kissell@flairvax.UUCP (Kevin Kissell) (11/16/83)
The phrase is most emphatically NOT derived from American football jargon. I've chased it for years, and for a time thought it was from nautical jargon, as in "nine sheets to the wind", since on a three-master with nine sheets, you'd have nine yards to fly 'em. I have recently been informed, however, that the phrase comes from the building trades, where (portland) cement is purchased by the cement truck load, and the capacity of a cement truck is NINE CUBIC YARDS!
emma@uw-june.UUCP (11/18/83)
Nine days' wonder is a legitimate expression, referring to a happening which would be the talk of the town for a short time and then be completely forgotten. As an aside, one of Ellery Queen's Wrightsville stories was called "Ten Days' Wonder". It referred to a murder in a prominent family (a real nine days' wonder in a small town). On the tenth day, of course, Ellery solved the case. There is some particular reason why a drunk sails three sheets to the wind, which I can't remember-- something to do with an extraordinarily stupid maneuver in a storm. Anybody out there remember? -Joe P.