有趣的俚语：“Bob's your uncle”

 

《午夜的回忆》第5章。那个二次大战期间曾被当作防空掩蔽体的大房间与地下室一门之隔。

 

原文：

The basement itself was huge, running the entire length of the building. It had a large boiler for heating the building, and was filled with electronic and telephone equipment. The boiler was a problem. Several times, Catherine had escorted a repairman down to the basement to take a look at it. Each one would tinker with it, pronounce it cured of whatever had ailed it, and leave.

“It looks so dangerous,' Catherine said. 'Is there any chance that it might explode?”

“Bless your heart, miss, of course not. See this safety valve here? Well, if the boiler should ever get too hot, the safety valve releases all the excess steam, and Bob's your uncle. No problem.”

 

译文：

地下室本身就非常宽敞，贯通整个大楼的地下空间。里面装着整栋大楼取暖用的大型锅炉，满是各种电子仪器和电话设备。但这锅炉老出问题，有好几次凯瑟琳陪着修理工下到这里来检修。那些不负责任的修理工每次都只是胡乱应付一下，就声称是已经修好了，抽身离开。

“这锅炉看上去简直太危险了。”凯瑟琳说，“说不定什么时候就有可能爆炸。”

“上帝保佑，小姐。决不会爆炸的。看见这个安全阀了吗？要是锅炉过热的话，安全阀就会释放出多余的蒸汽。一切都OK啦，不会有问题的。”

 

说明：

Bob's your uncle：means "and there it is" or "and there you have it." It is commonly used in United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries. Typically, someone says it to conclude a set of simple instructions or when a result is reached. The meaning is similar to that of the French expres-sion "et voilà!"

"Bob's your uncle" is an exclamation that is used when "everything is all right" and the simple means of obtaining the successful result is explained. For example: "left over right; right over left, and Bob's your uncle – a reef knot." Sometimes the phrase is followed with "and Nellie's your aunt" or "and Fanny's your aunt." It is sometimes elaborately phrased Robert is your mother's brother or similar for comic effect.

 

Origin

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Robert "Bob" Cecil

 

The origins are uncertain, but a common theory is that the expres-sion arose after Conservative Prime Minister Robert "Bob" Cecil appointed his nephew Arthur Balfour as Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1887, an act which was apparently both surprising and unpopular. Whatever other qualifications Balfour might have had, "Bob's your uncle" was seen as the conclusive one.

起源尚不确定, 但一个共同的说法是：这一表述是在1887年保守党首相罗伯特•塞西尔任命侄子亚瑟•鲍尔弗担任爱尔兰首席秘书后出现的, 这一行为显然既令人惊讶, 也不受欢迎。无论鲍尔弗还有什么其他资格, “鲍勃是你的叔叔”都被认为是起了决定作用的。

Bob's your uncle. 字面意思是：鲍勃是你叔。实际意思是“什么都是对的，一切OK啦。”

是不是有点“我爸是李刚”的意思？看来那个时候的英国政治也和我们这里今天一样，没那么透明，各种裙带关系也很厉害。这种明显靠着裙带关系上来的人物，大家也不能说他啥，他有点啥做得不好的不对的，人家也就只能呵呵，反正“Bob is your uncle”，你要做啥都对咯。

所以，现在这个俚语就变成了“啥都对，啥都OK的意思”。

 

例句：

比如教朋友做菜时你可以说：

Add some salt and Bob is your uncle.（加点盐，就都OK啦。）

再比如提议朋友穿什么去参加party时，你可以说：

Wear your new jacket and Bob is your uncle. (穿你那件新夹克就OK，就没问题啦。)

If the director sees you come in late, Bob's your uncle.（要是厂长看见你迟到你就完蛋了。）

You just to straight along the road for a mile, turn left, and its first on the left—and 

Bob's your uncle!（你只要沿着这条路一直走一英里，向左转，左边的第一家——那便是你要找的地方。）

You just put the video in here , and bob's your uncle.（你把录影带放进去，按下播放键，没错的！）

下面是一则去污剂的广告：

Spray on some stain remover, throw it in the washer, and Bob's your uncle!（喷点儿去污剂，扔进洗碗机，就万事大吉啦！）

 

“Bob's your uncle”后面还可以接“and Nellie's your aunt” 或者 “and Fanny's your aunt”，有时甚至会说“Robert is your mother's brother”作为一种幽默的说法。

当然，你得多少知道一点这句话的出处。

 In culture

Numerous works of arts, entertainment and media use the phrase as a title or name. The following are some examples:

Bob's Your Uncle (1942) is a British film.

Bob's Yer Uncle is a 1990s alternative rock band from Chicago, IL USA.

Bob's Your Uncle was a late-1980s alternative rock group from Canada.

Track 7 on Happy Mondays' album Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches (1990) is titled "Bob's Yer Uncle".

Walter Becker's album Circus Money includes a track titled "Bob Is Not Your Uncle Anymore."

Bob's Your Uncle is the name of an early 1990s British prime time game show starring Bob Monkhouse.

The phrase is used by characters in numerous works of arts, entertainment and media. The following are examples:

In Mary Poppins, Bert uses the phrase to describe how quickly unusual things happen when in Mary's presence.

In Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack Sparrow says it when warning Barbossa about the Dauntless and its crew waiting outside of the Isla de Muerta.

In Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Leo Fitz uses the phrase after he explains how they tracked a Rising Tide Hacker in Season 1, Episode 5, "Girl in the Flower Dress"

In Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Phil Coulson uses the phrase to describe the ease of infiltrating Cybertek's headquarters in Season 1, Episode 22, "The Beginning of the End."

In Weeds, Doug uses the phrase to tell Nancy how quickly her money problems will disappear if she sets up a money laundering business front in order to hide her proceeds from dealing drugs in Season 1 Episode 2 "Free Goat".

In Flaked, Chip uses the phrase to tell Kara how easy it is to lock the door to his store in Season 1 Episode 1 "Westminster".

In Mr. Robot, Romero uses the phrase to tell Elliot how easy it will be to hack the climate control systems of Steel Mountain with the Raspberry Pi in Season 1 Episode 5 "eps1.4_3xpl0its.wmv".

In Homestuck, Caliope uses the phrase to explain Godtier to Dirk after which he questions its meaning.

In Hitchcock's Frenzy the fruit merchant turned necktie murderer, Robert Rusk (Barry Foster), uses the phrase several times while actually referring to himself. "Anytime, don't forget Bob's your uncle" and later again "I told you, Bob's your uncle". In those contexts the phrase didn't seem to mean "And voila--there you have it," like in most of this article. Rather, Rusk simply seems to be claiming a paternal--or avuncular--concern for, and offering aid to, his friend in trouble.

In 101 Dalmatians, Horace says it when Jasper tells him to grab a torch and we'll run them down.

In Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Diamond Dog says, "and Robert's your father's brother, savvy?" after issuing detailed orders on the robbery his gang is about to commit.

In The Simpsons episode S11E15 "Missionary: Impossible" Homer says, "I'll help with your next charity scam;" Lovejoy: "The word is 'drive';" Homer: "Sure, sure, Bob's your uncle". Also in The Simpsons episode, "A Streetcar Named Marge" from season 4, Bart says "Bob's your uncle, mate!" while Marge, Lisa and Bart tear back and forth in southern and cockneyed English accents, respectively.

In Terry Pratchett's Guards! Guards!, the phrase is used as a running gag throughout the novel.

In the animated show "Archer" in the season 2 episode "Double Deuce", Woodhouse's deceased Captain during WWII says, "Bob's your uncle!" when proposing to his crew to start a tontine.

In The 100 season three episode "Red Sky at Morning" and season four episode "The Chosen", Monty uses the phrase; and in season five episode "Damocles Part 2” Raven says it.

In Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, while suggesting a plan for the team, Benji uses the phrase.

In the 1951 movie Scrooge, when Scrooge presents his housekeeper with a guinea as a Christmas present and gives her the day off, she exclaims "Bob's your uncle!" before she leaves.

In the British situation comedy Waiting for God, the head on the retirement community Harvey Baines explains one of his plans to the relatives of two of the residents and at the end says "... and Robert is your father's brother." When they show the don't understand he tells them, he adds on, "Bob's your uncle."