Idiom
say uncle
Meaning
Synonym of cry uncle.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He held my arm until I had to say uncle.”
“The older brother refused to say uncle, even though he was clearly losing the wrestling match.”
“Despite the relentless pressure from the opposing lawyers, the witness refused to say uncle and maintained his original story.”
Examples
simple
“He held my arm until I had to say uncle.”
contextual
“The older brother refused to say uncle, even though he was clearly losing the wrestling match.”
complex
“Despite the relentless pressure from the opposing lawyers, the witness refused to say uncle and maintained his original story.”
Origin
The origins of the expression remain undetermined. One theory suggests the word uncle may be an anglicisation of the Irish term anacal, meaning protection.
Key words
Related idioms
- Updated