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From: barmar@mit-eddie.UUCP (Barry Margolin)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: etymology requested (more nines)
Message-ID: <919@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 15-Nov-83 02:12:01 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.919
Posted: Tue Nov 15 02:12:01 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 15-Nov-83 20:59:58 EST
References: <384@ihuxq.UUCP> <392@vaxine.UUCP>
Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 10

Re "the whole nine yards": This is almost certainly a reference to
football (for those reading this in the UK, I am referring to American
football), in which a team has four tries ("downs") to advance ten yards.
Going the "whole nine yards" probably refers to a situation in which you have
barely advanced in the first three downs, say only one yard, and then make
it all up in the last down.
-- 
			Barry Margolin
			ARPA: barmar@MIT-Multics
			UUCP: ..!genrad!mit-eddie!barmar