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Feb 21, 2011 · Why is the wrestling term "cry uncle," and not aunt or anything else? There is no definitive history on the origin of the phrase, though there is plenty of speculation.
This phrase originated about 1900 as an imperative among school-children who would say, “Cry uncle when you've had enough (of a beating).” By the mid-1900s it was being used figuratively, as in the examples.
To admit defeat or plead for mercy, especially in an informal physical contest of some kind. The brothers often play fought, but it was invariably the younger of the two who had to cry uncle by the end. Cry "uncle," and I'll let you out of this headlock! I refused to cry uncle until Petey sat on me. See also: cry, uncle.
Jun 2, 2024 · cry uncle (third-person singular simple present cries uncle, present participle crying uncle, simple past and past participle cried uncle) ( US, colloquial) To beg for mercy; to give up, admit defeat. [from 19th c.]
Nov 28, 1998 · This call by one child for another to submit or cry for mercy — which appears variously as say uncle!, cry uncle! or holler uncle! — is first recorded in print in the US early in the twentieth century.
Cry-uncle Definition. (US, idiomatic) To beg for mercy; to give up; to ask to stop (something painful or unbearable). Anyone who doesn't cry uncle after the first week will probably last the season.
To concede defeat. Also put as cry uncle, it is the schoolyard equivalent of “say when you’ve had enough of this battle.” The term is an Americanism dating from about 1900, and its original meaning (if any) has been lost.
To admit defeat, to surrender: “Wilbur held his little brother in a headlock until he had to cry uncle.”
What does the idiom Cry uncle mean? The meaning, explanation, and origin of idiom Cry uncle
What does cry uncle expression mean? How to use cry uncle idiom? Example sentences with cry uncle idiom.
