50 Fun Facts About Catchphrases

Which Big Bang Theory physicist, played by Jim Parsons, follows his pranks with a triumphant 'Bazinga!'?

Sheldon Cooper's 'Bazinga!' is now an officially registered Warner Bros. trademark. In 2012 a newly discovered bee species was even named Euglossa bazinga after the catchphrase.

Which rumpled LAPD lieutenant, played by Peter Falk, turned back at the door with 'Just one more thing'?

Columbo's 'Just one more thing' was born of laziness: creators Levinson and Link had a stage scene that ran short and could not face retyping it, so they sent him back in. It was never planned as a catchphrase.

Which prime minister told the 1980 Conservative conference 'The lady's not for turning'?

Margaret Thatcher never got the joke: speechwriter Ronald Millar was punning on Christopher Fry's 1948 play The Lady's Not for Burning, and she missed the reference herself.

Which Bedrock quarry worker yells 'Yabba dabba doo!', a cry that began as his club's cheer?

Fred Flintstone's voice actor Alan Reed said the phrase came from his mother's saying 'A little dab'll do ya', probably borrowed from a Brylcreem commercial. It later inspired a short-lived fruit drink, Yabba Dabba Dew.

Which BBC2 children's show, first aired on 31 March 1997, has four toddler-like characters who greet with 'Eh-oh!'?

Teletubbies say 'Eh-oh!', a single based on the theme song, reached number 1 in December 1997 and sold over a million copies. It remains the characters' only release, which makes them an official one-hit wonder.

'I pity the fool!' was first growled by which mohawked actor as the boxer Clubber Lang in Rocky III?

Mr. T's line was written by Sylvester Stallone: asked if he hates Rocky, Clubber Lang replies 'No, I don't hate Balboa, but I pity the fool.' It later titled his 2006 reality show.

'Exterminate!' is the war cry of which Doctor Who enemies, created by Terry Nation for a 1963 serial?

The Daleks' 'Exterminate!' is known even to people who have never seen the series, which is why they count as a national pop-culture icon. In a Fourteenth Doctor special, the Doctor himself accidentally suggests the word to them.

Which host dismissed a contestant with 'You're fired!' at the end of every episode of the American Apprentice?

Donald Trump's 'You're fired!' grew so famous that the show also spawned 'Trumponomics', a word first spelled Trump-Onomics in 2004 as a bland managerial concept on cable TV.

'Yes we can' was the crowd chant of which 2008 US presidential campaign, later set to music by will.i.am?

Barack Obama's official slogan was actually 'Change we can believe in'; 'Yes We Can' was the chant, which will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas turned into a song of the same name.

'Winter is Coming' are the ancestral words of which Game of Thrones house, whose sigil is a grey direwolf?

House Stark ruled as Kings in the North for thousands of years until the Targaryen conquest, after which its lords were styled Lords of Winterfell and Wardens of the North. Its direwolf runs on a white field.

Which nominee promised 'Read my lips: no new taxes' at the 1988 Republican convention in New Orleans?

George H. W. Bush broke the pledge in a 1990 budget compromise that raised several existing taxes, and rival Pat Buchanan replayed the 1988 clip constantly in his New Hampshire ads in 1992.

Which Little Britain bank clerk and travel agent, played by David Walliams, refused everyone with 'Computer says no'?

Carol Beer followed each deadpan refusal with a bizarre, useless substitute the customer would never accept, then coughed in their face to make them go away.

Which host greeted Generation Game audiences with 'Nice to see you, to see you...', inviting the reply 'Nice!'?

Bruce Forsyth hosted The Generation Game from 1971 to 1977 and again from 1990 to 1994, and kept the call-and-response greeting on many of the shows he fronted for the rest of his career.

Which Dad's Army butcher, played by Clive Dunn, ran around shouting 'Don't panic!' whenever danger loomed?

Corporal Jones also had 'They don't like it up 'em!' and 'Permission to speak, sir?', and his panics tended to strike while he was holding an armed landmine or a hand grenade.

Which BBC commentator said 'They think it's all over... it is now!' as Geoff Hurst scored in the 1966 World Cup final?

Kenneth Wolstenholme was actually describing pitch invaders: 'Some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over' came out as Hurst ran through, before the shot went in.

Which tennis player's 'You cannot be serious!', bellowed at umpires, later became the title of his autobiography?

John McEnroe's 2002 memoir You Cannot Be Serious was retitled simply Serious in the UK, and he reprised the line on 30 Rock as host of a fictional game show called Gold Case.

'Booyakasha!' and 'Respek' belong to which Sacha Baron Cohen character, a wannabe gangster from Staines?

Ali G speaks a comical patois built on his delusion of Jamaican ancestry, peppered with 'aiii', 'big up yaself', 'wagwaan' and 'keep it real', and claims membership of the West Staines Massiv.

Which Blackadder dogsbody, played by Tony Robinson, announces 'I have a cunning plan' before every doomed scheme?

Baldrick's 'I have a cunning plan' first appeared in the pilot but was not used regularly until the third series; in series one Blackadder himself said it twice and Baldrick only once.

'Here's one I made earlier' is the craft-segment line of which BBC children's show, broadcast since October 1958?

Blue Peter's phrase is credited to presenter Christopher Trace, though cookery writer Marguerite Patten is another candidate; it covers the moment a perfect, finished version of the model is produced.

Which host's 'Is that your final answer?' became a 1999 craze on the American Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Regis Philbin asked 'Is that your final answer?' whenever he had to confirm a contestant's choice, on what became the most-watched prime-time series of the 1999–2000 US season. It returned in 2002 in syndication under Meredith Vieira.

Which host snuffs out a losing contestant's torch at Tribal Council with the words 'The tribe has spoken'?

Jeff Probst has hosted the American Survivor since its 2000 debut and is also an executive producer; in 2025 he turned the line into a card game with Exploding Kittens.

On which reality competition does the loser of each episode's lip-sync showdown hear the verdict 'Sashay away'?

RuPaul's Drag Race tells the queen who stays 'Shantay, you stay', after weekly acting, fashion and improvisation challenges and a themed strut down the runway.

Which price-comparison website's meerkat Aleksandr Orlov made 'Simples!' a national catchphrase from January 2009?

Compare the Market's meerkat, created by agency VCCP, even published a 2010 book titled A Simples Life as the campaign spun off merchandise.

Who brushed off Jimmy Carter's attack over Medicare with 'There you go again' in their 1980 presidential debate?

Ronald Reagan's line came in the second presidential debate of 1980, held by the League of Women Voters on October 28, a week before Election Day; the audience laughed and viewers found him more appealing.

Whose 1996 Labour conference speech named three top priorities for government: 'education, education, and education'?

Tony Blair made the pledge a year before Labour's 1997 landslide of 418 seats, which ended 18 years in opposition and made him the youngest prime minister of the 20th century.

Which prime minister repeated 'strong and stable leadership' so robotically in 2017 that it became an internet meme?

Theresa May's slogan may not even have been hers: the Financial Times traced it to David Cameron's resignation speech after the Brexit vote, which promised 'strong, determined and committed leadership'.

'Danger, Will Robinson!' was the Robot's warning on which Irwin Allen series about the castaway Robinson family?

Lost in Space ran on CBS from September 1965 to March 1968, and the Robot's line outlived the show so thoroughly that it became a general-purpose joke warning.

'Resistance is futile' is the collective warning of which Star Trek cyborg race before it assimilates a target?

The Borg rarely speak as individuals; their audio message adds that the target's 'biological and technological distinctiveness' will be added to their own, and the name became shorthand for any juggernaut.

'The Truth Is Out There' is the opening-credits tagline of which 1993 Chris Carter series about two FBI agents?

The X-Files' tagline was named in 2009 among Britain's 60 best-known slogans and quotes, and Carter later listed 'Trust No One' and 'Deny Everything' alongside it as the show's provocations.

Which animated series killed off Kenny in nearly every early episode, prompting Stan's 'Oh my God, they killed Kenny!'?

South Park all but dropped the weekly death from its sixth season in 2002; until then Kyle would add his own outraged reply and rats would arrive to pick at the corpse.

Which ring announcer trademarked 'Let's get ready to rumble!', a phrase he had developed in boxing by 1984?

Michael Buffer rolls certain letters and adds inflections to fighters' names, a style that earned him a place in the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

Which camp comedian's 'Shut that door!' began when a side door at a Redcar theatre let in a cold sea breeze?

Larry Grayson was still performing as Billy Breen at the time; his manager Eve Taylor, who renamed him, is also credited as a source, since she told clients to 'shut that door' before discussing money.

'Bernie, the bolt!' was the instruction to the crossbow loader on which ITV game show hosted by Bob Monkhouse?

The Golden Shot originally cried 'Heinz, the bolt!', because Heinz had been brought over from Germany when the format was imported; three different men later played Bernie.

Which original cast member opened all but two first-season episodes with 'Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!'?

Chevy Chase usually preceded the line with a pratfall known as 'The Fall of the Week', and the 1975 premiere's opening was shared with Michael O'Donoghue and John Belushi.

Which strategist's reminder 'The economy, stupid' shaped the messaging of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign?

James Carville's other themes were 'change vs. more of the same' and 'don't forget health care', but the economy line resonated most as the country sat in recession.

Which comedian's wad-waving plasterer Loadsamoney became shorthand for 1980s greed and a 1988 hit single?

Harry Enfield's creation escaped him: Labour leader Neil Kinnock used 'loadsamoney' to attack the government in May 1988, and journalists began writing of the 'loadsamoney economy'.

Which original host of ITV's Catchphrase coined 'Say what you see' and 'It's good, but it's not right'?

Roy Walker hosted Catchphrase from 1986 to 1999 and was also one of the stars of the stand-up showcase The Comedians.

Which hexagon-board ITV quiz for students inspired the schoolboy joke request 'Can I have a P, please, Bob?'?

Blockbusters' pun works because 'having a pee' is slang for urinating; Bob Holness presented the first ten series and a 1994 Sky One revival.

'I've fallen, and I can't get up!' was cried in a 1989 LifeCall commercial that sold what kind of device?

A medical alert pendant summoned the dispatcher; actress Edith Fore, who played Mrs Fletcher, claimed to have invented the line herself, while rival Life Alert insisted it came from their 1985 ad.

'If you see Sid... tell him!' urged the public in 1986 to buy shares in which newly privatised company?

British Gas's shares floated on 8 December 1986 after the Gas Act 1986, and the offer was advertised intensely to turn ordinary people into shareholders; the name now belongs to Centrica subsidiaries.

Whose 'Back to Basics' campaign, launched at the 1993 Conservative conference, collapsed amid ministers' scandals?

John Major announced it in Blackpool on 8 October 1993, a year after Black Wednesday and months of Maastricht rebellions; a succession of Conservative politicians were then caught up in scandals.

Which hardcore wrestler's 'Have a nice day!' also titled his 1999 memoir, a New York Times number-one bestseller?

Mick Foley's Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks was released on 31 October 1999 and held the top spot for several weeks; he followed it with The Hardcore Diaries in 2007.

'Crisis? What Crisis?' was a 1979 Sun headline pinned on which prime minister, who never actually said it?

James Callaghan had flown back from a summit in the tropics during the Winter of Discontent and denied there was 'mounting chaos'; the paper paraphrased that denial into the headline.

'Can I do you now, sir?' was the catchphrase of charlady Mrs Mopp on which wartime BBC radio comedy?

It's That Man Again gave Mrs Mopp a habit of bursting in on Tommy Handley with peculiar, nominally edible presents, beginning with some carrot jelly she had sieved through her jumper.

'Nice one, Cyril' began as a 1972 television advert congratulating a baker, for which bread brand?

Wonderloaf's slogan, written by Peter Mayle, was adopted by Tottenham Hotspur fans to praise left back Cyril Knowles, and has since been reworked for Son Heung-min as 'Nice one, Sonny'.

Which BBC rugby league commentator popularised 'It's an up and under' and 'He's goin' for an early bath'?

Eddie Waring's 'early bath' meant a player had been sent off, while the up and under is a high kick chased by the whole team hoping to win possession; he had coached rugby league during the Second World War.

Which BBC commentator, dubbed 'the voice of tennis', greeted every outstanding Wimbledon shot with 'Oh, I say!'?

Dan Maskell was also called 'the voice of Wimbledon', and the exclamation was reserved for a particularly exciting piece of play or an outstanding shot rather than used as a tic.

'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee' was written for Muhammad Ali by which cornerman and poet?

Drew Bundini Brown's poem continued 'rumble, young man, rumble', and Ali used it to taunt Sonny Liston at the press conference before their February 1964 title fight.

Which suspender-wearing Family Matters neighbour, credited only as a guest star in season one, asked 'Did I do that?'?

Steve Urkel's Jaleel White became a cast regular in season two, and the character's other lines included 'Whoa, Mama!' and 'Look what you did!'.

Which ABC broadcaster cried 'Do you believe in miracles? Yes!' as the US beat the Soviets at the 1980 Winter Olympics?

Al Michaels' call was reused in the 2004 Disney film Miracle, whose director Gavin O'Connor kept the last ten seconds of the original audio rather than re-record it.