Yahoo Web Search

Search results

      • Concede defeat, as in The Serbs want the Bosnians to cry uncle, or If you say uncle right now, I'll let you go first in the next game. This phrase originated about 1900 as an imperative among school-children who would say, “Cry uncle when you've had enough (of a beating).”
      www.dictionary.com › browse › cry--uncle
  1. People also ask

  2. Oct 2, 2013 · cry uncle. Cry Uncle is to ask for mercy or an act of surrender. She was nagging his boyfriend until he cried uncle (cry uncle) Also similar to tapping in a fight when you are down. by Younghusband October 2, 2013.

  3. 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 ...

  4. 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.

  5. Dictionary; Blog; Idiomology. cry uncle. Facebook Email. Meaning of the phrase:-admit defeat · Origin of the phrase: Next . ace up your sleeve.

  6. Unraveling the Mystery: What Does 'Cry Uncle' Mean? • Discover the fascinating origins and meaning of the phrase 'Cry Uncle' in this captivating video. Learn...

  7. cry uncle: [verb] to beg for mercy. I'm going to make my examination cry uncle .

  8. 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 ...

  1. People also search for