Whole Nine Yards update(1964)?

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 6/20/07, Sam Clements <SClements at neo.rr.com> wrote:
>
> Newspaper Archive, who has been(rightfully) much maligned the last few
> weeks while they're updating their workings, produces today this cite:
>
> Tucson(AZ) Daily Citizen, 25 April 1964, page 25, a story about NASA.
>
> "Give 'em the whole nine yards" means an item-by-item report on any
> project.
>
> Make of this what you will.  It may not be what it seems.  I just
> stopped by to report this.

Congratulations are certainly in order, Sam. I've put up a Language
Log post about your discovery:

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004623.html


--Ben Zimmer

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