Sayings

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Anonymous

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Sitting here, glass in hand sipping at some 12 year old Jamesons, a thought has entered my usually empty, at this time of night, mind. Sayings, there's a lot of them out there, you are pretty much guaranteed to hear at least one a day, if not say at least one a day but where did, 'Bob's your uncle, Fannies your aunt' come from and what exactly does it mean ?

You can always ignore this post, it's late and my glass is almost empty but then again there's plenty left in the bottle :wink:
 
This is clipped from THE ALT.USAGE.ENGLISH FAQ FILE by Mark Israel, [email protected]:

"Bob's your uncle"
---------------------

This British phrase means "all will be well" or "simple as that":
"You go and ask for the job -- and he remembers your name -- and
Bob's your uncle." It dates from circa 1890.

P. Brendon, in _Eminent Edwardians_, 1979, suggests an origin:
"When, in 1887, Balfour was unexpectedly promoted to the vital front
line post of Chief Secretary for Ireland by his uncle Robert, Lord
Salisbury (a stroke of nepotism that inspired the catch-phrase
'Bob's your uncle'), ..."

Or it may have been prompted by the cant phrase "All is bob" =
"all is safe."
(Info from Eric Partridge's _Dictionary of Catch Phrases_, 2nd
edition, revised by Paul Beale, Routledge, 1985, ISBN 0-415-05916-X.)
 

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