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OT: And Bob's your uncle!

I am interested in words and phrases and did a Google on the phrase *and Bob's your uncle*. I did not look back to see if anyone else found this, so please excuse me if I am posting something someone else has already revealed. Supposedly, the origin of the phrase is this:

"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*."

BonnieBlue (Who is knitting her first-ever Fair Isle in the round Christmas stocking and having a blast with it!)

Reply to
BonnieBlue
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Thank you for the information, Bonnie! Someone else had posted URLs, but all the information is welcome. :o)

Your Christmas stocking sounds nice, will you be posting a picture on a website?

Gemini

Reply to
MRH

I've never posted photos on a web site before, but I guess eventually I'll have to look into doing that!

B.

Reply to
BonnieBlue

If you have a yahoo mail account, it is free to post pics and you can make them private or public. I have mine posted there and it has worked out fine.

Your stocking sounds nice and if you are having a great time with it, well, that's what it's all about!!

Diane

Reply to
seasidestitcher

That is wonderful thank-you. I always wondered where it came from..the funny thing though is that....Bob is my uncle!!! :) Or rather he is now posthumously. That is why that phrase has always held a lot of joy for me, as Bob was the most amazing uncle anyone could hope for!

CaroMacrame :)

Reply to
caromcc

Bonnie Blue, thank you for that info - I have always wondered where it came from as it is continuously used here in Aussie land. I have one fond memory of the saying.

Frank and I were walking down a main street in Denver and stopped at the corner to discuss if we would catch the tram and a young man - who had been selling lemonade from a stand- came up and asked if we were Australian. When we answered "yes" he asked what this saying meant as he had just got a new room mate at the University who was Australian who he kept saying "Bobs your uncle" to every thing he was trying to do for him !! Having assured him that all was well, we went on our way .

This left us feeling that this was not a well known saying in the USA God Bless Gwen

Reply to
Gwendoline Kelly

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