the 1966 "nine yards" audience listed (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE



> Poster:       Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>

>
> Thanks, Bill. I do not assert that the 1942 quote is the
> *whole* story.

You have seemed to be saying for some time that the 1942 ADM Land
literal usage of "nine yards" is directly ancestral to the figurative
usages that appear in the 1960s, and is THE important literal usage that
precursors the figurative usage. I don't believe so.  If I've
mischaracterized or misunderstood your what you are advocating, please
correct me.

> By the way, I do
> not put much store in views along the lines that, were this
> the case "we would know about it" already.  In that vein, I
> don't think SNAFU is a good example WWII parallel equivalent.
> A somewhat better one, still I suppose not thoroughly
> explained, might be gizmo/gismo. It so far appears to be of
> military origin, from about the same WWII time period,
> 1940-1941 or so, compared to 1942.

There is no two decade gap in gizmo.  I've just looked in ProQuest
Historical Newspapers.  I found cites for 1944 (LA Times), 1945 (Chi
Daily Trib), 1946 (Chri Sci Monitor), 1947 (LA Times), 1948 (Chi Daily
Trib), 1949 (LA Times), etc. etc.

Gizmo arose in the military (US Marines??) and IMMEDIATELY entered the
civilian language, to stay.  Unlike what you've been saying about Land
in 1942 and then NASA in 1964.



> And the current twenty-two
> year gap is not unknown in other cases.

I would be pleased to hear about any slang/figurative expressions that
originated in WWII, stayed hidden for twenty years, and then arose in
civilian usage.  Particularly if they are as important as "full/whole
nine yards".
Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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