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Feb 21, 2011 · There is no definitive history on the origin of the phrase, though there is plenty of speculation. The term, which is universally recognized as words that concede defeat (i.e., "I give up"), was ...
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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. The Oxford English Dictionary ’s first example is from 1918, but I’ve found an instance in an advertisement in the Modesto News of ...
Idiom language: English. Etymology: Unknown. Uncle may be an anglicization of Irish anacal (“protection”). Synonyms: cry uncle. When it comes to understanding idioms, it can be a bit tricky. These phrases often have meanings that are not immediately clear from their literal definitions. One such idiom is “say uncle.”
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. See also: cry, uncle.
1 day ago · 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.]
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.
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