whole nine yards

Sl. the entire amount; everything, as far as possible. For you I'll go the whole nine yards. You're worth the whole nine yards.

The entire amount or distance. Of all phrases in the English language, few have as many supposed sources as this one. Among the possibilities are the nine yards of material from which tailors made expensive men's suits; the nine cubic yards of concrete that concrete trucks held; the nine yards (or spars) on a three-masted sailing ship; the volume of grave soil; and the length of a World War II aircraft ammunition belt. However, none of these or any other explanation has been conclusively proven. The phrase first appeared during the 1960s of out Vietnam War writings with no further explanation. Other phrases that refer to everything are “all the marbles,” “the whole shooting match,” “the whole ball of wax,” and “the whole shebang.”