Another newspaper from a nearby state, The Batesville Guard, Arkansas, June 1917 uses the phrase in just the same way: If he wants to know anything further he may write to me personally and I'll give him the whole six yards. The Oxford English Dictionary finds the earliest published non-idiomatic use in an 1855 Indiana newspaper article. He points a gun at Oz, but shoots Frankie instead, explaining that Frankie, believing Jimmy had gone soft, would have killed them both. You would think with that level of star power, this movie would at least be passable, but it wasn't. The film grossed $13.4 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office. #thewholenineyards #mobsters #mafia #gangster #beatup Square-rigged, three-masted ships had three yards each, said Cassidy, so the whole nine yards would mean the sails were fully set.. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. When the SEALs send their elite, they send SEAL Team SixSEAL Team Six is a secret unit tasked with counterterrorism, hostage rescue, and counterinsurgency. It was written by Mitchell Kapner and stars Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Natasha Henstridge. Here's a representation of the growth in use of 'the whole nine yards' in print worldwide. See the full image with a free trial. Guthrie, James M., "Sesquicentennial Scrapbook". Starring: Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Rosanna Arquette Watch all you want. What's the movieThe Whole Nine Yards about? Matthew Perry is best known as the lovable Chandler Bing from the hitsitcom,Friends. "The whole nine yards" or "the full nine yards" is a colloquial American English phrase meaning "everything, the whole lot" or, when used as an adjective, "all the way", as in, "The Army came out and gave us the whole nine yards on how they use space systems. The correct spelling of my name is Leanna McLennan. As he seeks to divorce his wife who hates him as much as he does, he one day meets his new neighbor Jimmy who turns out to be none other than Jimmy The Tulip (Bruce Willis). These convictions are unfailingly based on no more evidence than 'someone told me'. The Whole Nine Yards 2000 | Maturity Rating: 13+ | 1h 34m | Comedies An unhappily married dentist becomes mixed up with mobsters and murder plots when he discovers that a notorious hit man has moved in next door. It isn't just a matter of matching up dental work on a couple of Panellipse films (as shown in the movie). The above is only one possible account of this somewhat problematic etymon. Other versions of this origin theory conclude that it was actually a coal truck or garbage truck, but these two have even less evidence to back them up. StarringBruce Willis Matthew Perry Amanda Peet Michael Clarke Duncan Natasha Henstridge Kevin Pollak Directed byJonathan Lynn Birth control provided women with the power of choice when it comes to having a baby. The two watch as the gang walks into the ambush. Found via Newspapers.com, "The Houston Herald" (Houston, Missouri), December 15, 1927, page 6. No one had previously jumped 27 feet. [3] They are part of a family of expressions in which an odd-sounding item, such as enchilada, shooting match, shebang or hog, is substituted for ball of wax. Then, in 2007, a recreational lexical investigator named. . A down-on-his luck dentist, "Oz" Oseransky (Matthew Perry), discovers that his new neighbor is Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski (Bruce Willis), former mob-contract-killer-turned-police-informant upon whose head the Hungarian mob has put a steep price. Moreover, those are the things that they look at when identifying someone from dental records. The Whole Ten Yards was a sequel toThe Whole Nine Yards, that saw the former hitman, Jimmy (Bruce Willis), now retired. Some felt that the movie was bringing "fresh twists" to the genre, spicing things up. Jill meets her "hero", she reveals that she too is a contract killer; hired by Sophie to kill Oz, and that she liked him too much (first mistake!) Since then, even earlier citations have shown up for both versions of the expression. 2023. As for the kilts, the whole nine yards is largely an American phrase that didnt catch on in the UK initially, so the idea that it might have something to do with Scottish kilts is extremely unlikely. One of the most popular tales is that 9 yards was the length of machine gun magazines during World War II, and soldiers were encouraged to use the whole nine yards against enemy soldiers. [15][29] The Historical Dictionary of American Slang (1997) cited Shepard's novel, thus pushing the earliest known usage back to 1967. Critics slammed this film for being "predictable" and "inconsistent," proving that star power isn't everything in the movie business. These are things that cannot be altered. In Canada, Frankie and Oz meet Jimmy, who reveals he and Frankie are planning to kill Janni and Cynthia. "[8] The same newspaper repeated the phrase soon afterward in another issue, stating "As we have been gone for a few days and failed to get all the news for this issue we will give you the whole six yards in our next. A bumbling dentist (Perry) becomes distraught when he realizes that his new neighbor (Willis) is a former goodfella who . "[9] The six-yard form of the phrase also appears in a 1917 Arkansas paper ("he may write me personally and I'll give him the whole six yards. Oz reveals Jimmy's identity to Sophie, who is intrigued. : a slender glass about three feet tall having a flared opening and a bulbous bottom also : the amount it contains a yard of ale Phrases the whole nine yards : all of a related set of circumstances, conditions, or details who could learn the most about making records, about electronics and engineering, the whole nine yards Stephen Stills While Quebec provincial law requires the English text on any public signage to be no more than half the size of the French text, the bilingual signs with equal-size text are at the airport, which falls under federal jurisdiction. The earliest known citation of a form of the phrase in print is from 1907, which clearly disproves the commonly circulated World War I and World War II origins. The Whole Nine Yards is a 2000 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and distributed by Warner Bros. Regrettably, plausibility doesn't get us very far. Thats it for the whole nine yards. There is, however, a bit more to the story (or a bit less, depending on how you look at it): a couple of 1912 articles that contain the phrase the whole six yards.. Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Michael Clarke Duncan and Rosanna Arquette star in this twisty dark comedy. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement. El pasado mes de marzo Bruce Willis dej conmocionada a la meca del cine tras anunciar abruptamente su retirada desvelando adems que padece afasia, una enfermedad degenerativa que afecta a los centros del lenguaje de la corteza cerebral y que afecta por tanto a la capacidad de comunicacin y comprensin. And, of course, you found out a few myths not to learn later on other sites where you read some of the false origins. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. This one just isnt true. Lombardi supposedly then said Ill never be stopped on the one again thus the whole nine yards means completion. This article is about the phrase. In case youre still unconvinced, however, here is a selection of those theories and further explanations about why they probably arent true: So, in the end, where did the whole nine yards come from? In 1912, a local newspaper in Kentucky asked readers to, "Just wait boys until the fix gets to a fever heat and they will tell the whole six yards. The low rating that this movie got isn't a surprise, although it is a shame as this was actually Farley's final role before his death. For those outside of North America who arent familiar, the whole nine yards is an American phrase which loosely means everything or the full extent of something. As to the exact origin, its a slight mystery. Jimmy: It's not important how many people I've killed. Critics were incredibly mixed on this, with some finding it wasn't "inventive." I was also told that it came from WW2 fighter pilots in the Pacific, when arming their planes on the ground, the 50. caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly twenty-seven feet before being loaded into the fuselage. This piece is quite long, so here's a summary: The origin of this expression is considered the holy grail of etymology. What's important is how I get along with the people who are still alive. Her pubic region is always obscured, but her bare breasts are intermittently visible. [21] This early usage can be read as suggesting length, but can also be read as suggesting detailed completeness. Rent or buy The Whole Nine Yards here: https://amzn.to/3jY0I12Credits: 2000 The Whole Nine YardsLike this video if you want to see more episodes and don't forget to turn on notifications to catch our next videos!Keep up with us on Facebook!Binge Society | https://www.facebook.com/BingeSociety/Binge Society - Action | https://www.facebook.com/binge.society.action/Binge Society - Comedy | https://www.facebook.com/binge.society.comedy/Binge Society brings you the best of your favorite movies and TV shows! Dental records cannot be faked. One theory held that the nine yards first referred to certain 27-foot-long ammunition belts used by Air Force pilots in World War II. Running distance from Golf Course. When Oz and Jill are at the caf, Oz asks the waitress for a burger with no mayonnaise and the waitress is seen taking Oz's menu. The distinction between the two is clear (now). 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. The Whole Ten Yards was a sequel to The Whole Nine Yards, that saw the former hitman, Jimmy (Bruce Willis), now retired. Crime A notorious hitman moves in next door to a beleaguered dentist, which pulls the doctor out of his tedious life and into the organized crime world. For the most part, critics did enjoy this film, with some claiming it was "endearingly funny. The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder has completed 55.4% of his passes for 1,100 yards with nine touchdowns against only two interceptions through just six games in his second season. In the scene where Matthew Perry and Frank Figs go back to the hotel room and when Jimmy The Tulip is sitting in the chair waiting for them to return, Frank Figs is wearing sunglasses, when Frank goes to hug Jimmy T he takes his sunglasses off then when the camera shows Franks face again the glasses are back on, then when he walks towards Matt Leanna McOemmecon is listed in the credits as the stand in for Rosanna Arquette, when it should read Leanna McLennan. Over the next few decades, professional and amateur linguists alike would trawl through newspaper archives and other databases to try to settle the debate surrounding the whole nine yards once and for all. In fact, they all refer to different things. Oz's assistant Jill jokingly asks him to name a price to have Sophie disappear. Please read our Privacy Policy. At the hotel, Oz calls Jimmy to warn him, but is told Jimmy knows what Oz has done. Jenkins shoots it from anywhere and everywhere. After Willis lost the bet, he guest starred on season six of. The meaning of 'the whole/full six/nine yards' in the above citations is clear; that is, as we use it now - 'the whole thing/the full story'. The Doom Pussy followed Air Force pilots, and other mentions of the whole nine yards from the era also involved that particular military branch. Effective methods of birth control may be the best thing to happen to women in history aside from getting the rights to vote and being elected to public office. By what name was The Whole Nine Yards (2000) officially released in India in English? Oz brushes his teeth almost immediately after he vomits in the hotel room. JOIN NOW Do you know these uncommon units of measurement? If a pilot were to empty his plane's guns into a target, he'd be giving it the "whole nine yards." The number and the early-20th century timing do disprove nearly all of the theories about the nine-yard version, though. An unhappily married dentist becomes mixed up with mobsters and murder plots when he discovers that a notorious hit man has moved in next door. the many and various suggested origins of 'the whole nine yards'. This idiom is one of a cluster of similar colloquialisms like the whole kit and caboodle, the whole enchilada, and the whole shebang. A 1921 headline from The Spartanburg Herald-Journal in South Carolina reads "The Whole Six Yards of It." " The whole nine yards " or " the full nine yards " is a colloquial American English phrase meaning "everything, the whole lot" or, when used as an adjective, "all the way", as in, "The Army came out and gave us the . Being sent back in time (turning into Zac Efron), the main character gets the opportunity to make different life decisions to alter how things ended up for him as an adult. Talking about hunters, author Ron Rhody wrote: So thats the whole nine yards. (1956) and These guys go the whole nine yardsno halfway stuff for them. (1957). The filmis a classic romantic comedy in that sense, but it doesn't really live up to others in the genre. Very famous in the United States, Jimmy is an ex hitman who was released not long ago. When Oz first picks up the lamp, Frankie plays with his ring, but after the camera change from Jimmy to Frankie and Oz, we see him playing with the hotel room key card, instead of his ring. The-whole-nine-yards definition: (idiomatic) All the way; with everything done completely or thoroughly. As Shapiro told The New York Times, this type of numerical phrase inflation isnt unheard of; before cloud nine, for instance, there was cloud seven. The regular nine is going to play the business men as many innings as they can stand, but we cannot promise the full nine yards. The existence of a six-yard variant shows pretty clearly that this is not about yards of anything. Stephen K., Madison, Wisconsin. I dont know the origin, but it was quite a common expression of my youth in Scotland (I am 75), I believe the sailing thing may be correct though obviously I do not know, Perhaps American football, then? The camera goes to Cynthia, then back to Oz in the bathroom and the bottle is gone. This is an experienced team, Johnson said. A Texas seamstress speculated that it could have been fabric. A struggling dentist's life is turned upside down when a famous gangster moves in next door, and his wife convinces him to inform a notorious mob boss about the gangster's whereabouts. This explanation would not, however, cover Albanian gardh "fence, wattled partition," or, more crucially, Sanskrit gh "house," if it goes back to *ghrdhos, a zero-grade derivative. The expression 'the whole nine yards' means 'all of it - the full measure'. Violence & Gore Moderate 20 of 30 found this moderate A man is punched 3 times in the gut. Linguist Ben Zimmer pointed out in 2009 that this didnt necessarily debunk the military origin story: After all, NASA and the Air Force had close ties. Never mind that the evidence has ruled out any relation to the Air Force or cement trucks. RELATED:10 Ideas For A Friends Reunion Special, Despite the tough road to the big screen, things were even harder forServing Sarawhen it got there. I can find no examples of the expression in print from 1915 to 1950. When the belts are laid out before loading, they measure nine yards in length. In fact, the phrase comes from the fact that fighter planes are equipped with belt-fed machine guns. See also "Plugs and Bugs" by Ferd Holtmann. Adverb [ edit] the whole nine yards. Oz, ignorant of the $1 million, asks Cynthia to marry him and she accepts. [28], William Safire, a language columnist at the New York Times, asked listeners for information regarding the origin of the phrase on Larry King's radio show in 1982. See also: nine, whole, yard Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary Farlex 2017 the whole nine yards Each day, my name would be spelled differently on the call sheet - McLean, etc. But it didnt prove it, eitherso the sleuths soldiered on. Most of what you hear is, well, hearsay. When Oz runs into the closed glass door, his hands are raised to stop his face hitting the glass, showing he was expecting the collision. "[3] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The origin of the phrase " the whole nine yards " comes from the 1892 satirical works of William Safire. 'Hiemal,' 'brumation,' & other rare wintry words. The Whole Ten Yards takes place right where its predecessor (The Whole Nine Yards) left off with Hungarian mobster Lazlo (Kevin Pollack), being released from the penitentiary after serving his . From what I understand, it used to take 9 yards of clothe to sew together a nuns outfit (whatever those things are called) and that is the origin of the phrase.