And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Nope, another myth. There was no "standard" belt, different planes carried different numbers of rounds, outboard guns different than inboard (on some aircraft), different loadouts depending on mission, .30 vs. .50 vs. 20mm all different lengths for a given number of rounds.
The earliest known idiomatic use of the phrase is from 1907 in Southern Indiana.
The phrase is related to the expression the whole six yards, used around the same time in Kentucky and South Carolina.
Both phrases are variations on the whole ball of wax, first recorded in the 1880s.
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.
The choice of the number nine may be related to the expression "To the nines" (to perfection).
Use of the phrase became widespread in the 1980s and 1990s.
Much of the interest in the phrase's etymology can be attributed to New York Times language columnist William Safire, who wrote extensively on this question.
Ammo in plane wing, how much can the wing hold and does it auto load when one strand is empty? Is ammo on one side of wing only? Curious mind wants to know.
Nope, another myth. There was no "standard" belt, different planes carried different numbers of rounds, outboard guns different than inboard (on some aircraft), different loadouts depending on mission, .30 vs. .50 vs. 20mm all different lengths for a given number of rounds.
ReplyDeleteThe phrase predates machine guns, and is rooted in textile jargon.
ReplyDeleteThe earliest known idiomatic use of the phrase is from 1907 in Southern Indiana.
ReplyDeleteThe phrase is related to the expression the whole six yards, used around the same time in Kentucky and South Carolina.
Both phrases are variations on the whole ball of wax, first recorded in the 1880s.
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.
The choice of the number nine may be related to the expression "To the nines" (to perfection).
Use of the phrase became widespread in the 1980s and 1990s.
Much of the interest in the phrase's etymology can be attributed to New York Times language columnist William Safire, who wrote extensively on this question.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_whole_nine_yards
Ammo in plane wing, how much can the wing hold and does it auto load when one strand is empty? Is ammo on one side of wing only? Curious mind wants to know.
ReplyDelete