There are idioms that are so engrained in our daily lives and language we can no longer see the edges where they blend, like so much culture, into what we believe is simply natural and true.
Phrases that are literal nonsense are connotatively understood without much effort by native speakers.
Like wtf does “can’t hold a candle to” mean? Yet we still understand it 140 years after the harnessing of electricity.
While Shakespeare gets a lot of credit for creating phrases we now take for granted (breakfast, “send him packing”, “as good luck would have it”, “neither here nor there”) I’m not sure comedies – be they television or film – get the recognition they deserve.
Comedies are not given Academy Awards, but a popular comedy is arguably more unifying to Americans as a people – more important to the popular culture – than any drama.
Besides binge drinking to suppress my social anxiety, I never felt like I fit in with the larger culture of my state college more than when I spoke in only Anchorman or Chappelle Show quotes to throngs of strangers at a party, groups of passerbys in a crowd.
There’s a lot more to be said about why these phrases became so popular than I have space for here.
Like “Milf”.
What kind of society makes “Mother I’d Like to F***” into an acronym that becomes a social phenomenon?
I’m not saying M’s are not worthy or deserved of F.
Just that we as a society (read: white guys mostly I think) really latched onto that idea.
All it took was a person saying it in a movie and now we all know what I’m talking about 20 years later.
The socio-psychological implications of “Milf’s” popularity could certainly, and definitely will be, analysis for another article.
For now, I rated these turns of phrase (a phrase which, of course, is a turn of phrase itself and whose use kicks off an Ourorbros of literary cannibalism that only ends with its users destruction?) by three criteria to determine their importance to the culture:
- Quality of Phrase
- Transcendence
- Do we think of the movie/tv show the phrase came from when we say it? Or have we forgotten its origin?
- Ubiquity
- How popular is the phrase? How much has it permeated the culture?
(Honestly, Ubiquity weighs heavier on the scales than the other two factors).
This is not a list of popular catchphrases, (“D’oh”) but a lit of ideas introduced by comedies that American culture then took and ran with.
Sayings larger than their source material.
11. “O Face”
Idiom: “O Face”
Source: Office Space (1999)
Context:
“I’m thinking I might take that new chick from Logistics. If things go well I might be showing her my O-face. “Oh… Oh… Oh!” You know what I’m talkin’ about. “Oh!””
- Quality of Phrase: Low/Med
- Transcendence: Med
- Ubiquity: Low/Med
Mike Judge is arguably underrated (more on that in a future article) but in terms of importance “O Face” is among his smaller cultural contributions.
It’s certainly important in the revolution of sex jokes over the last two decades (a revolution that may have come full circle with Judge’s “Mean Jerk Time” the Most Complicated And Maybe Best Dick Joke of All-Time from Season 1 of Silicon Valley), and it’s 100x higher quality than (gag) “vinegar strokes”, but it’s only the beginning of what brilliant comic minds have given us since 1990.
10. “Talk To The Hand”
Idiom: “Talk To The Hand”
Source: Martin (1992-1997)
Context: It’s a shame how hard it is to find clips of Martin on YouTube but there’s a clip from Terminator 3 of Arnold Schwarzenegger saying “talk to the hand” if you want to look that up.
- Quality: High
- Transcendence: Med
- Ubiquity: Low (now)
I don’t know much that can transcend Martin Lawrence. The man is a fireball. He’s complete energy. “Talk To The Hand” was everywhere when I was growing up and I wasn’t even allowed to watch Martin (a theme of my childhood).
In the 90s we were right on the brink of the internet and long into the television age.
We were at a point where the world was just starting to push in at us from all angles.
We were annoyed by other people’s opinions and judgements and needed a way to say it.
In 2020 opinions get to be everywhere because of the internet, and we no longer have “talk to the hand” (not that it would help all that much online) but there was a moment, some say the last moment before the dam broke, where we got to tell the world what we thought of it’s constant barrage on our souls.
And then the 90s were over.
9. “That Escalated Quickly”
Idiom: That Escalated Quickly
Source: Anchorman (2004)
Context: (all work done by imdb):
Ron Burgundy : Boy, that escalated quickly… I mean, that really got out of hand fast.
Champ Kind : It jumped up a notch.
Ron Burgundy : It did, didn’t it?
Brick Tamland : Yeah, I stabbed a man in the heart.
Ron Burgundy : I saw that. Brick killed a guy. Did you throw a trident?
Brick Tamland : Yeah, there were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident.
Ron Burgundy : Brick, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. You should find yourself a safehouse or a relative close by. Lay low for a while, because you’re probably wanted for murder.
- Quality: High
- Transcendence: Med
- Ubiquity: Low
I have used “that escalated quickly” more often than I would have liked in my 20s.
That said, i’m not sure how much this phrase is used outside of frat bros and those that live on the edges of frat bro culture, standing by the keg, watching the pretty people dance while they take another sip, and another, and another, sure that the next will give them the happiness they were promised as a young man in America.
Wow, that flashback sure…
(escalated quickly).
#8. “Homie Don’t Play That”
Idiom: “Homie Don’t Play That”
Source: In Living Color (1990-1994)
Context:
- Quality: High
- Transcendence: Low
- Ubiquity: Low (now)
I was not allowed to watch In Living Color (surprise) which made it all the more cooler. That didn’t stop me from hearing “homie don’t play that” every day at school.
Over time it lost some of its staying power, but this phrase transcends simple catchphrase-ness because it was a stand-in for not degrading yourself for other peoples pleasure or “cheap laugh”.
The early 90s were a chaotic time in America. Damon Wayans says this with anger. LA was on fire.
There’s a connection there, and a reason beyond the humor, as to why this phrase caught on in homes across America, passed down to every kid on the playground.
#7. “Earmuffs”
Idiom: “Earmuffs”
Source: Old School (2003)
Mitch: I’ve had a hell of a day and even worse week. And all I want to do is get some ****ing sleep.
Beanie: I…I don’t know why you gotta do it…in front of the kid, with the f’in. All you gotta do is say earmuffs to him, [to kid] “earmuffs”, and you can say “****, shit, bitch”…whatever you want.
Frank: ****. Balls.
Beanie: OK. I’m just proving a point. You don’t have to celebrate it, Frank.
- Quality: Med
- Transcendence: Med
- Ubiquity: Med
Sure, you have to have young kids to actually use this saying sincerely, but we all know people who have had young kids. I’m told my parents did and even their parents before them.
Its ubiquity may have dipped in recent years but the simplicity of this idea gives it its staying power.
#6. “Bye Felicia”
Idiom: “Bye Felicia”
Source: Friday (1995)
Context:
Like I said, the early 90s were a chaotic time.
We were annoyed by people and it was hot out!
We needed a way to say “GET AWAY FROM ME UNDESIRABLE” and yet all we had was “GET AWAY FROM ME UNDESIRABLE”.
But more importantly, the fact that this phrase seems to have gained even more traction in the last 5 years is a testament to the genius of Friday.
In 2020 there are more people than ever and you have to interact with more of them on a daily basis than ever before: talking heads on 24/7 cable news, cable sports talk shows, all other talk shows, every internet comment section, youtubers is a thing, bloggers, think pieces like this one…it’s too much.
“Bye Felicia” is so perfectly dismissive, so cutting, so damning to ones sense of self importance, it was bound to be re-born in the information age.
#5. “Bucket List”
Idiom: “Bucket List”
Source: Bucket List (2007)
Context: this entire movie
- Quality: Med
- Transcendence: High
- Ubiquity: High
When I first heard the phrase “bucket list” it sounded too light for the subject matter.
You have a list of things you need to do before you die and you call it a bucket list?
Oh…like…”kick the bucket”…
But like a song some record exec paid to have played on the radio until you know it by heart, “bucket list” creeps up on you until you find yourself staring at the majestic aurora borealis and mentally adding it to your…
#4. “Man Cave”
Idiom: “Man Cave”
Source: I Love You Man (2009) & Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus
Context: the garage that Jason Segel keeps all his cool stuff in
- Quality: High
- Transcendence: High
- Ubiquity: Med
While wikipedia credits Men are From Mars, and Woman are From Venus with the origination of this phrase, I’m not sure it gained the ubiquity it’s known for today.
Even the 4 sources wikipedia cites in popular culture don’t use the phrase, “Man Cave”:
- Al Bundy‘s garage from the TV sitcom Married… with Children: Al Bundy‘s garage was his only sanctuary. It was also used to hold the recurring “No Ma’am” meetings.
- Tim Taylor‘s garage in the TV sitcom Home Improvement: Tim Taylor used to “bring to life all manner of high-powered monster machines.”[2]
- Bada Bing room in the TV show The Sopranos: Tony Soprano‘s gang would meet in a windowless “dingy office” at the Bada Bing strip club.[2] It was a “guys-only place within a guys-only place.”[2]
- Doug’s garage in the TV show The King of Queens, Doug Heffernan‘s garage is equipped with a big screen TV, beer fridge, and a couch where Doug and his friends watch football, baseball, and boxing and drink beer in peace away from Doug’s wife, Carrie, and Doug’s father-in-law, Arthur Spooner.
Man Cave as an idea may have pre-dated this movie, but I Love You Man definitely kicked its influence up a notch.
#3. “Milf”
Idiom: “Milf”
Source: American Pie (1999)
- Quality: Low
- Transcendence: High
- Ubiquity: High
I’ve said all I have to say about Milf at the beginning of this article lol.
#2. “Shart”
Idiom: “Shart”
Source: Along Came Polly (2004)
This was definitely a thing before we were blessed with Along Came Polly and the beautiful Phillip Seymour Hoffman (“Let it rain!”).
By that I mean I shit my pants before this movie came out.
Sharting was our national, dirty little secret until someone said it out loud and freed us all.
I don’t think many remember it came from Along Came Polly (one that, if you were on the fence about, is absolutely worth watching).
#1. “Soup (Anything) Nazi”/ “Double Dip” and many more
Idiom: multiple
Source: Seinfeld (1989-1998)
Context:
- Quality: High
- Transcendence: High
- Ubiquity: High
Seinfeld is the Shakespeare of its time in terms of identifying phenomena and naming them for the rest of us.
Most people say “(Something) Nazi” with the casualness of a phrase that doesn’t contain the word nazi. We say “double dip” without thinking twice. Some women know about shrinkage. That’s progress.
The #1 spot is a placeholder for everything Seinfeld did for us.
On the internet, you’ll probably hear Grammar Nazi more than any other version of the phrase, and most people react with some version of: “well that’s just obvious, because Nazi’s are the worst”.
It is true genius that puts such a concise name on something no one else has ever named that everyone thinks they could have thought of it.
That’s the essence of what comedy can do for us, give us a truth while we’re laughing too hard to resist.