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Old 28-04-05, 11:28
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Keith Webb Keith Webb is offline
Film maker, CMP addict
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: HIGHTON VIC
Posts: 8,218
Default Jif, the head honcho

I had always imagined "honcho" was of hispanic origin, but apparently this is not so...

"The word "honcho" comes from a Japanese word meaning "squad leader" and first came into usage in the English language during the American occupation of Japan following World War II."

From a trivia website.

It also has one of my favourite ones which I heard the origin of many years ago:

"The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II 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."
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42 FGT No8 (Aust) remains
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Keith Webb
Macleod, Victoria Australia
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