Uncle Tom Cobley

Uncle Tom Cobley

The phrase Uncle Tom Cobley and all is used in British English as a humorous or whimsical way of saying et al., often to express exasperation at the large number of people in a list. The phrase comes from a Devon folk song "Widecombe Fair", collected by Sabine Baring-Gould. Its chorus ends with a long list of people: "Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney, Peter Davy, Dan'l Whiddon, Harry Hawke, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all." The surname is spelt as "Cobleigh" in some references.

Read more about Uncle Tom Cobley:  The Historical Tom Cobley, Scientific Papers, Other Occurrences, The Song Lyrics, in Full

Famous quotes containing the words uncle and/or tom:

    My uncle Toby had scarce a heart to retalliate upon a fly.
    Go,—says he, one day at dinner, to an over-grown one which had buzz’d about his nose ... go poor Devil, get thee gone, why should I hurt thee?—This world surely is wide enough to hold both thee and me.
    Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)

    New York state sentence for a Peeping Tom is six months in the workhouse. And they got no windows in the workhouse. You know, in the old days they used to put your eyes out with a red-hot poker.
    John Michael Hayes (b. 1919)