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 bobs your uncle




From: linden@positive.eng.sun.com (Peter van der Linden)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Bob's your uncle
Date: 27 Feb 1994 16:45:26 GMT

Barry "waiting for it" Goldstein
> I've seen "And Bob's your uncle!" in British detective novels
> At last, maybe someone can tell me more about whence the expression?

Well Barry wins the prize for the thread that took the longest to ever come round again on Usenet. This question was last posed on AFU three years ago! It was comprehensively answered by Brian Scearce and myself.

BOB'S YOUR UNCLE

All you have to do is one simple action and Bob's your uncle! You have attained something very easily. Just like Arthur Balfour did in 1886.

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable says the nephew was A.J.Balfour and the post in question was Chief Secretary for Ireland. Since Uncle Bob had previously appointed him as 

      (1) President of the Local Government Board, and 
      (2) Secretary for Scotland

this third posting lead some uncharitable souls to mutter darkly about nepotism. The uncle in question was the Prime Minister Lord Robert Marquis of Salisbury.

Many considered the appointment was not made on merit but because "Bob was his uncle". He was the nephew of Lord Salisbury, whose Christian name was Robert, or Bob for short.

In fact, Mr Balfour proved a formidable politician and later became Prime minister himself.

--
Peter van der Linden linden@eng.sun.com Therapist for the irrational numbers.


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