The etymology of “the whole nine yards” is a total mystery. Anybody who tells you that they know its origin is either lying or unknowingly parroting an urban legend. The number of feet of fabric required to make a suit? Number of cubic yards of soil removed to dig a grave? Number of cubic yards …
Tag Archives: etymology
“Yeah, no.”
Language Log had an interesting discussion about the language construct “yeah, no.” It exists in a bunch of language, and it seems to serve at least a couple of purposes in conversation. →