might be a brain stretch for all..

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Nancy.

YES, please share your recipe for your roast pork Nancy, DH loves roast pork and I'm always looking for new ways to cook it.

Annette

Thanks for the stars. Wouldn't you know I only know the answer when there isn't one?!

My DH loves meatloaf and potatoes, too, Annette. Now you have me craving it as well. I will also be looking for that pork recipe, Nancy!

Thanks for the fun.

Cynthia