cry uncle

cry uncle

To admit defeat or plead for mercy, especially in an informal physical contest of some kind. The brothers often play fought, but it was invariably the younger of the two who had to cry uncle by the end.
See also: cry, uncle
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

cry uncle

Also, say uncle. Concede defeat, as in The Serbs want the Bosnians to cry uncle, or If you say uncle right now, I'll let you go first in the next game. This phrase originated about 1900 as an imperative among school-children who would say, "Cry uncle when you've had enough (of a beating)." By the mid-1900s it was being used figuratively, as in the examples.
See also: cry, uncle
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

cry (or say or yell) uncle

surrender or admit defeat. North American informal
1989 Guy Vanderhaeghe Homesick Beat him six ways to Sunday and he still would never cry uncle or allow that there was an outside chance of his ever being wrong.
See also: cry, uncle
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

cry/say ˈuncle

(American English) admit that you have been beaten or defeated: They’re determined to make the President cry uncle in the budget debate.Originally, this comes from children’s games in which the child has to say the word ‘uncle’ to admit defeat.
See also: cry, say, uncle
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

cry

/say uncle Informal
To indicate a willingness to give up a fight or surrender: tickled my brother until he cried uncle.

cry (one's)

eyes/heart out
To weep inconsolably for a long time.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • cry/say uncle
  • holler uncle
  • say uncle
  • say uncle, to
  • place (oneself) at (someone's) mercy
  • throw (oneself) on/at (someone's) mercy
  • throw (oneself) on/at the mercy of (someone)
  • throw (oneself) upon the mercy of (someone)
  • throw oneself on the mercy of
  • throw yourself on somebody's mercy
References in periodicals archive
This is a new government, one that is not going to jump up and say `yes sir!'--or cry uncle."
Aristide, Again
Bent on making Clinton cry uncle in the budget debate, Republicans who speak of fiscal integrity and national security forced a costly federal shutdown and nearly triggered a catastrophic default on the national debt.
What I saw at the decline of the revolution
chain to cry uncle. In the ferocious Little Rock newspaper war of the late 1980s, Hussman's Arkansas Democrat not only survived the onslaught of Gannett's Arkansas Gazette-- but prevailed.
Legal brouhaha with an all-star cast
Edward Kennedy and Tip O'Neill were the first to cry uncle, even before Reagan rallied the nation from the Oval Office.
Pre-emptive strike
Avilsen's other movies include "Cry Uncle!," "Neighbors" "The Karate Kid," "The Karate Kid Part II," "The Karate Kid Part III," "Lean on Me," and "8 Seconds."
'Rocky' Director John Avildsen Dies At 81
Is it to make it cry uncle and give up its nuclear program?
Obama should do more to engage in dialogue with Iran
The new sanctions bill includes the favorite tool of Congress-a plan to sanction companies that sell Iran gasoline, which many in Congress believe is a magic pill that will lead the Islamic Republic to cry uncle and abandon its nuclear program.
Congress views 124-page sanctions bill