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Next: 'Back against the wall' You hear a lot of phrases, and you wonder where they come from. How about "the whole nine yards�� for starters? And why do ballot issues you vote on get labeled measures when a measure usually has to do with size or amount? � Dee G., Eagle Point So Dee, is writing to us a desperate measure? To get the easy one out of the way first, one of the definitions of "measure" in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is "a legislative bill.�� There are at least a couple theories on "the whole nine yards." Oddly, none stems from sports. One theory is that a prison once had a sort of nine-yard no-man�s land between an inner fence and the outer wall. But the explanation we like is that the expression comes from those big cement trucks. Taking "the whole nine yards�� means taking the truck�s entire load. We checked with Medford Redi-Mix, and they said those big mixer trucks hold nine-and-three-quarter yards. But common expressions tend to evolve (you might say they�re not set in concrete), and you can�t expect an excited sports announcer to say, "the whole 9.75 yards.�� And that�s pretty much the whole ball of wax. ("Since You Asked'' is a daily feature in the Mail Tribune that answers questions from readers on virtually any topic of general interest. To submit a question, e-mail us at [email protected] Please include your name, address and phone number for verification. If you have specific questions about our Web site or other questions about the Mail Tribune, please send them to [email protected] ) Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA