"[T]he entire nine yards" [3/62]; possible a couple earlier ones

[Baker, John]

Yes, the 1956 and 1957 examples are clearly the modern use of the phrase, and the dates appear to check out, although it would be good to have these confirmed in print.  Maybe an email to Kentucky Afield?  Good work, Bonnie!


John Baker



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Jonathan Lighter
Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 7:50 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "[T]he entire nine yards" [3/62]; possible a couple earlier ones

These look quite persuasive.

JL

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 7:29 PM, Bonnie Taylor-Blake <
b.taylorblake at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Bonnie Taylor-Blake <b.taylorblake at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      "[T]he entire nine yards" [3/62]; possible a couple earlier
> ones
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm writing to report a (verified) 1962 sighting of "the entire nine
> yards," but I wanted to also note that the same periodical *may*
> contain a 1956 usage of "the whole nine-yards" (with hyphen) and a
> 1957 usage of "the whole nine yards."  I've made interlibrary loan
> requests so that I can confirm the sightings from the 1950s, but I'll
> offer apologies now in case it turns out I've muddled this up.  (Far
> below you'll find the relevant links to Google Books snippet views,
> though.)
>
> In the meantime, here's that appearance of "the entire nine yards" in
> the March, 1962 issue (Volume 18, Issue 2) of the *Kentucky Happy
> Hunting Ground*, a publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and
> Wildlife Resources and the predecessor of *Kentucky Afield*.  (This
> form now joins the other two usages we've found from 1962.)
>
> "Most anglers will tell you he has six or seven baits he uses more
> than all the others combined, yet he would be lost without the entire
> nine yards.  It might be said there's a feeling of security involved
> in carrying the whole load on every outing."  [From Ferd Holtmann,
> "Plugs and Bugs," p. 6.]
>
> I don't know anything about Ferd Holtmann other than that he was on
> staff at KHHG and wrote several pieces each month for the magazine (at
> least, several that bore his name).  For what it's worth, a Ferd
> Holtmann was Sports Director at WFKY (radio) in Frankfort in 1959;
> perhaps he also moonlighted for the Department of Fish and Wildlife
> Resources.  (I suspect that another Ferd Holtmann -- more
> specifically, J. Ferd Holtmann, who was associated with railroading --
> was the father of the fellow who wrote for KHHG.)
>
> -- Bonnie
>
> Possible 1956 sighting:
>
>
> http://books.google.com/books?lr=&id=T4AeAQAAMAAJ&dq=editions%3AOFlK_JgAw60C&q=nine+yards#search_anchor
>
> Possible 1957 sighting:
>
>
> http://books.google.com/books?lr=&id=kIAeAQAAMAAJ&dq=editions%3AOFlK_JgAw60C&q=nine+yards#search_anchor
>
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