TIL: "The Whole 9 Yards"

[richq11]

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We've all heard the expression, "the whole 9 yards" meaning everything, or the whole lot. But who knows what the origin of the expression was? TIL where it comes from... The picture shows the Browning .50 caliber machine gun- the M-2, or as we in the military affectionately called it, "Ma Deuce."

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During WWII it was adapted for use in aircraft, particularly in bombers for protection against enemy fighters. The belt that fed the ammunition was 9 yards long, hence when you used up the ammo in one belt, you've fired "the whole 9 yards."

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GIF by @papa-pepper

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Comments

[corganmusic]

18 feet of ammunition is a good bit haha.

[builderofcastles]

27 feet. 3 feet in a yard.

[corganmusic]

Ouch, you're right.

[richq11]

Especially with a 900 gr. .50 cal round!

[manorvillemike]

And now I know the rest of the story. lol

[richq11]

Me too... I used to man the twin .50's on the front of a PBR and I had no idea.

[shadow3scalpel]

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[old-guy-photos]

That is a really interesting story. I had used the saying before but never knew where it came from.

[richq11]

I had no idea either and I used to fire them!

[cryptopie]

@-@
.50 Caliber.
Have you seen a person that got hit with it. How is the wound like?

[richq11]

Yes, when I got to Vietnam I ran the twin 50's on the front of a PBR. It's a machine gun so there's seldom one wound... it'll tear a man apart. The .50 Barrett sniper rifles hit with one shot and I heard an interview with a Navy sniper who said "when you've got a group of 5 bad guys and one of them explodes, it kinda takes the fight out of the others."

[everittdmickey]

yup..that pretty much sums it up...lock stock and barrel.

• Lock, stock, and barrel is a merism (figure of speech) used predominantly in the United Kingdom and North America, meaning 'all', 'total', 'everything'. The effective portions of a gun (or more specifically a musket) are the lock (used to hold ready the sparking mechanism), the stock (the portion held), and the barrel (the aiming guide and conveyor for the explosive-driven projectile). Collectively they are the whole weapon, and therefore everything

(another gunnie saying)

[builderofcastles]

Yep, gave him the whole nine yards.

[pipurilla]

Cool, shot (and carried) the little .30 brother in the army, but didn't know the 9 yards thing! Thanks for that, Rich! :)

[dandotlewis]

Wow... I'm a trivia writer on the side and I am really into etymologies and the origins of idioms, and I had no idea. Thanks!

[richq11]

I didn't either and I was a gunner's mate that manned the .50's on a PBR!