My friend Karen collects fabric. She sews it into clothing, curtains, cushions, and quilts. You name it, Karen sews it. She does the whole nine yards. She also makes it look as easy as pie.

We don’t know the origin of the whole nine yards. A few ideas have been suggested, but none can be proved. Possible ideas relate to:

• Fabric
• Cement
• Distance

We measure all those in yards.

The whole nine yards means all of something.

• The total amount
• A full measure
• The entire distance
• Everything

Karen sews about anything, and all her work is amazing. Other people run long distances, work years on projects, or never miss their favorite activities. Most of us spend time and money on our greatest interests.

Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

Whatever we do, let’s do our best. Let’s go the whole nine yards in:

• Caring for family, friends, or anyone in need
• Sharing our faith
• Working hard
• Giving of ourselves to others

“Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives” (Titus 3:14).

Thanks to Brad Leverett and Carole Fite for the suggestion. Thanks to Karen Bryant Hall and Quilts by Karen for the photos.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.