Uncle Sam
7
4.1
- noun
- /ˈʌŋkl sæm/
:
Tío Sam
- In political cartoons, Uncle Sam is often portrayed urging citizens to help their country.
- courtesy of Uncle Sam
- pay Uncle Sam
- Uncle Sam wants
Just pay for my tax bill because Uncle Sam's going to take my thumbs.
- Just pay for my tax bill because Uncle Sam's going to take my thumbs.
- Sounds too good to be true because Uncle Sam hasn't gotten their cut yet.
- And you keep those gains right where they belong, which is in your pocket and not in Uncle Sam's pocket.
- China's done an incredible job and Uncle Sam and the eagle has been sleeping and resting on its laurels.
- Remember almost all throughout history when men were told they were needed, like Uncle Sam needs you, the government needs you to fight this war.
- So to prevent Uncle Sam's in choosing this, they just don't allow Americans.
Examples
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And you keep those gains right where they belong, which is in your pocket and not in Uncle Sam's pocket.
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They really don't have to worry about running out of money because Uncle Sam will just send them another check -- they have no accountability.
Blog text (19) -
Remember almost all throughout history when men were told they were needed, like Uncle Sam needs you, the government needs you to fight this war.
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And Uncle Sam wants you.
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So please, we are doing the best we can. You know the economy is bad right now, and even Uncle Sam is a little short!
Blog text (24) -
Why prepare for a storm when Uncle Sam will be there to bail you out?
Blog text (2) -
In fact, Uncle Sam just agreed to send them another $86 million.
Blog text (2) -
Anytime we can pay less money to Uncle Sam, sign me up, tell me what to do because I want to keep more money in my pocket.
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So, instead of getting the relief they need to save their houses, victimized homeowners will be forced to pay a significant portion of that savings to Uncle Sam.
Blog text (24) -
But I've been passing out Uncle Sam's money and he ain't happy.
Surface Forms
Morphology
uncle + Sam
Although the parts 'uncle' and the name 'Sam' are individually transparent, the expression refers to a culturally specific personification of the United States government rather than a literal family member named Sam. A B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not be able to infer the political/symbolic meaning without prior cultural knowledge, so the expression is unpredictable from its parts.
Etymology
Uncle Sam may come from a meat seller named Samuel Wilson during the War of 1812. He stamped barrels with 'U.S.' and soldiers joked the letters meant 'Uncle Sam', so the name came to mean the United States government.