Bob's your uncle

For other uses, see Bob's your uncle (disambiguation).

Early appearance of "Bob's your uncle" in print, an advertisement in the Dundee Evening Telegraph on 19 June 1924

"Bob's your uncle" is an idiom commonly used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries that means "and there it is", or "and there you have it", or "it's done". Typically, someone says it to conclude a set of simple instructions or when a result is reached. The meaning is similar to that of the French expression "et voilà!".

Origin

Robert "Bob" Cecil

The origins are uncertain, but a common hypothesis is that the expression arose after Conservative Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury ("Bob") appointed his nephew Arthur Balfour as Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1887, an act of nepotism, which was apparently both surprising and unpopular. Whatever other qualifications Balfour might have had, "Bob's your uncle" was seen as the conclusive one.[1][2]

A suggested weakness in this hypothesis is that the first documented usage of "Bob's Your Uncle" is in the title of a new song in an advertisement for Herman Darewski Music Publishing Co., published in The Stage (London) on 11 January 1923.[3] In one author's opinion, if Salisbury's notorious nepotism toward Balfour in the 1880s had been so widely spoken of to inspire a popular phrase, it is unlikely that it would have taken nearly forty years for it to appear in print for the first time.[4]

Synonyms and variations

Portrait of Arthur Balfour by John Singer Sargent

Expressions of self-satisfaction or pride or delight at the end of a sentence describing an action, a situation, an instruction, or direction, especially when it seems easier or quicker than expected:

  • A long version is Bob's your uncle and Fanny's your aunt. Versions sometimes spell "your" as "yer."

Expressions with a stronger emphasis on easiness or delight:

  • Piece of cake, an informal expression for something very easy.
  • It's a doddle, another slang expression for something very easy or it's a cinch.
  • Easy peasy, a childish expression for something very easy.

Expressions with a stronger emphasis on self-satisfaction or pride of achievement or just delight:

  • Job done, something said when someone has achieved something, especially when it seems easier or quicker than expected.
  • Job's a good'un, similar slang meaning "and there you go", or "it's done with!", or "it's finished with", or "it is completed to everyone's satisfaction".
  • Lovely jubbly, made famous by 'Del Boy' the main character from long-running English sitcom Only Fools And Horses, "lovely jubbly" refers to "lovely job", or "great", or "good news", or "it is completed to everyone's satisfaction or profit".
  • It's in the bag, meaning "job done", or "and there you go", or "great job!", or "it's all yours!", or "it's completed to your own benefit!"
  • Back of the net, literally meaning "goal" or "success!", but used for "great", or "victory at last", or "result!", or "it's completed to your own satisfaction!"

See also

References

Look up Bob's your uncle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. ^ Langguth, A. J. (1981). Saki: Life of Hector Hugh Munro. Hamish Hamilton Limited. p. 69. ISBN 9780241106785.
  2. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (2008). The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins. Facts on File. ISBN 9780816069668.
  3. ^ Tréguer, Pascal (4 June 2018). "MEANING, ORIGIN & HISTORY OF 'BOB'S YOUR UNCLE'". Word Histories. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  4. ^ Quinion, Michael (19 October 2015). "Bob's your uncle". World Wide Words. Retrieved 21 October 2020.

Further reading