" the whole nine yards"......

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Grant Bowker

In the interest of inter-service rivalry, I can't see a reason that the navy couldn't claim the phrase too... Perhaps three masts, each with three yards would give the whole nine yards?
How many good (or bad) stories can we come up with?

Weren't sails called 'sheets' on wind powered naval vessels, hence the phrase "three sheets to the wind"?

I think your Citadel friend may have been an army dude, I don't think 250 rounds of Vickers makes anything close to nine yards. Maybe in metric it does??

(aside, ain't Halifax the greatest place on earth?)

[Russ Gregg]

Interesting. I had heard that it took nine yards of fabric for a tailor to make a full formal suit for a man, as if you weren't skimping on anything. Also ties in to the related idiom, 'dressed to the nines'.

[maple_leaf_eh]

My father won a prize at a plowing contest once. It was a suit-length of cloth. Not nine yards, but enough to sew a man's suit.

[Michael R.]

See: highlandsecrets.com

Q. How many yards of fabric are used in making the Great Kilt?

A. Centuries ago, Highlanders not only hunted and fought in their plaid, they slept in it! The expression, "the whole 9 yards", came from the amount of material (approx. 9 yards) used to outfit our hearty ancestors. In those days, fabric was only woven in single widths (approx. 28 inches). This amount of fabric in single width is equivalent to Highland Secrets' double width fabric (between 4-1/2 and 7-1/2 yards) used in making our Great Kilts. The latter yardage represents a mighty big Highlander!

[Ed Landstrom]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

Weren't sails called 'sheets' on wind powered naval vessels, hence the phrase "three sheets to the wind"?

I think your Citadel friend may have been an army dude, I don't think 250 rounds of Vickers makes anything close to nine yards. Maybe in metric it does??

(aside, ain't Halifax the greatest place on earth?)

"Sheets" are the ropes that control the sails, not the sails themselves (at least in modern sailing vessels .)