I never knew

Hoby

Member
'A SHOT OF WHISKEY'
In the old west a .45 cartridge for a six-gun cost 12 cents, so did a glass of whiskey. If a cowhand was low on cash he would often give the bartender a cartridge in exchange for a drink. This became known as a "shot" of whiskey.

THE WHOLE NINE YARDS
American fighter planes in WW2 had machine guns that were fed by a belt of cartridges. The average plane held belts that were 27 feet (9 yards) long. If the pilot used up all his ammo he was said to have given it the whole nine yards.

BUYING THE FARM
This is synonymous with dying. During WW1 soldiers were given life insurance policies worth $5,000. This was about the price of an average farm so if you died you "bought the farm" for your survivors.

IRON CLAD CONTRACT
This came about from the ironclad ships of the Civil War. It meant something so strong it could not be broken.

PASSING THE BUCK / THE BUCK STOPS HERE
Most men in the early west carried a jack knife made by the Buck knife company. When playing poker it as common to place one of these Buck knives in front of the dealer so that everyone knew who he was. When it was time for a new dealer the deck of cards and the knife were given to the new dealer. If this person didn't want to deal he would "pass the buck" to the next player. If that player accepted then "the buck stopped there".

RIFF RAFF
The Mississippi River was the main way of traveling from north to south. Riverboats carried passengers and freight but they were expensive so most people used rafts. Everything had the right of way over rafts which were considered cheap. The steering oar on the rafts was called a "riff" and this transposed into riff-raff, meaning low class.

COBWEB
The Old English word for "spider" was "cob".

SHIP STATE ROOMS
Traveling by steamboat was considered the height of comfort. Passenger cabins on the boats were not numbered. Instead they were named after states. To this day cabins on ships are called staterooms.

SLEEP TIGHT
Early beds were made with a wooden frame. Ropes were tied across the frame in a criss-cross pattern. A straw mattress was then put on top of the ropes. Over time the ropes stretched, causing the bed to sag. The owner would then tighten the ropes to get a better night's sleep.

SHOWBOAT
These were floating theaters built on a barge that was pushed by a steamboat. These played small town along the Mississippi River. Unlike the boat shown in the movie "Showboat" these did not have an engine. They were gaudy and attention grabbing which is why we say someone who is being the life of the party is "showboating".

OVER A BARREL
In the days before CPR a drowning victim would be placed face down over a barrel and the barrel would be rolled back and forth in a effort to empty the lungs of water. It was rarely effective. If you are over a barrel you are in deep trouble.

BARGE IN
Heavy freight was moved along the Mississippi in large barges pushed by steamboats. These were hard to control and would sometimes swing into piers or other boats. People would say they "barged in".

HOGWASH
Steamboats carried both people and animals. Since pigs smelled so bad they would be washed before being put on board. The mud and other filth that was washed off was considered useless "hog wash".

CURFEW
The word "curfew" comes from the French phrase "couvre-feu", which means "cover the fire". It was used to describe the time of blowing but all lamps and candles. It was later adopted into Middle English as "curfeu", which later became the modern "curfew". In the early American colonies homes had no real fireplaces so a fire was built in the center of the room. In order to make sure a fire did not get out of control during the night it was required that, by an agreed upon time, all fires would be covered with a clay pot called-a "curfew".

BARRELS OF OIL
When the first oil wells were drilled they had made no provision for storing the liquid so they used water barrels. That is why, to this day, we speak of barrels of oil rather than gallons.

HOT OFF THE PRESS
As the paper goes through the rotary printing press friction causes it to heat up. Therefore, if you grab the paper right off the press it’s hot. The expression means to get immediate information.
 

Very good imfo.

European homes from earliest times known had a fire in the center of the room. This practice was not limited to the poor. As soon as they figured a replacement, they built fireplaces and chimneys. When poor Europeans came to North America, they had no restrictions on building chimneys and fireplaces and did so ASAP. The reconstruction at Jamestown, VA, has wooden chimneys and fireplaces, coated generously with clay. Occasionally the fire got into the wood and burned the building down.

The American Indians used the fire in the middle
of the room routine. This was a smokey system and there were cases of lung diseases. The most efficient structure for the fire in the middle routine was the Teepee on the great plains. It could be taken down quickly and the group could be on their way. (The women owned the village and decided when to move, usually when game animals got scarce and the latrines got to smelling.) The teepee was made of buffalo skins. There was a flap at the top with cords on it so that the flap could be moved to adjust the smoke flow. The bottom of the skins could be rolled up in hot weather, rolled down when cold, letting air in at the bottom.

KEH
 
(quoted from post at 15:43:14 10/27/14) 'A SHOT OF WHISKEY'
In the old west a .45 cartridge for a six-gun cost 12 cents, so did a glass of whiskey. If a cowhand was low on cash he would often give the bartender a cartridge in exchange for a drink. This became known as a "shot" of whiskey.

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May or may not be true. One reference reports an 1877 Remington catalog listing 44-40 ammo at about 18.00 per THOUSAND. 45 Colt would have been in the same ball park. A brand new Colt SAA to fire the ammo ran about $15.00. Of course shipping would play into the final price.

One source states there is no use of the phrase "shot glass" found in the US lexicon until 1913 and the term wasn't in general use until the 1940's. Other theories ont he origin include the glasses made by the Schott company that were the same basic size and used to give out samples of whiskey.
 
I have great interest in anything related to firearms and though I wish the origin of "the whole nine yards" that you site were true, that use of the phrase does not appear in any source from WWII or WWI. There is no definitive origin of that phrase.
 

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