An everyday expression that still is in use today is the phrase, 'THE WHOLE NINE YARDS'. This is from a current issue of Readers Digest and it states:

One of the most common sources for this expression is military. During World War II, U.S. fighter planes in the South Pacific were often equipped with machine gun ammunition belts. These belts, when stretched out on the ground, measured approximately 27 feet. If a pilot fired all his ammo at a target, he was said to have given "the whole nine yards."