January 16, 2001

Bob's your uncle

I have recently started using the expression "Bob's your uncle" because it makes me smile. However, I have no idea who Bob is and why he seems to be related to so many.

As the joke goes, someone said "Bob's your uncle," and I said, "How'd you know Bob was my uncle?" Your new favorite expression is mostly used in Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, and I'm guessing that many Americans first heard it during the Sydney Olympics. It's a hard phrase to define-a rough equivalent would be: 'It's as simple as that! You're in business!' For example, "Spray on some stain remover, throw it in the washer, and Bob's your uncle!" means if you follow these instructions you'll be pleased with the result. (The desired result-in this case "the stain will disappear"-is usually not mentioned because it's obvious). The expression Bob's your uncle nearly always implies simplicity of execution and success or satisfaction with the result. So you wouldn't say, "Spend four years in grad school, go on zillions of interviews, and Bob's your uncle!" Unless Bob, the department chairman, was really your uncle, which brings me to the derivation of the expression.

Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne Cecil, 3rd marquess of Salisbury, was a Conservative prime minister of Britain (1885-86, 1886-92, 1895-1902) and also foreign secretary (1878, 1885-86, 1886-92, 1895-1900). Descended from generations of aristocrats and political leaders, he obviously wasn't called Bob or even Robert, but he is probably the inspiration for the expression Bob's your uncle.

A little background: Lord Salisbury had many successes, most notably the expansion of the British Empire, but he wasn't praised for his morals or ethics. Salisbury's view of the use of Conservatism was "to delay changes until they become harmless." He hated democracy and warned about the dangers of extending the franchise to social inferiors. He often hid his intentions from his ministers and falsified government records. Though he had criticized the nepotism of Lord Palmerston, an earlier prime minister, Lord Salisbury himself appointed members of his own family to government jobs. In fact the government was known as "the Hotel Cecil."

The word nepotism is derived from a Latin word which means 'nephew or grandson'. The best known recipient of Lord Salisbury's nepotism was literally his nephew, Arthur James Balfour, 1st earl of Balfour. Lord Balfour was president of the Local Government Board in his uncle's first government (1885-86). In the second Salisbury government (1886-92), Balfour was secretary for Scotland and then chief secretary for Ireland, with a seat in the Cabinet. Because he was an opponent of Irish Home Rule and suppressed insurrection, Balfour's appointment to the post of chief secretary for Ireland was considered inappropriate. Succeeding his uncle as prime minister (1902-1905) and foreign secretary (1916-1919), he is best remembered for his World I "Balfour Declaration" favoring a national home for the Jews in Palestine.

The expression Bob's your uncle is first recorded in the OED in 1937, but Eric Partridge's A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English says it dates from the 1890s. Partridge gives another (less credible) theory as to the origin of this expression. He says it may derive from the late 1700s slang expression "All is Bob," meaning 'all is safe'. Francis Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue defines bob as 'a shoplifter's assistant, or one that receives and carries off stolen goods'.

Carol