1962 "the whole nine yards"

[Murrah Lee]

I find it interesting that the 1964 Tucson newspaper article uses the
phrase "the whole nine yards" in an article about NASA.  I had never
heard the phrase until about 1978 when my small Houston area oil
services company hired the former head of quality control at NASA as a
QC consultant.  He used the phrase extensively, which led me to
believe that it had its origin in the aviation and space sector.
That's why the theory that it had to do with the length of fighter
plane ammunition belts seemed to fit, although there is now great
skepticism about that.

> Sam Clements found a 1964:
> 1964 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.
> and April 18 1964 The San Antonio Express and News,,How To Talk
> 'Rocket', by
> Stephen Trumbell [Trumbull?] for The World Book Encyclopedia Science
> Service:
> "the new
> language spreads across the country - like a good joke - with amazing
> rapidity"

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