The Whole Nine Yards is a black comedy starring Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Natasha Henstridge, Michael Clarke Duncan and Rosanna Arquette.

Oz (Perry) is a depressed dentist. His wife hates him and wants him dead. His mother-in-law hates him and wants him dead. Can things really get worse for Oz?

Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski (Willis), a hitman, moves in next door and immediately makes friends with Oz, but it is hard to determine whether Jimmy would still kill him if he was paid enough. This is tested as Oz's wife sends him on a journey to Janni Gogolak to rat out on Jimmy's whereabouts and collect a finder's fee.

A sequel, appropriately titled, The Whole Ten Yards, was released on April 9, 2004.

Origin

The phrase "the whole nine yards" means "completely, the whole, everything" - eg:

"I was mugged. They took my wallet, my keys, my shoes, my coat - the whole nine yards!"

The origins of the expression are unknown, but various theories are popularly held as to the root of it. One of the more common of these is that the expression dates from the Second World War, where the "nine yards" was the full length of a machine-gun ammunition belt, and to "go the full nine yards" was to use it up in its entirety. The expression, however, has only been dated back to 1966 (in US Air Force slang recorded in Vietnam) and it is unlikely it could have been in common use in the 1940s without being recorded either then or in the next twenty years.

Other suggested origins have included sources as diverse as the size of cement mixers, the length of bridal veils, the manufacture of kilts, the length of cloth bolts, and the structure of certain sailing vessels (where "yard" is short for yardarm, not for the distance).

External link

• IMDb: The Whole Nine Yards
• [[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_252.html The Straight Dope on the origin of "The whole nine yards"