Monkey's uncle

Last updated

The term monkey's uncle, most notably seen in the idiom "(Well,) I'll be a monkey's uncle", is used to express complete surprise, amazement or disbelief. [1] It can also be used to acknowledge the impossibility of a situation, in the same way that "pigs might fly" is used. An example is if one says: "I may agree that if two plus two equals five, then I am a monkey's uncle".

The phrase was used as early as 1917, in an El Paso, Texas newspaper advertisement for a play called The Brass Monkey. [2] It appeared in newspapers several times in the early 1920s, including several other examples in advertisements. [3] [4] It was originally a sarcastic remark made by creationists. [5] The notion "that [people] were descended from apes was considered blasphemous...by Darwin's contemporaries", and it was for this reason that the sarcastic phrase came into use. [6]

Michael Quinion notes that the phrase "Monkey's uncle" occurs in a parody of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 poem The Song of Hiawatha which was reprinted in James Parton's 1881 The Humorous Poetry of the English Language, and observes: "This may be just an accident of invention, but the date fits". [7] I'm a Monkey's Uncle is the title of a 1948 Three Stooges short film. The Monkey's Uncle is a 1965 Walt Disney movie, with the title song written by the Sherman Brothers and performed by Annette Funicello and the Beach Boys. On their 2003 album Reel to Real, The Selecter included a song titled "Monkey's Uncle", criticizing religious dogma that contradicts scientific evidence.

In the MMORPG RuneScape, asking the merchant Zeke about purchasing a dragon scimitar will result in the line of dialogue "Seriously, you'll be a monkey's uncle before you'll ever hold a dragon scimitar." In a humorous twist, purchasing and wielding a dragon scimitar requires completing the quest "Monkey Madness", in which the player must take on the role of an actual monkey's uncle. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backronym</span> Acronym invented to fit an existing word

A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The word is a portmanteau of back and acronym.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhetorical device</span> Literary technique used to persuade

In rhetoric, a rhetorical device, persuasive device, or stylistic device is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading them towards considering a topic from a perspective, using language designed to encourage or provoke an emotional display of a given perspective or action. They seek to make a position or argument more compelling than it would otherwise be.

RuneScape is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Jagex, released in January 2001. RuneScape was originally a browser game built with the Java programming language; it was largely replaced by a standalone C++ client in 2016. The game has had over 300 million accounts created and was recognised by the Guinness World Records as the largest and most-updated free MMORPG.

Unhinged is a humor and parody themed expansion set to the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. Unhinged was released on November 19, 2004. Its tone is less serious than traditional Magic expansions. It is a follow-on to Unglued, an earlier humor themed expansion set. It was followed in turn by Unstable

<i>Monkey Business</i> (1931 film) 1931 film starring the four Marx Brothers

Monkey Business is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film. It is the third of the Marx Brothers' released movies, and the first with an original screenplay rather than an adaptation of one of their Broadway shows. The film also features Thelma Todd, Harry Woods and Ruth Hall. It is directed by Norman Z. McLeod with screenplay by S. J. Perelman and Will B. Johnstone. Much of the story takes place on an ocean liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O RLY?</span> Internet meme

O RLY? is an Internet phenomenon, typically presented as an image macro featuring a snowy owl. The phrase "O RLY?", an abbreviated form of "Oh, really?", is popularly used in Internet forums in a sarcastic manner, often in response to an obvious, predictable, or blatantly false statement. Similar owl image macros followed the original to present different views, including images with the phrases "YA RLY", "NO WAI!!", and NO RLY.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brass monkey (colloquialism)</span> Colloquial expression for cold weather

"Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" is a colloquial expression used by some English speakers to describe extremely cold weather.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ring of Fire (song)</span> Song popularized by Johnny Cash

"Ring of Fire" is a song made popular by Johnny Cash when it appeared on his 1963 album Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash. Written by Cash's eventual second wife, June Carter Cash, and Merle Kilgore, it was originally recorded as "(Love's) Ring of Fire" by June's sister, Anita Carter, on her 1963 album Folk Songs Old and New.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st Century Schizoid Man</span> 1969 song by King Crimson

"21st Century Schizoid Man" is a song by the progressive rock band King Crimson, released in 1969 as the opening track on their debut album In the Court of the Crimson King. Often regarded as the group's signature song, it has been described by Rolling Stone as "a seven-and-a-half-minute statement of purpose: rock power, jazz spontaneity, and classical precision harnessed in the service of a common aim."

<i>Snockgrass</i> 1980 studio album by Michael Hurley

Snockgrass is a 1980 folk album by Michael Hurley. The album was released by Rounder Records, with a reissue in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob's your uncle</span> British phrase

"Bob's your uncle" is a phrase commonly used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries that means "and there it is", or "and there you have it", or "it's done". 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 expression "et voilà!".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grady Martin</span> American musician (1929–2001)

Thomas Grady Martin was an American session guitarist in country music and rockabilly.

"I'm Free" is a song by the Rolling Stones written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, first released as the final track on the UK version of their album Out of Our Heads on 24 September 1965. It was also released at the same time as a single in the US and later included on the American December's Children album.

<i>Bone Palace Ballet</i> 2007 studio album by Chiodos

Bone Palace Ballet is the second album by American post-hardcore band Chiodos, released on September 4, 2007. The album takes its name from a literary work of Charles Bukowski. It was their last album with vocalist Craig Owens and drummer Derrick Frost, until they both rejoined the band in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku</span> 1996 single by Field of View

"Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku" is a song written by Izumi Sakai and Tetsurō Oda, originally recorded and released as the fourth single by Japanese rock band Field of View on March 11, 1996. The song serves as the opening theme to the anime series Dragon Ball GT, and the ending theme to the theatrical film Dragon Ball: The Path to Power. The single reached number four on the Oricon Singles Chart, and sold over 400,000 copies. Sakai released a cover of "Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku" with her group Zard on their 1996 album Today Is Another Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yes, I'm Your Angel</span> Yoko Ono song

"Yes, I'm Your Angel", also known as "I'm Your Angel", is a song written by Yoko Ono that was first released on Ono's and John Lennon's 1980 album Double Fantasy. It was later released as the b-side of Lennon's single "Watching the Wheels." The initial release of Double Fantasy used the title "I'm Your Angel" but later releases as well as the single used the title "Yes, I'm Your Angel."

<i>Old School RuneScape</i> 2013 video game

Old School RuneScape is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Jagex. The game was released on 22 February 2013. When Old School RuneScape launched, it began as an August 2007 version of the game RuneScape, which was highly popular prior to the launch of RuneScape 3. The game has since received engine improvements, new content, and quality of life updates largely decided by the community via in-game polls. Despite originally having a smaller development team and a slower update schedule relative to RuneScape, Old School RuneScape is now the more popular version of the game, with an all time record of 157,000 concurrent players. A mobile version for Android and iOS was released in October 2018.

<i>Songs Ill Always Sing</i> 1977 compilation album by Merle Haggard and the Strangers

Songs I'll Always Sing is a two-record compilation album by American country music singer and songwriter Merle Haggard, released in 1977. It reached No. 15 on the US Country Charts. The album collects many of Haggard's best known recordings during his successful run at Capitol Records, including nine of his twenty-four No. 1 hits, dating back to 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'll Love You Forever Today</span> 1968 single by Cliff Richard

"I'll Love You Forever Today" is a song by British singer Cliff Richard released as a single in June 1968. It peaked at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.

References

  1. ↑ "I'll be a monkey's uncle!". TheFreeDictionary.com . Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  2. ↑ "The New Hoyt Comedy ...... A Brass Monkey". El Paso Herald. 31 July 1917. p. 2. Retrieved 3 Apr 2021. 'Well. I'm a monkey's uncle. Who ever heard of a brass monkey? There haint no sich animal!' Oh, yes there is!
  3. ↑ "Piano sale [Advertisement]". Lexington Herald-Leader. Lexington, KY. 24 Sep 1922. p. 16. Retrieved 3 Apr 2021. I'm a monkey's uncle if I ever heard of such bargains before.
  4. ↑ "[Hub Realty Company advertisement]". Los Angeles Evening Express. 7 Feb 1924. p. 27. Retrieved 3 Apr 2021. I'm a monkey's uncle if this does not save you $1000
  5. ↑ "A Monkey's Uncle". h2g2 . Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  6. ↑ Arden, John Boghosian (1998). Science, Theology, and Consciousness: The Search for Unity . Praeger. ISBN   9780275960322.
  7. ↑ Quinion, Michael (1 January 2005). "Monkey's Uncle". World Wide Words. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  8. ↑ "Dragon scimitar". RuneScape Wiki. Retrieved 2021-08-27.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.