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It goes like this. A bully puts someone in a headlock. The bully then demands the victim say "uncle" before mercy is granted. Surrendering under such circumstances is a humiliating experience, and we imagine many have wondered how "uncle" became the magic word for freeing oneself. Here's the story... Wordorigins.org explains the phrase is commonly linked to the Irish word "anacol," which means "an act of mercy or quarter." So, saying uncle "arose in North America from Irish immigrants." Or maybe not. The always dependable World
Wide Words mentions several other possibilities. The phrase may have originated as a Latin expression used by kids who got into trouble. According to the site, "patrue mi patruissime" translates to "uncle, my best of uncles." In today's world this might equate to: "Sorry I broke your window with my baseball, please don't tell my parents." In the end, none of the explanations are 100% definitive. So rather than continuing to scour the Web, we'll simply say "uncle" and move on.
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