Have a great day!

The yearly bath equaled a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the first bath in clean water, then all the sons, in descending order, and the other men in the household followed, all using the same water. Then the women and finally the children took their baths, all using the same water. Last of all came the babies. By now the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Happy Future, Jim

-- Jim Raymond (jimr@terraworld.net), January 29, 2002

Answers

http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/10/messages/771.html

More information from “Wise Words and Wives Tales” by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993): “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. (Don’t empty out the baby with…) A German proverb of unknown origins, it was current in German at least as early as the seventeenth century, when the astronomer Johannes Kepler included the passage, ‘This is a caution…lest you throw out the baby with the bath water,’ in Tertius Interveniens’ (1610). The saying apparently first appeared in English (1853) in the writings of Thomas Carlyle, who reported, ‘The Germans say, ‘You must empty out the bathing-tub, but not the baby along with it.’ George Bernard Shaw used the proverb in the preface to ‘Getting Married’ (1911), noting, ‘We shall in a very literal sense empty the baby out with the bath…’”

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), January 29, 2002.

Again, for a debunking of this, go to www.snopes2.org and see the item on Life in the 1500s.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), January 29, 2002.

Not sure if this is true or not...But I always heard that "The whole nine yards" came from Scotland in that the kilt was made with nine yards of fabric.

-- malinda (teneniel_80@yahoo.com), January 29, 2002.

Malinda:

Nine yards would be a lot of cloth for one kilt. I've heard another explaination. During WW-II each gun on a fighter plane held 27' of ammo belting. If a pilot returned without ammo, he would say to put in 'the whole nine yards'.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), January 29, 2002.

Gee, when I was in a home economics class in school, many years ago, I remember that we had to learn the proper way to wash dishes, the delicate glassware and china first, than the silverware and last the heavy pots and pans. Now wouldn't you think, applying the same logic, wash the baby first, and down the line till the rugged man of the house last? Go figure.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), January 29, 2002.

a "tradition highland kilt" is about 9 yards,, its more than just the "skirt" was shirt,scarf hat also, even a tent when needed

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 29, 2002.

Ken, I also heard that about the WWII gunners. Wasn't sure if it was true either. I did see someone at an eighteenth century re-enactment make himself a kilt. It took alot of fabric!

-- malinda (teneniel_80@yahoo.com), January 29, 2002.

Here's some more I've heard:

Breakfast: Your're breaking the fast. Since you didn't eat while you slept.

P's and Q's: In Eighteenth Century America and Europe, (and probably much earlier) if you went to the tavern, you were allowed to run up a tab and pay later. This was kept track of by marks on a chart. One mark for each pint and one for each quart. If you had become delinquent on your payments, the tavern owner would tell you to "mind your P's and Q's."

-- malinda (teneniel_80@yahoo.com), January 29, 2002.

On sailing vessels a few centries back there were 3 mast scooners with 3 horizonal yardarns; in full sail hoisted ships there was statement about "the whole nine yards".

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), January 29, 2002.

When you buy something for a buck...you are referring to a buckskin from the old barter days here in the States.

-- Susan in Northern Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), January 29, 2002.

I’ve heard the same about kilts and 9 yards of material, on the CBC the other morning. Seems that Phrase Finder has experienced problems with this one: Of all the feedback that The Phrase Finder site gets this is the phrase that causes the most disagreement. If anyone has any hard evidence of this phrase being used before 1970, e.g. an appearance of the phrase in print, we would love to see it. Please post your feedback at the Phrase Finder Discussion Forum - but please, evidence not conjecture. Phrase Finder, http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/meanings/411150.html

According to Phrase finder military references are below, Personally 27’ of ammo is not much ammo for a machinegun on an aircraft, IMO.

The explanation refers to World War II aircraft, which if proved correct would clearly pre-date the concrete truck version. There are several aircraft related sources, 1. the length of US bombers bomb racks, 2. the length of RAF Spitfire's machine gun bullet belts, 3. the length of ammunition belts in ground based anti-aircraft turrets, etc. Another naval version is that the yards are yardarms. Large sailing ships had three masts, each with three yardarms. The theory goes that ships in battle can continue changing direction as new sails are unfurled. Only when the last sail, on the ninth yardarm, is used do the enemy know which direction the ship is finally headed.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), January 29, 2002.

3 guns PER wing. 27 feet of rolled ammo per 50 caliber gun (9 yards)- thats a heck of alot of ammo! If you gave an enemy "The whole nine yards" you gave it everything you had, which is what the sayings implies... not the whole nine yards of kilting. Grand father (who was Scottish, no less) was a pilot in WW 2.

-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), January 30, 2002.

I was told the 'p's and 'q's came from the days when the type was set as individual letters. as they had to be backwords for a correct print it would be easy to mix them up if not paying attention...

-- Novina in ND (homespun@stellarnet.com), January 30, 2002.