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When did cry uncle come out?
What does Cry Uncle mean?
Why do people cry for their uncle?
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Feb 21, 2011 · ORIGINS OF 'CRY UNCLE'. Published 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 ...
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. 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. See also: cry, uncle.
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.
Aug 31, 2023 · 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.
cry uncle. 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. See also: cry, uncle.
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.
