To what does the term 'the whole nine yards' refer?

McGruff

There are several schools of thinking on the origin of this expression. These two are the most plausible, and being older, I would go with the nautical explanation. This term is an old British sailing expression. The 'whole nine yards' refers to having all nine sails opened on the yard-arms. This is three sails each on a three-masted schooner. The term 'the whole 9 yards' came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got 'the whole 9 yards.' Others included on: http://members.aol.com/MorelandC/HaveOrigins.htm [Link added March 24, 2008 -- Zbeckabee] Jul 24 00, 5:57 PM