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{{Use British English|date=November 2024}}
{{Short description|British phrase}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Other uses}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
__NOTOC__
[[File:Bobsyourunclead.png|thumb|Early appearance of "Bob's your uncle" in print, an advertisement in the ''Dundee Evening Telegraph'' on 19 June 1924]]
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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
'''"Bob's your uncle"''' is a phrase commonly used in [[Ireland]], the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations|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 language|French]] expression "{{lang|fr|et voilà!}}" or the American "[[As easy as pie|easy as pie]]" or "[[wikt:piece of cake|piece of cake]]".
"'''Bob's your uncle'''" is an [[idiom]] commonly used in the United Kingdom and [[Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations|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 "{{lang|fr|et voilà!}}".


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== Origin ==
⚫
==Synonyms & variations on the theme (English UK Slang)==
⚫
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:
* The long version '''[[Bob's Your Uncle and Fanny's your Aunt]]''' meaning "And there you are" or "It's that easy!" or "(After that) it's done!" or "(After that,) you have achieved what wanted to achieve"
* This longer version may have been shorten to '''[[Bob's your uncle]]''' as '''[[Fanny]]''' has taken a sexual meaning (21st century) since the expression was coined (1887). An example is the writer '''[[Enid Blyton]]''' who used names in her 1940's children books such as '''[[Dick]]''' & '''[[Fanny]]''' which could not be used nowadays because of their sexual connotation.
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Expressions with a stronger emphasis on easiness or delight:
⚫
* '''[[Piece of Cake]]''' An informal expression for something very easy.
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* '''[[It's a Doddle]]''' Another slang expression for something very easy or '''[[It's a Cinch]]'''
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* '''[[Easy Peasy]]''' A childish expression for something very easy. Children might also say '''[[It's a snap]]'''.
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Expressions with a stronger emphasis on self satisfaction or pride of achievement or just delight:
⚫
* '''[[Job done]]''' something you say when someone has achieved something, especially when it seems easier or quicker than you 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 satisfaction"
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* '''[[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 really it means "Great" or "Victory at last" or "Result!" or "It's completed to your own satisfaction!"

⚫
==Origin==
[[File:Robert-Gascoyne-Cecil-3rd-Marquess-of-Salisbury.jpg|thumb|upright|Robert "Bob" Cecil]]
[[File:Robert-Gascoyne-Cecil-3rd-Marquess-of-Salisbury.jpg|thumb|upright|Robert "Bob" Cecil]]
The origins are uncertain, but a common theory is that the expression arose after [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|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.<ref>{{cite book|author=Langguth, A. J.|author-link=A. J. Langguth|date=1981|title=Saki: Life of Hector Hugh Munro|url=https://archive.org/details/sakilifeofhector00lang|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hendrickson|first1=Robert|title=The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins|date=2008|publisher=Facts On File|isbn=9780816069668|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Facts_on_File_Encyclopedia_of_Word_a.html?id=S1YkAQAAMAAJ|language=en}}</ref>
The origins are uncertain, but a common hypothesis is that the expression arose after [[Conservative Party (UK)|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.<ref>{{cite book |author=Langguth, A. J. |url=https://archive.org/details/sakilifeofhector00lang |title=Saki: Life of Hector Hugh Munro |date=1981 |isbn=9780241106785 |page=69 |publisher=Hamish Hamilton Limited |author-link=A. J. Langguth |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hendrickson |first1=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S1YkAQAAMAAJ |title=The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins |date=2008 |publisher=Facts on File |isbn=9780816069668 |language=en}}</ref>


The main weakness in this theory is that the first documented usage of ‘Bob’s Yer Uncle’ is in the title of a revue at the Victoria Theatre, Dundee, in June 1924. If Salisbury’s notorious nepotism toward Balfour in the 1880s had been so widely spoken of to inspire a popular phrase, it is perhaps unlikely that it would have taken nearly forty years for it to appear in print for the first time.<ref>
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.<ref>
{{cite web |last=Tréguer |first=Pascal |date=4 June 2018 |title=MEANING, ORIGIN & HISTORY OF 'BOB'S YOUR UNCLE' |url=https://wordhistories.net/2018/06/04/bobs-your-uncle/ |access-date=10 March 2023 |website=Word Histories}}</ref> 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.<ref>
{{cite web |url=https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bob1.htm |title=Bob’s your uncle |last=Quinion |first=Michael |date= October 19, 2015|website=World Wide Words |access-date=October 21, 2020}}}</ref>
{{cite web |last=Quinion |first=Michael |date=19 October 2015 |title=Bob's your uncle |url=https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bob1.htm |access-date=21 October 2020 |website=World Wide Words}}</ref>

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== Synonyms and variations ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2024}}
[[File:John Singer Sargent - Arthur James Balfour - NPG 6620 - National Portrait Gallery.jpg|thumb|''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==
==See also==
* [[Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley]], inspiration for "everything's all Sir Garnet"
* [[All Sir Garnet]]
* [[Nepotism]]


==References==
==References==
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| year =1992
| year =1992
| page =62
| page =62
| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=MPaYTLTrh_YC
| isbn =9781564740229
| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=MPaYTLTrh_YC
| id =9781564740229 }}
| id =9781564740229 }}


{{Arthur Balfour|state=collapsed}}
{{Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury}}

[[Category:1920s neologisms]]
[[Category:British English idioms]]
[[Category:British English idioms]]
[[Category:English phrases]]
[[Category:English phrases]]
[[Category:Arthur Balfour]]
[[Category:Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury]]

Latest revision as of 21:23, 5 January 2025

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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]

References

[edit]
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

[edit]
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