Dungeon Master Forum

Tough one to pin down definitively.

The most common one that crops up relates to British Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. He gave his nephew Arthur Balfour a number of senior political positions, despite him having little experience or interest (Balfour eventually became PM after Salisbury).
Hence... Things worked out because 'Bob's your Uncle'.

Seems plausible, but this was late nineteenth/turn of the twentieth century and the first recorded print of the phrase came around thirty years later.... so who knows for sure?

LOL, now that's funny! Thanks! I'll have to use this is my lectures as "nepotism in practice" .

Indeed... And the fact that nepotism derives from the word 'Nepos' (Nephew), it all ties in rather neatly.

ok.. but who was fanny? "Bob's your uncle, and fanny's your aunt.. "

Though.. the Joneses are the ones everyone is talking about...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_u ... he_Joneses

No idea about the "Fanny's your aunt" part. I suspect it's a later addition, since the early references to "BYU" don't mention it.
There isn't even a definite handle on "Bob's your uncle". The Balfour/Salisbury explanation seems reasonably plausible, but is unconfirmed.