English · Idiom Historical

My Uncle Toby

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Captain Shandy, the uncle of Tristram Shandy in Sterne's novel of that name, He is the embodiment of the wisdom of love, as his brother is that of the love of wisdom.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Family Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “My Uncle Toby” mean?

Captain Shandy, the uncle of Tristram Shandy in Sterne's novel of that name, He is the embodiment of the wisdom of love, as his brother is that of the love of wisdom.

Is “My Uncle Toby” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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