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The whole nine yards, surprising origin!

Do we ever think how much the gun, and the use thereof, has influenced the English language?

We use everyday phrases, like the whole nine yards, actually the correct term is a metaphor (because I know my daughter will kill me if I don’t use the correct terminology), that come directly or indirectly from the use of guns.

I have included a list of these phrases, by no means complete, if you can think of any more please add them by commenting on this post, I will add them to the list!

Some of them you will surprise you!

Bite the bullet
- Meaning to power through something difficult or to go through difficult times. it actually comes from a bullet placed between a persons teeth when they underwent surgery before anesthetic, so called biting the bullet!
Fizzle
- This has various meanings in different countries, it could mean someone passing gas, a fire is going out, a spark with no fire. It actually comes from muzzle-loading firearms, powder was placed in the pan, the trigger was pulled, and the spark created by the flint ignited the powder. If the gun did not fire you had a fizzle.
Flash in the pan
- We all know what this means, basically ” it did not work”, and it is often used in the English language. Actually it is derived from the word fizzle, as described above.
Misfire
- Normally used for vehicles, “my car has a misfire”, it actually originates from the use of flintlock rifles, related to a fizzle and a flash in the pan.
Blow your wad
- A phrase that has taken on a sexual connotation, but actually comes from forgetting to load the bullet in a muzzle loading firearm, you fire the shot and only the wad, or cloth placed between the powder and the bullet is fired.
Hotshot
- A term that relates to success, confidence, a person going somewhere. It actually originated form a reckless person, a person overeager to discharge his weapon.
Big Shot
- Derived from the term hotshot.
Big Gun
- Also derived from the term hotshot.
Trigger-happy
- Also derived from the term hotshot.
Keep your powder dry
- meaning to preserve your resources until you really need them. It actually is attributed to Oliver Cromwell who told his troops as they were preparing to cross a river to “put your trust in God, and keep your powder dry”.
Loaded for bear
- Meaning to be prepared for a serious confrontation, it actually derives from hunters on the American Frontier who made sure that they had the right ammunition for the game that they were going after.
Offhand remark
- A comment made without preparation or premeditation, it actually derives from offhand shooting: – firing a rifle quickly, while standing without the use of a rest or support.
Pot-shot
- Today it suggests a opportunistic or unfair criticism, to take a pot-shot at someone. It actually derives from shooting for the cooking pot.
The silver Bullet
- Often used to describe the solution to a complicated problem. It actually derives from folklore from many cultures, the only way to kill the devil was with a bullet made from silver.
Small-bore
- This often comes up in politics, referring to the concept being trivial of incremental, or having no importance, It actually refers to a narrow gun barrel, a caliber of .22 or less.
He’s a high caliber guy
- A good guy, someone who has potential. It is derived from the use of a high caliber bullet used for hunting big game.
Looking down the barrel
- Often used to describe a person who is facing the facts. It is derived from a person looking down the barrel of a gun pointed at him, truly facing the facts!
Got them in the cross hairs
- To focus on an individual or topic, actually derived from lining up the target in the cross hairs of a scope.
The whole nine yards
- Meaning to give it all you got! This one’s origin really surprised me, and it’s not actually that old. During WW2 the machine gun belts holding the ammunition in aircraft were usually 9 yards long, so if you gave someone the whole nine yards you gave the enemy everything you had!
He’s a straight shooter
- A person who tells the truth, tells you like it is. The term’s origin is from the military, a marksman id often referred to as a straight shooter, he hits his target consistently.
Shoot from the hip
- Taking a chance, trying something that you are not sure will work. Derived from shooting with the rifle held at your hips, the chances of hitting anything are remote.
Going off half-cocked
- Saying or doing something before thinking what the consequences can be. This one also surprised me, it is derived from early pistols and lever action rifles, many did not have a safety, but pulling back the hammer to the first “click” was putting it in the half cocked position, so if you pulled the trigger the gun would not go off. This was a primitive form of safety, sometimes if the gun was dropped or received a solid blow the gun would go off, or fire. Actually most of the lawmen and outlaws of the wild west who used the old 6 shooter, the one we see in all the movies, only loaded 5 rounds in the pistol, and let the hammer rest on an empty chamber, rather than carry it at a half cocked position.
The shotgun approach
- Normally used in business, this means an approach that is guaranteed to produce results, the same as firing a shotgun at a close range target, you’re pretty much guaranteed to hit the target.
held a gun to my head
- Meaning you had no choice. Holding a gun to someone’s head does not leave them much of a choice!
Dodged the bullet
- you got away with it or you were lucky. if you dodge a bullet you are very lucky!

Unusual Firearms, the Lancaster Howdah Pistol

The series of Lancaster Howdah Pistols were unusual in that they used the old pepper box style design, that fired a center fire cartridge, and were extremely reliable and effective, so much so that they were even used in the first world war!

They were either of a two or four barrel design, and were chambered for the popular calibers used by the British during the mid 19th century, the .380 inch, .450 Adams, .455 Webley, and .577 inch.

Lancaster Howdah Pistol

They had a reputation of being strong, reliable and almost foolproof. Once loaded there was very little which could prevent the weapon from firing. There was no chance of a gas leak back towards the shooter because of the positive locking system.

Because it had a revolving striker trigger mechanism it had a very heavy trigger pull, so it was equipped with a Tranter style trigger which could be fired in two different ways.

The first way was a conventional trigger finger pull, which was heavy, the second method was to flip down the trigger extension, and pull back with the middle finger, “cocking” the gun, and then the trigger finger depressing the raised plate, firing the gun.

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They are also sometimes known as the Howdah pistol, the name coming from the platform placed on the back of an Elephant, and were originally designed for personal protection against wild animals such as Lions and Tigers, and had tremendous stopping power.

They were very popular during the colonial wars when being faced by charging tribesmen, because the projectile had the tendency to go straight through a couple of targets at the same time!

Blow Forward Firearms, What Are They?

We all know about blow back firearms where the gasses produced by firing the cartridge forces the slide or bolt back, thus loading and cocking the weapon. It is a system used is virtually every modern firearm out there, and is a fundamental operating feature of semi and fully automatic weapons.

But did you know that weapons were developed that used a blow forward system?

What is a Blow Forward System?

A blow forward system uses the friction of the bullet moving down the barrel, or the gasses produced by the cartridge, or a combination of both, to cycle the action. The barrel moves forward, thus ejecting the shell, and is pushed back by a recoil spring slamming the new cartridge back into the firing pin.

The Difference Between a Blow Back and Blow Forward System

When you think about it this is a really clever idea, there is no slide coming back over your hand if used in a pistol, and in a semi and fully automatic rifle the length of the weapon can be significantly reduced because the space needed for the bolt to slide back is reduced. The only moving parts are the barrel and the recoil spring.

So why did this idea not catch on?

The answer lies in the word slamming! Because the bolt is slammed back onto the firing pin it is very difficult to control the weapon, it is almost the same as a controlled slam fire.

For those who do not know what a slam fire i will write about it later.

Another issue is the problem of recoil. In most blow forward systems the friction of the bullet moving down the barrel is the only force used to move the action, so the gasses are vented out of the front of the barrel, the result —— tremendous recoil!

Designers never really got around this, they did design systems that vented they gasses and/or used the gasses to assist in moving the action forward, but they were not really successful.

In short —- the system is almost impossible to control, is very inaccurate and has a tremendous recoil!

There were however 10 different weapon manufacturers who attempted to make use of the blow forward system

The Steyr Mannlicher M 1894

This was the first attempt to make use of the blow forward system in a semi automatic pistol.

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