中英之鑒 中式英語之鑒26

　　[誤] He has always got a hard mouth and never admit a fault.

　　[正] He never says uncle.

　　注：say (cry) uncle: to give up or in; to surrender; to admit defeat. Mainly used by boys, as when fighting。

　　主要是男孩們打架時的用語，當一方想制服另一方時，就用命令的口氣說：“Say uncle!”這時，有的孩子為了表示不服輸，就是不說。后來，say uncle 就成了“服輸”的代名詞，而 not say uncle 就相當于“嘴硬”了。