{"id":9609,"date":"2022-09-23T15:32:56","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T15:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=9609"},"modified":"2022-09-23T15:34:12","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T15:34:12","slug":"say-uncle-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/say-uncle-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Say Uncle \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you wrestling with your sibling? If they want you to submit, they\u2019ll ask you to <strong><em>say \u2018uncle.\u2019 <\/em><\/strong>This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>The expression <em>\u2018say uncle\u2019<\/em> acts as a way to<u> tell the other person involved in an action, conversation, or task to submit to your authority<\/u>. It\u2019s more <u>common to hear it used in physical engagements<\/u>, such as two siblings wrestling for authority. You\u2019ll use <em>\u2018say uncle\u2019<\/em> in <u>serious or lighthearted situations<\/u> between <u>friends, family, or colleagues.<\/u><\/p>\n<p>If two brothers are wrestling, the sibling with the advantage will ask their brother to say <em>\u2018uncle.\u2019 <\/em>The other brother would say the word <em>\u2018uncle\u2019<\/em> to <u>submit to the physical authority of the other.<\/u> The phrase <u>applies to physical and non-physical engagements.<\/u><\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\"Listen, bro, say uncle, and this stops. I'm not going to release the choke until you give up, and there's no way you're getting out of this lock.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"All you have to do is 'say uncle' to make this stop. Go on, give up. Or you can keep it going, and you'll never get what you want from me. It's your choice.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"I was battling with Matty on the mats this afternoon. He got me in a rear naked choke, and I struggled to get out. He made me say 'uncle.' It was so embarrassing.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"It looks like Europe will have to 'say uncle' to Putin if they want to stop the deflationary collapse of the Euro and the end of the Eurozone this winter.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"I was playing around with my son this afternoon, and he got me in a headlock. I had to say uncle to get him to let go, it was so funny, and everyone laughed.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"All you have to do to make this stops is say 'uncle.' Or, we can keep going, and we'll see how long you last before I choke you out.\"<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-9610\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Say-Uncle.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"192\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9611\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Say-Uncle2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"249\" height=\"207\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The expression 'say uncle' has several origin stories. Some experts believe it comes from the Irish immigration to New England and Canada in the 19th century and the anglicization of the Irish word 'anacal', meaning quarter or deliverance.<\/p>\n<p>Some language experts believe it originates from the Roman empire, where young boys would say 'patrue mi patruissime' (uncle, my best of uncles) when they got into trouble.<\/p>\n<p>Some people suggest the phrase comes from a joke in the 19th century. The owner of a parrot would teach the bird to address his uncle.<\/p>\n<p>The most probable origin of the saying comes from a derivative of the American-English term 'Time Out.' Saying 'time out' is a plea to end hostile action. The abbreviation 'TO' is similar to the Spanish word 'Tio,' meaning 'uncle.'<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"say uncle\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9TM_g73iKSU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Say Uncle<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Give up.<\/li>\n<li>Say you quit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Say Uncle<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Never give up.<\/li>\n<li>Stay resilient.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Say uncle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say \u2018Say Uncle\u2019 Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase \u2018say uncle\u2019 is a statement of submission. Using it to describe someone\u2019s uncle or to get recognition from your nephew or niece is incorrect. The \u2018uncle\u2019 in the phrase is a term of submission. When the other person says \u2018uncle,\u2019 you stop the action causing them stress.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Say Uncle<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the expression \u2018say uncle\u2019 to enforce submission on someone else. The phrase can have a serious or light-hearted tone, depending on the context of the situation. For instance, you could be fighting with your brother and ask them to \u2018say uncle\u2019 when you have them in a headlock.<\/p>\n<p>Or you could tell a colleague at work to \u2018say uncle\u2019 to admit defeat in your monthly sales challenge. If they decide to yield to you, you\u2019ll give them some of your leads. Typically, the saying suits friendly situations, and you\u2019re not hurting anyone with your actions. After using \u2018say uncle,\u2019 it\u2019s up to the other person to say \u2018uncle\u2019 to acknowledge their submission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you wrestling with your sibling? If they want you to submit, they\u2019ll ask you to say \u2018uncle.\u2019 This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The expression \u2018say uncle\u2019 acts as a way to tell the other person involved in an action, conversation, or task to submit to your authority. It\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9609"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9609"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9613,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9609\/revisions\/9613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}