Bobs your Uncle....

[WhiteBear]

who the hell is bob?? bobs not my uncle... why do ppl uses this phrase? i dont get it....

along with.... others.... with names one with ... gordon bennett i think... im not sure.....
do you use any phrases that uses a name.... like i put in the title and please put an explanation what it means?
thanks. :)

[Ethel]

Good explanation of possible origins of bob's your uncle here:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bob1.htm

Sweet Fanny Adams
That is quite a tragic one, as many people think it is a play on a popular swear word, often shortened to sweet f a.
In fact Fanny Adams was a daughter of a vicar who was murdered and dismembered in 1867
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/341000.html

[Ethel]

Not on your Nellie

Rhyming slang - nellie duff - puff

In this instance puff means breath, breath is life. Not on your life

[dot.hawkes]

Gordon bennett was an american (his father was Scottish) and he was disgustingly rich and did daft stuff as he was a bit of an idiot with money

[WhiteBear]

arghh i get ya know ... thanks Ethel.

i think i heard about the Gordon bennett one to do with the worse goal keeper or something.

cool. but i still think... Bobs your uncle .. is still a little strange.

(btw ive fixed my touchpad x)

[Ethel]

I'm alright, Jack

From World War II soldiers in the Pacific, the acronym FUJIYAMA (not quite accurate but a nice play on words) - f you Jack, I am alright (Fujiyama is the highest peak in Japan)

[Ethel]

How did you fix it , WB?

[WhiteBear]

ohh thanks dot. i guess my colleage was wrong then ... he said it was a goaly who did werid things and also not a very good one lol

[Ethel]

All on your Jack Jones

Rhyming slang - all on your own

[Ethel]

Uncle Tom Cobley and all

Used to describe a lot of people, from the song Widecombe Fair

"For I want for to go to Widecombe Fair, With Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney, Peter Davy, Dan'l Whiddon, Harry Hawke, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all."

[WhiteBear]

Ethel, i fixed it by going in to system restore, select the restore point which was created prior to the updates being installed. and it started working again...

Anyway...

i heard people saying:

'i cant see JACK all'
any reason why 'Jacks' in it?

[Ethel]

Glad you're sorted, but Jack all is easy.

It's from the not so distant past when men especially would swear like troopers at work and in the pub with their mates but not at home. It is substitute for f all

[WhiteBear]

hmm but Ethel... where did Jack come from though? :P

ive noticed... ppl uses the name 'Frank' alot in there sentence too!!

[BillySugger]

Roberts you father's brother

[fredpuli47]

"Bob's your uncle" undoubtedly refers to Lord Salisbury and Arthur Balfour [see Ethel's first link]. The objection that the expression didn't appear in print until the 1930s is easily met. Balfour did not die until 1930. It's origin and meaning is clearly libellous. The damages would have been enormous. It is not possible to bring an action for libelling a dead man.

[Ethel]

Jack and the f word both end with a harsh 'k' sound, I think it really is that simple

[ChuckFickens]

Bob is my uncle as it happens.

[BockingBob]

i am bob.