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Topic: Old sayings and their roots

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MarqHusker

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #14 on: March 04, 2019, 05:49:27 PM »
We all know where Upset comes from don't we?
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medinabuckeye1

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #15 on: March 04, 2019, 05:50:33 PM »
The whole nine yards:

I have heard that this comes from fighter pilots in WWII.  Apparently the .50 cal ammo belts were 27 ft (9 yards) long and if a pilot unloaded all of his ammunition on one target he would say that he "gave him the whole nine yards."  

I wondered about this one for a long time because it makes no sense as a football reference.  
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MrNubbz

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #16 on: March 04, 2019, 06:10:30 PM »
Also heard the 9 yds pertained to sailing.When they wanted more speed they gave it the whole 9 yds."the whole nine yards" comes from an old sailing phrase. a sail was 3 yards three masted ship would let out the "whole nine yards"Heard about the ammo belt stories also
:08:
« Last Edit: March 04, 2019, 06:21:40 PM by MrNubbz »
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Cincydawg

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #17 on: March 04, 2019, 06:45:36 PM »
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-whole-nine-yards.html

The earliest known example of the phrase in print that I know of is from an Indiana newspaper The Mitchell Commercial, 2nd May 1907:
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This afternoon at 2:30 will be called one of the baseball games that will be worth going a long way to see. The regular nine is going to play the business men as many innings as they can stand, but we can not promise the full nine yards.
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MrNubbz

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #18 on: March 04, 2019, 07:11:39 PM »
Supposedly a cement mixer full holds 9 yds
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MarqHusker

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #19 on: March 04, 2019, 08:52:37 PM »
Another one I use often, courtesy of my late Grandfather is  'fit to be tied.'      It's usage is easily early 19th century in Britain,  can be observed in mid 1800s U.S. newspaper print as well.  It is to be mean extremely angry, though only in an expressive sense, as the threat of pending violence is meant to be figurative.  I suspect there was likely usage to suggest one who may fit for a straightjacket.

My Grandfather used it when he saw a coach hollering and stomping around on the sidelines.
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Cincydawg

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #20 on: March 05, 2019, 07:06:01 AM »
It's interesting how different 9 cubic yards is from 9 linear yards.

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Brutus Buckeye

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #21 on: March 05, 2019, 07:26:00 AM »
Not if you line all the cubes up in a row. 
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fezzador

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #22 on: March 05, 2019, 08:34:00 AM »
not until the cows come home

Not for a long time. Presumably the time referred to is when cows return to the barn for milking. The term has been around since the late sixteenth century. Beaumont and Fletcher's play The Scornful Lady (1610) stated, "Kiss till the cow come home.
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Hawkinole

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #23 on: March 07, 2019, 12:45:45 AM »
Quote from: Hawkinole on March 03, 2019, 01:49:26 PM
Hold your horses! A law school professor once told us, that early artillerymen did not just say, "Ready, aim, fire!" But before they fired would also holler, "Hold your horses!" I don't know of any evidence to support this; it seems logical.
If you go to Mackinac Island and go atop it to the former U.S. Army installation that was vacated in the 1890s after Canada was deemed not our enemy, they fire a demonstration cannon. This video does not give it the full effect. It is deafening. So of course I was anxious to share my story when we were last there about 10-years ago, about "Hold your horses!" And --- no it is not incorporated into the presentation they give. But then when I was there, they had American re-enactors, not turncoats re-enactors. What gives, ELA?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoO2Kp5NKKc
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betarhoalphadelta

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #24 on: March 08, 2019, 11:06:29 AM »
One of my old bosses lived in Virginia and was a part of re-enactments down there, and he and his "regiment" had a cannon. He passed away last year, and they actually managed to get his ashes fired out of it at the funeral. He was an interesting boss; probably one of my best.
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MrNubbz

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #25 on: March 08, 2019, 11:36:12 AM »
Sounds like he was a blast - pun intended 
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CWSooner

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #26 on: March 11, 2019, 07:22:13 PM »
Quote from: Hawkinole on March 03, 2019, 01:49:26 PM
Hold your horses! A law school professor once told us, that early artillerymen did not just say, "Ready, aim, fire!" But before they fired would also holler, "Hold your horses!" I don't know of any evidence to support this; it seems logical.
It could refer to the old horse cavalry rather than artillery.  When cavalry troopers fought dismounted, every fourth man was a horse-holder who took the horses back to a rear a bit while the other 3/4 of the men fought.
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CWSooner

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Re: Old sayings and their roots
« Reply #27 on: March 11, 2019, 07:53:29 PM »
Quote from: medinabuckeye1 on March 04, 2019, 05:50:33 PM
The whole nine yards:

I have heard that this comes from fighter pilots in WWII.  Apparently the .50 cal ammo belts were 27 ft (9 yards) long and if a pilot unloaded all of his ammunition on one target he would say that he "gave him the whole nine yards."  

I wondered about this one for a long time because it makes no sense as a football reference.  
I'm pretty sure that one is not true.  The length of an ammo belt in a fighter would depend on how much room there was for the ammo.  With rare exceptions, the guns were in the wings, and the more guns per wing, the less room for the ammo boxes, so the fewer rounds per gun.
F4F-3 Wildcat: 4 x .50 caliber, 450 rpg.
F4F-4 Wildcat: 6 x .50 caliber, 240 rpg.
P-51B/C Mustang: 4 x .50 caliber, 350 rpg inboard; 220 rpg outboard.
P-51D Mustang: 6 x .50 caliber, 400 rpg inboard; 270 rpg mid- and outboard.  (The wing was deepened from that on the B and C model, and allowed more volume for ammo, but there was still more room for ammo for the inboard guns compared to the other four.)
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