I'll be a monkey's uncle

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English

WOTD – 12 February 2020

Etymology

Uncertain; the term monkey’s uncle appears in 19th-century works and may allude to early ideas about what is now called the theory of evolution. The term may then have gained more currency after the widely publicized 1925 Scopes Trial in Tennessee, United States, in which a high-school teacher was found guilty of having violated a law prohibiting the teaching of human evolution in a state-funded school.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈaɪl biː ə ˈmʌŋkiz ˌʌŋkəl/, /ɑːl-/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɑːl bi ə ˈmʌŋkiz ˌʌŋkəl/
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Hyphenation: I'll be a mon‧key's un‧cle

Phrase

I'll be a monkey's uncle

  1. (idiomatic) Often preceded by well: expressing complete surprise or disbelief.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:wow
    Well I’ll be a monkey's uncle! I would never have thought that tourists would go into space!
    • 1943, Field and Stream, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 34:
      "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle!" Lem said. "I've heerd of rifles with transits on 'em, but I ain't ever seen one. Mind if I look at her?"
    • 1970 February, Tech Engineering News, Cambridge, Mass.: Board of Directors of Tech Engineering News, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 35, column 3:
      Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle, I actually solved that one.
    • 1987, Sholem Aleichem [pseudonym; Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich], “ The Happiest Man in All Kodny”, in Hillel Halkin, transl., Tevye the Dairyman and The Railway Stories (Library of Yiddish Classics), New York, N.Y.: Schocken Books, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: Schocken Books, , →ISBN, page 149:
      [...] I made as if to step inside—wham, bang, I'll be a monkey's uncle if he didn't slam the door in my face! What was I supposed to do now? It wasn't exactly a cheerful situation.
    • 2002, Steve Morrill, Michael Saldivar, Dan LaReaux, Michael LaReaux, “The Three Authors’ Tale II”, in The Three Authors’ Tales, Lincoln, Neb.: Writers Club Press, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 40:
      But I know I am better than that. I completed two and a half years at the M.J.C., and I'll be a monkey's uncle if I did it all just to be neglected in some backwoods, drafty, lo-tech, no-glory, never-been-remembered-for-all-the-great-things-I-do, dead end court wizard position.
    • 2008, Carla Hester, chapter 7, in The Adventures of Penelope Plum (Penelope Plum Mysteries), : Xlibris, →ISBN, page 46:
      Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle if it isn't my old pal, Captain Pete. I haven't seen you in years. Good to see you!
    • 2014 October 20, Rosamond Carter, Weatherwood, Bloomington, Ind.: Balboa Press, Hay House, →ISBN, page 252:
      "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. That's incredible and …" he was silent working it out, "and that means that I am actually the last of the McNaughtens and now live here in Weatherwood.["]

Translations

References

  1. ^ Michael Quinion (created January 1, 2005, last updated November 2, 2013) “Monkey's uncle”, in World Wide Words, quoting “Lyceum Theatre”, in The Observer, London: William [Innell] Clement, 1847 January 31, →OCLC, page 5, column 3: “The piece [a play called The Wigwam] was successful, as much from the rich, racy character of the acting, as from the humour of its situations and the liveliness of its incidents. [...] Mr. Oxberry was a veritable monkey's uncle, in his rage and jealousy; [...]”; the newspaper article also notes that the character of Mingo, played by Oxberry, is “known as the ‘Monkey’s Uncle,’ from his habit of ‘sucking the monkey.’”

Further reading

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