Out of the Loop

[Lynne Murphy]

> I have to admit total ignorance of the expression "Bob's your uncle," what
> it means or what context it's used in.  Could someone enlighten me and
> others who (I hope) are similarly benighted?
>
> Peter Mc.

You say it to indicate the tidy conclusion to something.  Americans might say
something like 'and there you have it.'  You might use it, say, when giving
directions: "turn right, turn left, go past Tesco's, and Bob's your uncle"
(i.e., 'you're there').  In a quick web search, I found it's the name of a
geneological search engine at U of Toronto, which is a pretty clever pun, I
think.  The same search turned up this Word Detective posting:


Bob's Your Uncle?

Dear Evan: I'm enclosing an article from a recent New York Magazine about a
shop that recently opened in Manhattan called "Bob's Your Uncle," the name of
which is also evidently a common British expression. The writer of the article
asked "ten different Brits" what the expression means and got ten different
answers, ranging from "anything's possible" to "there you are." I'm hoping you
can shed a little light on the question, and while you're at it, tell us who
"Bob" is. -- K. Mercurio, New York City.

I'm looking at the clipping you sent along and coming to the conclusion that
we have far bigger problems around here than figuring out who "Bob" might be.
According to the author, "Bob's Your Uncle" (the store) specializes in
"unlikely stuff put together in unusual ways" -- specifically, "shirts on
lamps, steel mesh on pillows, and pot scrubbers on picture frames." This
sounds a great deal like the aftermath of some of the parties I threw in my
youth. I never suspected there was a market for that mess. Does Martha Stewart
know this is going on?

In any case, it is somewhat disturbing that "ten different Brits" didn't at
least know what the phrase means. "Bob's your uncle" is a way of saying
"you're all set" or "you've got it made." It's a catch phrase dating back to
1887, when British Prime Minister Robert Cecil (a.k.a. Lord Salisbury) decided
to appoint a certain Arthur Balfour to the prestigious and sensitive post of
Chief Secretary for Ireland. Not lost on the British public was the fact that
Lord Salisbury just happened to be better known to Arthur Balfour as "Uncle
Bob." In the resulting furor over what was seen as an act of blatant nepotism,
"Bob's your uncle" became a popular sarcastic comment applied to any situation
where the outcome was preordained by favoritism. As the scandal faded in
public memory, the phrase lost its edge and became just a synonym for "no
problem."

Lynne