Kilt gives blacksmith memorable edge

[macwilkin]

There are many theories about the origin of the phrase. For every source that says that the phrase comes from the Second World War (nine yards referring to the ammunition belts in aircraft), another one disproves it.

Wordorigins.org makes this statement -- I like them because they actually note their sources:

The Whole Nine Yards
This phrase is of unknown origin and is the subject of some debate. At issue is to what does nine yards refer. The meaning is clearly the entirety or everything, but nine yards is not a significant measure of anything. All we know about its origin is that the phrase cannot be traced any earlier than the mid-1960s and that it is American in origin.

Perhaps the most common assumption is that it is from American football, but the canonical distance in that game is ten, not nine, yards. Also common are explanations based on length of cloth, but there is no standard length for a bolt of cloth (which measure anywhere from twenty to twenty-five yards), and nine yards is not a significant measure for any type of garment (a man's suit uses about seven yards of a thirty-inch bolt, double folded; sarongs, saris, kilts, kimonos, bridal veils and any number of other garments have been suggested, none with any accompanying evidence).

The explanation that is currently circulating around the internet most frequently is that nine yards was the length of a belt of machine gun ammunition carried by a WWII fighter plane. To "give it the whole nine yards" was to expend all of one's ammo. This explanation is almost certainly false. For one thing, the type of fighter varies with the teller, sometimes Spitfires in the Battle of Britain, sometimes varying American fighters in the South Pacific. Another reason to doubt it is that ammunition is either counted in rounds or by weight. It is never measured in length of a belt. Chapman points to an origin in the Army and Air Force, which fits in with the post-WWII-era origin, but is otherwise unexplained. **emphasis mine -- TW

Newspaper columnist and language commentator James Kirkpatrick favors the explanation that it is a reference to the capacity of ready-mix concrete trucks (Fine Print: Reflections on the Writing Art). Safire also plumps for this explanation. This explanation, however, is somewhat questionable as the August 1964 issue of Ready Mixed Concrete magazine gives an average concrete mixer as having a capacity of four and a half cubic yards "just a few years ago" and an average of under six and a half in 1962. A 1988 source (Cecil Adams in More of the Straight Dope), states current mixers range from seven to ten cubic yards, with a rough average of nine. While current averages may be on target, when the phrase arose, the average cement payload was less than four and a half cubic yards. So the cement truck explanation is probably incorrect.

Chapman also suggests that it may be related to the British phrase dressed to the nines, where presumably nine has some numerological significance. He also suggests that yard may refer to the slang usage of that word to mean one hundred dollars.

Other explanations include:

The amount of dirt in a large burial plot;
The number of properties, or yards, in a standard city block in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Levittown, (pick your city);
The amount of cloth used in a burial shroud;
The capacity of coal trucks; and
The number of yards on a square rigged sailing ship (yards being the horizontal poles that hold the sails), even though it was not uncommon for such ships to have eighteen yards.
One final possibility is that it does derive from American football, but was originally intended to be ironic. To go "the whole nine yards" was to fall just short of the goal.

In summary, this is just one of those idiomatic phrases that defy explanation. This may not be satisfying, but it is not uncommon in English.

An additional source for this entry was Cecil Adams; More of the Straight Dope; Ballantine; 1988; ISBN 0-345-35145-2.

-- http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorw.htm

Cheers,

Todd

[Shay]

Okay, I still like the dirty joke explanation, I'll start a new thread on it.

[Nick]

Fun article

I've been blacksmithing and pursuing other metalworking areas for a few years now. I consider myself more of a hobbyist, though less than a professional.

I've smithed for an extended period twice. Once for two straight days at a renfaire and another for a day at another fair. Both were in my greatkilt, with thin leather shoes.

My one problem with working in my kilt is that sometimes red-hot steel does fly out of the tongs. I work small pieces, so that happens more than if I was working large pieces. I normally can dance out of the way, but there have been a couple occasions where, if I had been wearing a kilt, I could have been seriously burned, either from getting hit in the knee or something falling into my boot.

Of course, once I get going, I don't even think about it.

Shay, I barely ever wear an apron while working. I have one, certainly, but have only worn it while doing heavy grinding.

[FeanorMacFinwe]

Have almost always worn a kilt to blacksmith in, though I am as well more of a hobbyist than a professional. Working now with some interesting Damasteel rods, initial attempts at braiding three 1/4 inch rods have proven promising, more to come

[GMan]

Have almost always worn a kilt to blacksmith in, though I am as well more of a hobbyist than a professional. Working now with some interesting Damasteel rods, initial attempts at braiding three 1/4 inch rods have proven promising, more to come

WELCOME! We have several members here who have been known to dabble a bit behind the forge, so you are not alone.

[Southern Breeze]

Have almost always worn a kilt to blacksmith in, though I am as well more of a hobbyist than a professional. Working now with some interesting Damasteel rods, initial attempts at braiding three 1/4 inch rods have proven promising, more to come

Welcome to X-Marks and the addiction from a fellow Blacksmith.

[646guy]

Does anyone own a Practikilt? I looked them up on the web and their site is rather...well....lame. Doesn't mention anything about the length nor are there pictures of the back of the kilt either.....

[Graham]

Great story, I love to hear about men wearing kilts to help lift their business profile, it's a bit like the Highland Water story from Denver.

I think the black kilt is a good choice, the leather would be good too, but he may not want to work in his job in a $700 kilt.

[Iolaus]

Does anyone own a Practikilt? I looked them up on the web and their site is rather...well....lame. Doesn't mention anything about the length nor are there pictures of the back of the kilt either.....

Here's the info Ugly Bear posted when Museum Replicas first introduced them.

I called the 1-800 number. The results aren't promising.

The operator didn't know the length (!). She did, however, say that the model is 6' 1", and he's wearing a Medium. She knows a guy who's 5' 7", and the hem falls just above his kneecap. (Still a bit short, I think.)

She doesn't know the number of pleats (she guessed it had TWO pleats), the depth of the pleats, or the weight of the garment. She knew of no other online resources for the PractiKilt -- not even a photo of the back.

One thing she did know is that it has a rear pocket.

Here's our discussions about them, ...and I guess you must have found Practikilt.com on-line.