All the way; with everything done completely or thoroughly.
Etymology:
- During WWII, U.S. Airplanes were armed with belts of bullets which they would shoot during dogfights and on strafing runs. These belts were folded into the wing compartments that fed their machine guns. These belts measure 27 feet and contained hundreds of rounds of bullets. Often times, the pilots would return from their missions having expended all of their bullets on various targets. They would say, I gave them the whole nine yards, meaning they used up all of their ammunition.
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Submitted on July 23, 2010
Additional definitions for 'the whole nine yards':
| the whole nine yards | And everything. Often used, like etc., to finish out a list. |
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Nearby phrases
Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to the whole nine yards
the whole world and his dogthem's the breaksthe world overthe upper handthe whistle does not pull the trainthe world is one's oysterthe three components of art are : 1. me…the writing is on the wallthe wheels fell offthe wheels fell off the wagonthe whistle doesn't pull the trainthe wheels came off the busthe thing of itthe world is one's lobster
How to pronounce this phrase?
AlexUS English
DanielBritish
KarenAustralian
VeenaIndian
Citation
Use the citation below to add this the whole nine yards definition to your bibliography:
"the whole nine yards." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2020. Web. 22 Oct. 2020. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/the-whole-nine-yards_7435>.
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