«
»

Why would I say uncle?

December 30th, 2010

My American readers will know the expression ‘to say uncle’ or ‘to cry uncle’, meaning to submit, admit defeat, ask for mercy.

It’s not a phrase we use over here, and I’ve often wondered about its origins.

Michael Quinion’s excellent site, which I’ve recommended before, has a plausible answer.

Enjoyed this post? Why not sign up to receive Status-Q in your inbox?

Possibly-related posts:

  • Scot Free [Original Link] Ever wonder where the phrase ‘getting off scot-free’...
  • EMI and Apple lead the way Excellent news. Starting in May, you’ll be able to buy...
  • Heartbeat I was in our local hospital today for a minor...
  • Party pics Michael took some great photos of the Counterfeit Guest launch...

Got Something To Say:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

To create code blocks or other preformatted text, indent by four spaces:

    This will be displayed in a monospaced font. The first four 
    spaces will be stripped off, but all other whitespace
    will be preserved.
    
    Markdown is turned off in code blocks:
     [This is not a link](http://example.com)

To create not a block, but an inline code span, use backticks: 

Here is some inline `code`.

For more help see http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax

*

«
»

Feeds

RSS  RSS feed

Categories

December 2010
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

© Copyright Quentin Stafford-Fraser