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We've all heard the expression, "the whole 9 yards" meaning everything, or the whole lot. But who knows what the origin of the expression was? TIL where it comes from... The picture shows the Browning .50 caliber machine gun- the M-2, or as we in the military affectionately called it, "Ma Deuce."
During WWII it was adapted for use in aircraft, particularly in bombers for protection against enemy fighters. The belt that fed the ammunition was 9 yards long, hence when you used up the ammo in one belt, you've fired "the whole 9 yards."
GIF by @papa-pepper
18 feet of ammunition is a good bit haha.
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27 feet. 3 feet in a yard.
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Ouch, you're right.
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Especially with a 900 gr. .50 cal round!
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And now I know the rest of the story. lol
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Me too... I used to man the twin .50's on the front of a PBR and I had no idea.
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Beep! Beep! This humvee will be patrolling by and assisting new veterans, retirees, and military members here on steemit. @shadow3scalpel will help by upvoting posts from a list of members maintained by @chairborne and responding to any questions replied to this comment.
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That is a really interesting story. I had used the saying before but never knew where it came from.
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I had no idea either and I used to fire them!
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@-@
.50 Caliber.
Have you seen a person that got hit with it. How is the wound like?
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Yes, when I got to Vietnam I ran the twin 50's on the front of a PBR. It's a machine gun so there's seldom one wound... it'll tear a man apart. The .50 Barrett sniper rifles hit with one shot and I heard an interview with a Navy sniper who said "when you've got a group of 5 bad guys and one of them explodes, it kinda takes the fight out of the others."
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yup..that pretty much sums it up...lock stock and barrel.
(another gunnie saying)
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Yep, gave him the whole nine yards.
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Cool, shot (and carried) the little .30 brother in the army, but didn't know the 9 yards thing! Thanks for that, Rich! :)
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Wow... I'm a trivia writer on the side and I am really into etymologies and the origins of idioms, and I had no idea. Thanks!
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I didn't either and I was a gunner's mate that manned the .50's on a PBR!
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