APAD: Bob's your uncle

本帖于 2025-02-25 08:18:42 时间, 由普通用户 最西边的岛上 编辑


"Bob's your uncle" is an idiom commonly used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries that means "and there it is", or "and there you have it", or "it's done". Typically, someone says it to conclude a set of simple instructions or when a result is reached. The meaning is similar to that of the French expression "et voilà!".

While the exact origin is unclear, the related story goes like this: UK Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury ("Bob") appointed his nephew Arthur Balfour as Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1887, an act of nepotism, which was apparently both surprising and unpopular. Whatever other qualifications Balfour might have had, "Bob's your uncle" was seen as the conclusive one.

- Source: Wikipedia with editing
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I knew the idiom before, but didn't know its background story until I checked dear Wiki this morning.  Ha, nepotism (裙带关系) is a common thing and exists everywhere if you look hard enough 嘻嘻

Back to the APAD, Maowi the cat and I had such an experience.  

Maowi is a very logical cat but not the most intelligent one. So my son bought some toys to keep his head active and sharp.

One of the toy is a puzzle (see the square on the floor near him in pic below): each small block in the puzzle can hold a piece or two of small dry food, and Maowi has to push the covers around to get them one by one, in random order or with a pattern.  

When I introduced the puzzle to Maowi, he liked the smell, but looked puzzled.  He looked up at me as: "What do I do Mom?".  I showed him how to move the covers around and said: " that's what you do, Bob's your uncle".
He has been having two puzzle snacks each and every day since. 加油

Cheers and have a nice Tuesday everyone!

 

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There you go! Fanny‘s your aunt:) Just learned:) -暖冬cool夏- 给 暖冬cool夏 发送悄悄话 暖冬cool夏 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 02/25/2025 postreply 08:26:58

Hahaha, I know, but I never liked Fanny ;-)) -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 02/25/2025 postreply 08:37:21

Thanks for sharing. Similar to "此泰山之功也"! -硅谷居士- 给 硅谷居士 发送悄悄话 硅谷居士 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 02/25/2025 postreply 08:28:32

U r welcome. Yes 4 it’s origin. a joke: 鲁班故事:“有眼不识泰山” :-) -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 02/25/2025 postreply 08:43:37

Bob's your uncle! Do you have a brother named Bob? -移花接木- 给 移花接木 发送悄悄话 移花接木 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 02/25/2025 postreply 08:57:41

Balfour backed the Zionists. Could be his uncle's idea :-) -7grizzly- 给 7grizzly 发送悄悄话 7grizzly 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 02/25/2025 postreply 10:07:20

Ha, no wonder :-)) "what’s past is prologue" - Shakespeare -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 02/25/2025 postreply 10:13:34

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