Bob’s Your Uncle!

Bob’s Your Uncle!

© Allen Merritt (2017)

I love nostalgia. I enjoy fun little bits of this and that whether it be trivia, word play, jokes or interesting human interest items. This includes little phrases that I have never heard of before and learning their meaning as it pertains to other traditions or ways of life.

This week I thought it would be fun to share some tidbits to think about, enlighten our spirit and point us toward feeling positive as we experience information foreign or forgotten to us. Let’s discover new ways to look at things or just learn something new.

Recently, I heard the phrase, “Bob’s your uncle!” I caught onto this comment while sitting in the lunchbox out on location during a film shoot. Conversation was off and running amongst those sitting nearby and all of a sudden someone chimed in by saying, “Bob’s, your uncle.” Afterwards, they explained it as a British expression which was a response to when someone does something cool for you, you often make the statement which also means, “That was cool.”

I decided to look up the phrase to see if there was anything new I could gain from it, because I had never run across it before. Wikipedia¹ explains the saying more by adding how it is used to comment that ‘everything is alright’. It also means. “There it is.”, “There you are.” “There you have it.” and “There you go!

According to Urban Dictionary², the adage means “your success is guaranteed.” Cool, no? Of course, “Bob’s your auntie” is a whole other story!

I found this interesting and fun. It gave a lilt to the moment. In a way, it takes you outside yourself to see what’s going on elsewhere. Think of it as getting out of your own head, so to speak. In any case, it gave me a smile, which I decided to share.

Here are a few other ‘ditties’ I have come across which we can all use to enhance our week toward living in a positive state. If anything, it will make you stop and think a minute or better yet provide a laugh. Maybe you can use a couple of them in conversation!

‘Turn the table’ referred to how a table might be regularly used compared to when invited guests came over for dinner. One side was finished and shiny; the other side was unfinished and rough. Families used the rough side on a daily basis and then lifted the table top to the finished side when company came by. ³

Now that one has great analogy possibilities open for discussion about seeing the difference between positive and negative or opposing perspectives, right?

‘My Aunt Fanny’ is a nice way of telling someone you’re not buying it, that what they are saying is unbelievable.

Now that is a fun and polite way of calling someone out, no? Bet you could turn heads or get questions about the meaning of that phrase.

How about turning things around by repeating a mantra of, “When nothing is going right, go left!” In other words, look for alternative ways.

“There is more than one way to skin a cat” suggests there are many ways to achieve a goal. Lesson being - keep on trying.

“C’est la vie!” may literally mean, “That’s life!”, but it can also be a way of brushing off things that ultimately are of little importance.

When you are looking for a way to spice up your outlook on the week, see if you can find some new way of stating the obvious or in changing your outlook. If you get anything out of it at all, then it’s well worth it.

In any case, I hope you have fun with these oddball phrases and in turn discover a few more.

Enjoy your week and don’t forget that ’Bob’s your uncle!’

Cheers!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob%27s_your_uncle (Viewed on 6/16/2017)¹

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bob%27s%20your%20uncle(Viewed on 6/16/2017)²

http://www.antimoon.com/forum/2004/5798.htm Viewed on 6/16/2017)³