Bob's your uncle

English

Etymology

Unknown. Several unsupported theories exist about its origin. A common explanation, involving Arthur Balfour gaining a promotion through the supposed intercession of his uncle, Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, is doubted because the expression did not appear in print until 1924.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Phrase

Bob's your uncle

1. (UK, Commonwealth, Ireland, idiomatic) No problem, the solution is simple, there you have it, it's that easy, you have what you want, all will be well: indicates a desirable conclusion has been reached with ease.

   Synonyms: Bob's your mother's brother; Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt; hey presto; job's a good 'un; Robert's your father's brother; voilà

   Insert the plug, press the switch, and Bob's your uncle.

   You want to go to the stadium? Go straight on until you reach the park, take the first left and Bob's your uncle!

   • 1954, Brendan Behan, The Quare Fellow, act 3; republished in Cóilín Owens, Joan Newlon Radner, editors, Irish Drama, 1900–1980, 1990, page 591:

     And you're not going to give me that stuff about just shoving over the lever and bob's your uncle. You forget the times the fellow gets caught and has to be kicked off the edge of the trap hole.

   • 2007, Preston Gralla, Big Book of Windows Hacks, O'Reilly Media, page 314:

     Click the Import Contacts button and—Bob's your uncle (that's "Tada!" for my readers)—you should see a confirmation that all went according to plan, and your contacts have been imported into your Gmail address book.

   • 2008, Julian Knight, Wills, Probate, & Inheritance Tax For Dummies, UK, unnumbered page:

     Simply type in a description of your item and Bob's your uncle: someone, somewhere in the eBay virtual universe will be selling something similar.

   • 2011, Lauren O'Farrel, Stitch London: 20 Kooky Ways to Knit the City and More‎^[1], page 112:

     All you need to do is learn to make these little loops and Bob's your uncle, you're a real live knitter.

Translations

desirable conclusion is reached

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 就這樣唄／就这样呗 (jiù zhèyàng bei)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: klaar is Kees (nl)
• Finnish: se on siinä
• French: le tour est joué (fr), et voilà le travail (fr), c’est parti mon kiki (fr)
• German: und schon haben wir's
• Hungarian: ("that's all") ennyi (az egész), (reaching an outcome) már meg is vagy, (reaching a place) már ott is vagy
• Macedonian: кој ка́ко те́бе? (koj káko tébe?)
• Portuguese: pronto (pt), prontinho, está no papo, não tem erro, é batata (literally “it's potato”) (Brazil, colloquial)
• Russian: [и] де́ло в шля́пе (ru) ([i] délo v šljápe, literally “[and] the business is in the hat”)
• Spanish: vualá (es), listoco (es)
• Welsh: dyna ti, dyna chi, dyna ni

References

• Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban, TAFKAC, 1994.
• Michael Quinion (2004) “Bob's your uncle”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.