Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

i'll be a monkey's uncle

/ˈɑːl bi ə ˈmʌŋkiz ˌʌŋkəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.57 in modern English

Syllables: I'll be a mon-key's un-cle
IPA: /ˈɑːl bi ə ˈmʌŋkiz ˌʌŋkəl/

31

Scrabble Score

18

Letters

3

Syllables

13

Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

Often preceded by well: expressing complete surprise or disbelief.

Example Sentences

"Well I’ll be a monkey's uncle! I would never have thought that tourists would go into space!"
""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?""
"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle, I actually solved that one."
"[...] 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."
"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."
"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!"

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.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɑːl bi ə ˈmʌŋkiz ˌʌŋkəl/
British English: /ˈaɪl biː ə ˈmʌŋkiz ˌʌŋkəl/

Questions

How do you pronounce i'll be a monkey's uncle?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɑːl bi ə ˈmʌŋkiz ˌʌŋkəl/.
What does i'll be a monkey's uncle mean?: Often preceded by well: expressing complete surprise or disbelief.
Where does i'll be a monkey's uncle come from?: 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.

How to pronounce i'll be a monkey's uncle

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