Citations:the whole nine yards

English citations of the whole nine yards

• 1962, Robert E. Wegner, “Man on the Thresh-Hold”, in Michigan's Voices: A Literary Quarterly Magazine, Fall:

  Marjorie's fault, and if all this howling and yelling up and down through the furnace pipes didn't stop soon they'd have the kids awake and then we can all take positions at one of the vents and bellow at each other – great sport, real civilized living in the modern urban home – then the dog would catch on and go ki-yi-yi-ing from one to the other of the shouting pyjama clad participants mad, mad, mad, the consequence of house, home, kids, respectability, status as a college professor and the whole nine yards, as a brush salesman who came by the house was fond of saying, the whole damn nine yards and Marjorie with her credulous countenance which allowed him to tell her with perfectly straight face – and she would believe him, not knowing the difference, not seeing the point, not recognizing the irony and it was this dimensional lack that hurt, her inability to see more than two converging or conflicting planes at a time – tell her it was a left-handed screwdriver he needed.

• 1962, letter, in Car Life, December:

  Your staff of testers cannot fairly and equitably appraise the Chevrolet Impala sedan, with all nine yards of goodies, against the Plymouth Savoy which has straight shift and none of the mechanical conveniences which are quite common now.

• 1964, Stephen Trumbell, “Talking Hip in the Space Age”, in San Antonia Express and News, April 18:

  “Give 'em the whole nine yards” means an item-by-item report on any project.

• 1967, Elaine Shepard, The Doom Pussy, p 54:

  Slipping out of the knot was expensive but Smash was eventually able to untangle what he called “the whole nine yards.”

of interest

• 1847, "Short measure in England", The Living Age, Vol. 15, p. 250,

  In tapes the deficiency was found to be still more considerable. It is usual to make white tapes in lengths of nine yards, one dozen of these lengths being packed in a parcel, and then being issued from the wholesale house with the vender's mark upon it as "warranted." On measuring these "nine-yard lengths," it was found that in every instance they fell short. In some descriptions the nine-yard lengths were under seven yards, in others under six; whilst in another sample, where the tape itself had been stamped at the end in indelible ink as nine yards, there were found to be but 5 3/4.

• 1894, International Clinics: A Quarterly of Clinical Lectures, J.B. Lippincott, p. 219:

  Do not use the figure-of-eight above the ankle, as it does not make the necessary firm, equable pressure, and do not be stingy with your bandage, but use the full nine yards.