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
then againthe whistle doesn't pull the trainthen and therethem's the factsthe world is one's oysterthe world is not in need of opinions bu…the world is one's lobsterthe thing of itthe witching hourthe toilet is cloggedthe wealthiest man has the biggest hump.the wheels came off the busthe whole shooting matchthem's the breaks
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Use the citation below to add this the whole nine yards definition to your bibliography:
"the whole nine yards." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2022. Web. 21 Jan. 2022. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/the-whole-nine-yards_7435>.
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