イギリスのスラング「Bob’s your uncle」ってどういう意味？使い方は？【日常英会話】
みなさん、こんにちは。今日はちょっとおかしなイギリススラングをご紹介します。
Bob’s your uncle
意味は「はい、できあがり」や「あっという間に～」など、簡単でシンプルな作業が終了したことを表し、会話の締めくくりに使われます。
「Bob’s your uncle」の語源
こういった表現の多くに共通することですが、私もなぜこの表現が使われるのか考えたことがなかったので調べてみました。どうやらこの表現の由来は、あからさまな縁故採用から来ているようです。縁故採用とは、権力をつかって友人や親族を助けることを意味しますが、イギリスの首相だったソールズベリー侯爵、通称ボブおじさん(Uncle Bob)が、彼の甥をアイルランド長官に任命したことに由来しているのだとか！なんとも不公平ですね。
「Bob’s your uncle」を使った例文
この表現は、物事が済んでいる、もしくはプロセスがいかに簡単でシンプルかを示す際に使われます。
「For scrambled eggs, beat a couple of eggs, and milk, salt and pepper, melt butter in a pan, add mix, stir while cooking slowly and Bob’s your uncle.」
（スクランブルエッグを作るには、卵を2つほど溶き、牛乳、塩、コショウ、フライパンにバターを溶かして混ぜながらゆっくりと火を通し、あっという間にできあがり。）
「All you do is phone the company, give them your I.D number, tell them your address, and Bob’s your uncle, your package will be there in 3 days.」
（会社に電話して、ID番号と住所を伝えれば、はい終わり、3日後には荷物が届きます。）
「Take the next left, walk down that street for about 5 mins and Bob’s your uncle. You’ll see the post office up ahead. 」
（次の角を左に曲がってその通りを5分ほど歩けば、はい到着。目の前に郵便局が見えますよ。）
「I love the new coffee machine in the office. Choose the coffee you want, put in the cartridge, press the button, and Bob’s your uncle you’ll have a delicious piping hot cup of coffee in about 20 seconds. 」
（会社に新しいコーヒーマシンが入りました。飲みたいコーヒーを選んでカートリッジを入れ、ボタンを押せば、たったの20秒で美味しいアツアツのコーヒーの出来上がりです。）
「Bob’s your uncle」の類似表現
And there you have it
「Cooking a good steak is a piece of cake. Cook it high on both sides for a couple of minutes, stick it under the grill for a bit more, take it out and let it rest for a minute and there you have it. The perfect steak!」
（美味しいステーキを作るのは簡単です。両面を数分間強火で焼いて、グリルでさらに少し火を通し、取り出して1分ほど寝かせれば、ご覧の通り、完璧なステーキのできあがり！）
Easy peasy
「I don’t know why people think packing for a trip is so hard. Put some clothes in a suitcase, and don’t forget your toothbrush or passport. Easy Peasy! 」
（旅行の荷造りが難しいと思う人がいるけど、服をスーツケースに入れて、歯ブラシとパスポートを忘れなければいいだけ。ほらあっという間！）
A walk in the park
「You said you had trouble getting a new passport but I applied online and had no trouble. Fill in your details, take a picture of your face and send your old passport by post. It was a walk in the park. 」
（新しいパスポートの取得で苦労したって言ってたけど、私はオンラインで申し込んで全く問題なかった。必要事項を記入して顔写真を撮り、古いパスポートを郵送すれば完了。ほら簡単。）
まとめ
いかがでしたか？「Bob’s your uncle」という表現は少し奇妙で使いにくいと感じるかもしれませんが、本当に「a piece of cake」！つまり、とっても簡単ですよ！ぜひ使ってみてください。
Jaimie
[英語原文]
Hello everybody, today I’m going to show you a bit of a strange expression that we use in the U.K. and that’s “Bob’s your uncle.”
Meaning
Bob’s your uncle means “ And that’s it.” or “ And there you go” so we use it at the end of a sentence to show that the process was simple and is now complete.
Origin
As with most of these kinds of expressions, I had never thought about why we use it so I had to look it up. It seems the origin comes from a blatant case of nepotism, which means to use a position of power to help friends or relatives, in which the Prime Minister of the UK, Lord Salisbury, otherwise known as “Uncle Bob” appointed his nephew to the position of Irish Secretary! Naughty naughty!
Examples
As I mentioned, we use this phrase to say that something has been taken care of for you or a process is simple and complete.
For scrambled eggs, beat a couple of eggs, add milk,salt and pepper, melt butter in a pan, add mix, stir while cooking slowly and Bob’s your uncle!
All you do is phone the company, give them your I.D number, tell them your address, and Bob’s your uncle, your package will be there in 3 days.
Take the next left, walk down that street for about 5 mins and Bob’s your uncle. You’ll see the post office up ahead.
I love the new coffee machine in the office. Choose the coffee you want, put in the cartridge, press the button, and Bob’s your uncle you’ll have a delicious piping hot cup of coffee in about 20 seconds.
Similar Expressions
And there you have it
Cooking a good steak is a piece of cake. Cook it high on both sides for a couple of minutes, stick it under the grill for a bit more, take it out and let it rest for a minute and there you have it. The perfect steak!
Easy Peasy
I don’t know why people think packing for a trip is so hard. Put some clothes in a suitcase, and don’t forget your toothbrush or passport. Easy Peasy!
A walk in the park
You said you had trouble getting a new passport but I applied online and had no trouble. Fill in your details, take a picture of your face and send your old passport by post. It was a walk in the park.
So there you have it! Bob’s your uncle may seem a bit unfamiliar and awkward to use but it’s really a piece of cake! Give it a try.
Jaimie