Let go!

I thought about the phrase "cry Uncle" while I was reading the material for this week's lesson "Working with Confidence in God", which is based on Ezra 4:1-6:22. Perhaps discussing the origin of the term might make an interesting introduction to the lesson? See Please Release Me (scroll down the bottom of the page).

Below a quote taken from a post on Wordwizard Clubhouse.

"The expression variously appears CRY/HOLLER/SAY UNCLE! and is an Americanism which is a request for a concession of defeat – to beg someone to stop, to surrender. UNCLE is the verbal concession the defeated party is require to say before being let go. But no one knows its origin for sure, so all we actually have is educated guesses [however, the journal ‘American Speech’ under Cassell’s and the 1980 quote (see below) is probably the most authoritative]. It first appeared as a schoolyard expression in around 1900 and began to be used figuratively by mid-century.
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Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins
UNCLE!: ‘To say’ or ‘cry uncle’ has since the beginning of this century meant ‘to give up, to surrender, to say you’ve had enough.’ Apparently it is of schoolboy origin, at least it is most used by schoolboys when fighting, especially when one has another pinned helplessly on the ground. For about 30 years the cry ‘give’ has been more common in the New York City area, but one still hears the earlier expression. [[From personal experience, I can tell you that in N.Y.C. ‘give’ goes back at least 50 years]]. Why ‘uncle’ was chosen by kids is anybody’s guess; there probably is no good reason unless a defeated boy originally had to curse his uncle, just a s bullies often make their victims curse their mothers and sisters before letting them go. Which is no more than a guess. ‘Cavy!’ a similar expression not heard anymore, is said to date back to Tudor times, a corruption of the Latin ‘peccavi,’ meaning ‘I have sinned, I am wrong.’
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Random House Dictionary of America’s Popular Proverb’s and Sayings
SAY UNCLE Surrender! This expression originated in the United States in about 1900. Lexicographer Charles Earl Funk [[of the Funk and Wagnall dynasty]] thinks that the phrase may have some Latin connection. When a Roman boy was in trouble, he cried ‘patrue mi Patruissime’ (‘Uncle my best of uncles’). CRY/HOLLER/YELL is a variant, which is always used figuratively.
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Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang
CRY/HOLLER/SAY UNCLE verb [1910s and still in use]: To beg someone to stop an action, to surrender. [“‘uncle’ in this expression is surely a folk etymology, and the Irish original of the word is ‘anacol’ (‘anacal,’ ‘anacul’) ‘act of protecting; deliverance; mercy, quarter, safety,’ a verbal noun from the Old Irish verb ‘aingid,’ protects.” (from ‘American Speech’ LI, 1976)] [[see 1980 quote below for fuller statement]]"