occ
March 28, 2000, 9:31pm
1
Was just reading an older SD column about boxing scoring, and it mentioned the phrase “Calling ‘uncle’”. Where exactly did the practice of saying the word “Uncle” to signify that you accept defeat come from? Is it a bastardization of another word? Does it refer to an actual person?
From the Word Detective
It goes all the way back to the Roman Empire and the expression “Patrue, mi Patruissimo,” or “Uncle, my best Uncle”.
As to precisely “why” bullies force their victims to “cry uncle,” opinions vary. It may be that the ritual is simply a way of making the victim call out for help from a grownup, thus proving his or her helplessness. Alternatively, it may have started as a way of forcing the victim to grant the bully a title of respect – in Roman times, your father’s brother was accorded nearly the same power and status as your father. The form of “uncle” used in the Latin phrase (“patrue”) tends to support this theory, inasmuch as it specifically denoted your paternal uncle, as opposed to the brother of your mother (“avunculus”), who occupied a somewhat lower rung in patrilineal Roman society.
Oops. I beg your pardon; I thought I heard someone calling me.
Thus the bully’s demand: “Who’s your daddy?”