<P> `` Say ' uncle ' ! '' is a North American expression demanding that the opponent in a contest submits . The response `` Uncle ! '' is equivalent to `` I give up '' and indicates submission . There are two theories as to the origin of the term ; one relates to the Roman Empire when a bullied child would be forced to say `` Patrue , mi Patruissimo , '' or , `` Uncle , my best Uncle , '' in order to surrender ; alternatively the expression may have originated in a 19th - century English joke about a bullied parrot . This use of this term is also very common in Arabian Peninsula countries `` gol aami '' `` say uncle '' `` قول عمي '' . </P>
<P> `` Say ' uncle ' ! '' is a North American expression demanding that the opponent in a contest submits . The response `` Uncle ! '' is equivalent to `` I give up '' and indicates submission . There are two theories as to the origin of the term ; one relates to the Roman Empire when a bullied child would be forced to say `` Patrue , mi Patruissimo , '' or , `` Uncle , my best Uncle , '' in order to surrender ; alternatively the expression may have originated in a 19th - century English joke about a bullied parrot . This use of this term is also very common in Arabian Peninsula countries `` gol aami '' `` say uncle '' `` قول عمي '' . </P>
where does the term cry uncle come from
where does the term cry uncle come from
the Roman Empire when a bullied child would be forced to say `` Patrue , mi Patruissimo , '' or , `` Uncle , my best Uncle , '' in order to surrender ; alternatively the expression may have originated in a 19th - century English joke about a bullied parrot
the Roman Empire when a bullied child would be forced to say `` Patrue , mi Patruissimo , '' or , `` Uncle , my best Uncle , '' in order to surrender ; alternatively the expression may have originated in a 19th - century English joke about a bullied parrot