Was: wifebeater Is: Out of the Loop Could be: Prince Albert

[Derrick Chapman]

I thought "Bob's your uncle" was an exclusively British working-class
phenomenon.

-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
Of Erin McKean
Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2000 11:08 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Was: wifebeater Is: Out of the Loop Could be: Prince Albert


>Kinda like I've discovered that no one under 30 is familiar with the Prince
>Albert in a can phone prank.


I'm sure that the statute of limitations on prank calls has expired
and that I can admit complete familiarity with the above, despite
being on the windward side of 30. (Of course, Caller ID may be why
people don't ask about Prince Albert anymore. Kids today probably
send munged-up prank emails. Can you do a prank "Instant Message?")

On another age-related note, my mother (>55) has discovered that no
one she works with  (mostly <45 on Long Island) knows "Bob's your
uncle." She said in passing to a co-worker and that person said, with
great surprise, "How'd you know?" Turns out this person did have an
Uncle Bob and somehow "Bob's your uncle" made some kind of sense in
that context as well.

Erin McKean
editor at verbatimmag.com