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   Cry uncle

   • ▪ surrender or admit defeat

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   What does Cry Uncle mean?

   • 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)." By the mid-1900s it was being used figuratively, as in the examples.

   Cry uncle - Idioms by The Free Dictionary

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   What does it mean if a child says 'Uncle'?

   • Originally, this comes from children’s games in which the child has to say the word ‘uncle’ to admit defeat. Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017 To indicate a willingness to give up a fight or surrender: tickled my brother until he cried uncle. To weep inconsolably for a long time.

   Cry uncle - Idioms by The Free Dictionary

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   When did the phrase 'Cry Uncle' come out?

   • 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. When Pakistan imposed the border closing last fall, it was confident that NATO would have to cry uncle fairly soon.

   CRY UNCLE Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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   Why do people cry for their uncle?

   • If that sounds unlikely, try a theory that William and Mary Morris turned up, that it goes back to a Latin expression used by Roman youngsters who got into trouble: patrue mi patruissime “uncle, my best of uncles”. It may be rather more probable that it’s a requirement that the person should cry for his uncle in order to be let free. But why uncle?

   World Wide Words: Say (or cry) uncle

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3. idioms.thefreedictionary.com › cry+uncleCry uncle - Idioms by The Free Dictionary

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   (American English) admit that you have been beaten or defeated: They’re determined to make the President cry uncle in the budget debate. Originally, this comes from children’s games in which the child has to say the word ‘uncle’ to admit defeat.

   • Dictionary

     1. a. The brother of one's mother or father. b. The husband...

   • Idioms

     To admit defeat or plead for mercy, especially in an...

4. www.dictionary.com › browse › cry--uncleCRY UNCLE Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

   www.dictionary.com › browse › cry--uncle

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   Cry uncle definition: . See examples of CRY UNCLE used in a sentence.

5. www.tampabay.com › 2011/02/21 › origins-of-cry-uncleORIGINS OF 'CRY UNCLE' - Tampa Bay Times

   www.tampabay.com › 2011/02/21 › origins-of-cry-uncle

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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 ...

6. www.yourdictionary.com › cry-uncleCry-uncle Definition & Meaning | YourDictionary

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   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.

7. worldwidewords.org › qa › qa-say1Say (or cry) uncle - World Wide Words

   worldwidewords.org › qa › qa-say1

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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 ...