Say Uncle - wikipedia Say Uncle For other uses, see Say Uncle ( disambiguation ). `` 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 ''. Definition In the United States and Canada, the idiomatic expression `` Say ' uncle ' ! '' may be used as an imperative command to demand submission of one 's opponent, such as during an informal wrestling match. Similarly, the exclamation `` Uncle ! '' is an indication of submission -- analogous to `` I give up '' -- or it may be a cry for mercy, in such a game or match. Origin Although it is often regarded as an Americanism, there are at least two differing theories as to the true origin of the phrase : ancient Rome and 19th - century in England. The Roman Empire theory says, Roman children, when beset by a bully, would be forced to say the Latin phrase, `` Patrue, mi Patruissimo, '' or, `` Uncle, my best Uncle, '' in order to surrender and be freed. There are various opinions as to the reason that Roman bullies forced their victims to `` cry ' Uncle ! ' ''. It may be that it was simply a way of making the victim call out for help from a grownup, thus proving his or her weakness. Alternatively, it may have started as a way of forcing the victim to grant the victor a title of respect -- as in `` Call me Uncle ! '' -- for in Roman times, one 's father 's brother was accorded nearly the same power and status as one 's father. The chosen form of the Latin word for `` uncle '' ( `` patrue '' ) tends to support this theory, in that it specifically denotes the paternal uncle -- as opposed to the brother of one 's mother ( `` avunculus '' ), who occupied a somewhat lower rung in patrilineal Roman society. The 19th - century England theory says it comes from an English joke about a bullied parrot being coaxed to address his owner 's uncle. References Jump up ^ Say ( or cry ) uncle, World Wide Words ^ Jump up to : Say Uncle, The Word Detective Jump up ^ Say ( or cry ) uncle, World Wide Words Jump up ^ Safire, William ( 2011 - 11 - 16 ). `` Uncle cries `` Uncle '' ``. Language Maven Strikes Again. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 030780058X. Jump up ^ Wilton, Dave ( 2007 - 03 - 11 ). `` say uncle ''. Wordorigins. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Say_Uncle&oldid=793829455 '' Categories : American English idioms Hidden categories : Articles containing Latin - language text Articles containing Arabic - language text Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 4 August 2017, at 06 : 50. About Wikipedia

Question: where does the term cry uncle come from
Answer: 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