Out of the Loop

[Peter A. McGraw]

Wow--thanks!

--On Thu, Jul 6, 2000 4:44 PM +0100 Lynne Murphy <lynnem at COGS.SUSX.AC.UK>
wrote:

>> 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



****************************************************************************
                               Peter A. McGraw
                   Linfield College   *   McMinnville, OR
                            pmcgraw at linfield.edu