Catch Phrase/Oral Tradition

Advertising

 * Parodied in an advertisement for Dr. Pepper 10. A faux action movie is unfolding where a protagonist and driver are driving a jeep through a jungle trying to outrun villains. The protagonist triggers a trap that stops the villains, then the jeep stops and the protagonist looks into the camera and simply says, "Catch phrase!"
 * "HI BILLY MAYS HERE!"
 * "For X meerkats, Compare the Meerkat.com. For cheap car insurance, compare the MARKET.com. Simples. Tssk."

Fanfiction

 * Luminosity's Chelsea rarely says...anything, actually, but thinks "Everyone must love me" constantly.
 * Make a Wish provides us with Mr. Black's "I'm just a guy on vacation."
 * Shadow Crystal Mage's Takamachi Nanoha of 2814 has "Mine!" Everyone says it at some point.
 * In Light and Dark The Adventures of Dark Yagami, characters often declare that they will do something, "OR MY NAME ISN'T (full name)". Amusingly subverted when Sayu says ?I WILL HAVE TO FIGHT (Dark) OR MY NAME ISNT SAYU YAGAMI WHICH ITS NOT ANYMORE BECAUSE NOW ITS sA~y?U ANIME AFTER I MARRED MISA IN MASACHEWSETS.?
 * BABIES.
 * "Heeeeeee~eey... what'cha doin'?"
 * In Divine Blood Naiki is the Demoness of Torrent, she often reminds people of this by stating the definition of Torrent: "A violent, tumultuous, overwhelming flow." What follows is usually either incredibly stupid or a Crowning Moment of Awesome.

Music

 * "Scream for me ! SCREAM FOR ME !"
 * "Up the Irons!"
 * "We are Motorhead, and we will kick your ass/play rock 'n roll."
 * "Hi/Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."
 * "Say our name with us now, one time together, my brothers, my sisters, my blood... WE ARE! Disturbed!"
 * "Spread the sickness, infect the world..."
 * "Thank you all, you've been great; we've been Megadeth".
 * YOU WANTED THE BEST, YOU GOT THE BEST! THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD...Kiss!
 * OFWGKTA has several. "Fuck Steve Harvey", "GOLF WANG", "swag me out" and of course "free Earl".
 * In Savatage's Streets a Rock Opera: "Jesus Saves!" is the catchphrase of both DT Jesus' music fans and his clients from his drug dealing days.
 * "We are REM and this is what we do."
 * "...when you're not looking."

Professional Wrestling

 * Wrestling lives for these, and virtually every wrestler has Catch Phrase or two, from Hulk Hogan's "What'cha gonna do?" to Stone Cold Steve Austin's "Gimme a hell yeah!" to The Undertaker's "Rest In Peace!" to John Cena's "You can't see me!" (today used more often in his Entrance Music).
 * One of the earliest examples, from a Heel, is "Superstar" Billy Graham's: "I'm the man of the hour, the man with the power, too sweet to be sour!"
 * Ric Flair has built up quite a selection throughout his career, from a simple "Wooo!", to "Diamonds are forever... and so is Ric Flair" to "limousine-ridin', jet-flyin', kiss-stealin', wheelin'-dealin' son of a gun" - and of course "To be The Man, you gotta beat The Man!"
 * One of the most repeated was Randy "Macho Man" Savage's surprisingly versatile "OOOOOOOHHHH YEAH!"
 * The Rock, at one point, had 16-17 Catch Phrases; he would often cut a 5-minute interview consisting entirely of Catch Phrases. In fact, the WWE series SmackDown was derived from one of his trademark phrases, and as such he often referred to the program as "The Rock's Show."
 * One of his phrases involved him asking the victim a question, and as they answer he interrupts with, "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT/IF..."
 * For example (Billy Gun's Prayer) "...then your house is gonna shake, the sky will open and God Himself will say, "BOB!" "But my name's Billy-" "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!"
 * Raven is well known for ending every interview with "Quote the Raven, nevermore"
 * And that's not even his only catchphrase. Other favorites include "so it is written, so it shall come to pass" and "the world is full of kings and queens, who'll blind your eyes and steal your dreams."
 * More recently, Ron Simmons returned from Character Limbo to become a fan favorite, complete with merchandise, simply by uttering his old Catch Phrase, 'Damn!', at comically appropriate moments.
 * Hi, I'm Dolph Ziggler.
 * It's time to play the game!
 * I... AM.. THE GAME! AND I AM... THAT... DAMN... GOOD!!
 * EXCUSE ME!!
 * Priceless
 * My name is Alberto Del Rio but you already know that
 * NEVA...EVA...AGAIN!(again pronounced "Uh-GAYNE")
 * Will you please... SHUT. THE HELL. UP!!!
 * WASSUP!?
 * That's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but THE TRUTH.
 * Because I'm the Miz, and I'M.........AWESOME!
 * REALLLLY?
 * Woo woo woo, you know it!
 * Clap it up, bro!
 * OHHHHHHHHH YEEEEEEEEESSSSS!!!
 * How can we forget about the universal "After our fight at [insert PPV here] you no longer be [insert name of the championship here]champion anymore]"
 * And even the announcers get in on it, which can be traced back to Gordon Solie's frequent comment that a wrestler was "wearing the crimson mask".
 * Gorilla Monsoon frequently dealt with some of the more outlandish claims of Jesse Ventura and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan with "Will you stop?"
 * Jim Ross's oft-parodied "[someone's] stompin' a mudhole", "[someone's getting beat] like a government mule", matches (or wrestlers) are "bowling-shoe ugly", and a really good, really vicious beating is a "slobberknocker".
 * In his UWF days, Ross also shouted, "High elevation!" and "Pinning predicament" with amusing regularity.
 * Bah Gawd!
 * Joey Styles, meanwhile, has "OH MY GOD!" (or the lucha-related version, "AY DIOS MIO!"), a wrestler "getting introduced" to various hard-hitting objects, and referring to flying wrestlers as "Air _____".
 * CAT FIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!
 * Jerry Lawler is happy to shout "Puppies!" at the slightest provocation.
 * His TNA counterpart, Taz, has "Let the pidgeons loose!" whenever a Knockout (especially The Beautiful Elite) enters the ring.
 * Speaking of Taz(z), back in his WWE days, it was "Well, here comes the pain!" Whenever Brock Lesnar's entrance theme played.#
 * And because of that, whenever D'Angelo Dinero enters the arena, Tazz gets to say "Welp, here comes the Pope!"
 * WCW's Tony Schiavone frequently felt that the particular PPV/Nitro/Thunder/Worldwide/whatever was "the greatest night in the history of our sport". This has occurred more than once a week, leading some to believe that Schiavone has severe memory problems.
 * This is not Fair to Flair.
 * Given the volatility and cult following of his series of shoot interviews, The Iron Sheik has turned the list, "Suplex 'em, put 'em in the camel clutch, break his back, fuck his ass, and make him humble!" into a catch phrase.
 * "Ravishing" Rick Rude: "What I'd like now, is for all you fat, out-of-shape, [alliteration based on city]] to be quiet, while I remove my robe, and show these ladies what a REAL man looks like!"
 * When you're nWo, you're nWo 4 Life!
 * And you're "Just... 2... Sweeeeeet!"
 * It's true, it's true!
 * It's real, it's damn real!
 * Big Poppa Pump is your hook-up. HOLLA IF YOU HEAR ME!
 * Hacksaw Jim Duggan's boisterous HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
 * DDP wants you to know that in your next match, YOU WILL FEEL! THE! BANG!
 * "Mr. Monday Night" Rob Van Dam will take time in the middle of the match to remind you he's "the whole fuckin'/damn show!"
 * Did Eddie Guerrero tell you he didn't have a catchphrase? HE LIED!
 * Bill Goldberg would often demand of the camera a simple "WHO'S NEXT?", fitting for a guy who almost never cut a promo.
 * There's never a bad time for Booker T to refer to someone as a "sucka", most often when, at the end of a promo, he asks "CAN YOU DIG IT, SUCKAAAAAAAA?!"
 * The New Age Outlaws had a catch-SPEECH, spoken at the beginning of most of their matches:
 * "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, D Generation X is proud to present the current/future and (previous reigns)-time TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS OF THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLD...THE ROAD DOGG JESSIE JAMES, THE BAD ASS BILLY GUNN, THE NEW! AGE! OUTLAWS!" "And if you ain't down with that, we got TWO WORDS FOR YA!"
 * "Ladies and gentlemen, Shawn Michaels has left the building". (a parody of the well known "Elvis has left the building")
 * The Mountie "The Mountie always gets his man!"

Newspaper Comics

 * Dick Tracy: "Ye gods!"
 * In Peanuts, Charlie Brown had "Good Grief!"

Radio
""Oh, ROCH-ester..."
 * Most classic radio comedies produced by The BBC had numerous catchphrases.
 * The Goon Show had lots and lots. The best remembered include:
 * Bluebottle: "Enter Bluebottle..."; "Harm can come to a growing lad like that"; "I don't like this game"; and "You rotten swine, you!" and "You have deaded me!" In that order.
 * Neddy Seagoon: "No thanks, I'm trying to give them up" when offered something other than a cigarette.
 * "Picture of Queen Victoria?"
 * Subverted in one show, when the object on offer is a tree, "No thanks, I'm trying to cut them down" followed by hysterical laughter...
 * Another variation was for Neddie to be offered a gorilla and to reply, "No thanks, I've just put one out".
 * Eccles: "Shut up, Eccles!"
 * Grytpype-Thynne: "You silly, twisted boy, you!"
 * Little Jim: "He's fallen in the water!" This catchphrase was the character's only purpose.
 * Henry Crun: "You can't get the wood, you know."
 * Also "Yuckabakakakoo", "Needle-nardle-noo", and of course "Ying Tong Iddle I Po", which was the basis for their hit record "The Ying Tong Song".
 * ITMA has been described as "consisting entirely of Catch Phrases. And no actual jokes." The one remembered today is Mrs Mopp, the charlady's "Can I do you now, sir?"
 * Others included the perpetually inebriated Colonel Chinstrap's "I don't mind if I do" in reply to any remark which sounded the least bit like one homophone or another for the offer of a drink ("Is this the first-class refreshment room?" "A first glass of refreshing rum? I don't mind if I do!"), the Middle Eastern postcard seller Ali Oop's departing "I go...I come back", the overweight character Atlas' "What, me? In my state of 'ealth?!" and the perpetually glum Mona Lott's ironic "It's being so cheerful as keeps me going", among many, many others.
 * This was parodied in a 1970s The Burkiss Way sketch, followed by a phone call from a listener complaining about the parody because ITMA was the one thing that gave his troops the morale to carry on fighting during the war. No prizes for guessing that the caller is.
 * Julian and Sandy, the Camp Gay double act on Round the Horne had "Ooh, isn't he bold?" (on the rare occasions Kenneth Horne made a Double Entendre before they did) and various phrases in Polari.
 * DJs Mark and Lard created loads of Catch Phrases during their run on Radio 1. ("Get to Bed!" "Fancy a Brew?" "Whhhhhoooo?" "Stop!...Carry on." etc.) Many were Running Gags from sketches they did, which often became unattached when the sketches ended and were borrowed by other DJs or requested by listeners.
 * Comedy team Bob & Ray had a couple: inept reporter Wally Ballou's sign-on, "-ly Ballou here!" and the duo's closing signature. "This is Ray Goulding reminding you to write if you get work/And Bob Elliott reminding you to hang by your thumbs." Also possibly their habit of referring to their fictional staff as 'our Bob & Ray Organization', which by the end of their forty-year career in media parody ran to an empire AOL Time Warner might envy.
 * The intro to each episode of The Shadow would begin with the The Shadow dramatically intoning "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?... The Shadow Knows." The series also included the catchphrase "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit." Both were used in the 1994 movie as well.
 * Most of Superman's best known catch prases actually originated in the highly popular radio show that lasted the entire decade of the 1940s, including the openings: "Faster than a speeding bullet!" and "Look! Up in the sky!", etc. Two of the best known are actually audio cues that helped listeners fill in the blanks of their own imaginations. "This looks like a job for Superman!" let the listener know that Clark Kent had just turned into Superman. "Up, up, and awaaaaaayyyyy!!!!" let the listener know that Superman was now flying.
 * The Howard Stern Show has spawned a number of catchphrases over the years. Some develop naturally on the show, while others come from the repetition of sound clips from other shows. Most are short-lived, but a few end up enduring. Examples of the latter include: "Baba-Booey" and "Hey Now!"(which itself was a catch phrase from The Larry Sanders Show).
 * "Baba Booey" is the nickname of Howard's producer. Whenever Stern fans prank-call other shows, they will usually chant "Baba Booey, Baba Booey!" as a sort of "gotcha!" to the victims.
 * Fibber McGee and Molly had a few- among others, Fibber's Incredibly Lame Puns were often followed either by Molly's "Tain't funny, McGee", The Old Timer's "That's pretty good, Johnny, but that ain't the way I heared it!" or Beulah's hysterical laughter followed by "Love that man!", Horatio K. Boomer's attempts to search through his pockets for a given object almost always ended with "And a check for a short beer- well, well, imagine that, no [object]!", Beulah, when summoned, usually entered with "Somebody bawl fo' Beulah?" and the Swedish Elk's Club janitor Ole was always "yust doo-natin' my time."
 * The Jack Benny Program had whichever character Frank Nelson was playing almost always come in with "Yeeeeeeeeessss?" as a response to another character's query. Also famous was the introduction exchange between Benny and Eddie Anderson:

"YES, Boss?""


 * The Simpsons features a parody of the Frank Nelson character, voiced by Dan Castenella. In one episode Homer asks him why he talks like that, and is told "I've had a strooooooooooke."
 * "Well, honestly."
 * Jack's signature "Well!"
 * Joe Penner, a now-obscure radio comedian of the 1930s, had several catchphrases, the best-remembered of which is "You wanna buy a duck?" Others included shouts of "YOOOOOOOUUUU NAAAAAAAASHTY MAAAAAANN!" and "DOOOOOOON'T EEEEEEVER *DOOOOOO* THAAAAAAT!"
 * The two hosts of NPR's Car Talk end each show with "Don't drive like my brother!" "Don't drive like MY brother!"
 * In The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy radio series, as well as other incarnations: Marvin's "Life! Don't talk to me about life!"
 * From Radio City in Midtown Manhattan, third most listened to show in all of America. Hello, you sick twisted freak. Welcome to the Glenn Beck program.
 * (From the TV show) But here's the one thing:
 * The "sick twisted freak" part is a Shout Out to another conservative talker named Bob Grant.
 * How could anyone have not heard "the latest news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average."? Well, I guess "now you know . . the rest of the story."
 * Hard to believe the list has gotten this long without someone shouting "MAKEUP!"
 * In The Phil Harris Alice Faye Show, Alice's brother Willie had two: "Goooood morning, Philip!" and "Yes, indeed. Mmmmhmmm!"
 * Comedienne Cass Daley would sometimes follow a particularly bad joke with a shout of "I SAID IT AN' I'M GLAAAAADDD!!"
 * On Hello Cheeky, most of the catchphrases were Share Phrases or Mad Libs Catch Phrases. The only catchphrase that belonged to one character and was never altered was "Silence in court! Silence in court!" which Denis announced at the start of every sketch that took place in a courtroom. It was constantly lampshaded. ("Silence in court! ...Ahh, I still do that better than anybody else.")

Religion and Mythology

 * Older Than Feudalism with The Bible, Partly due to the earlier parts originally being oral tradition and therefore repetitive to aid memorization.
 * God has 'I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob', sometimes appended with 'who brought you out of Egypt'.
 * Jesus has 'I tell you the truth' (or variants thereupon depending on the translation, such as 'Verily I say unto thee' or 'I tell you solemnly').
 * Biblical angels almost always introduce themselves with a "Fear not". It's anyone's guess as to why.

Tabletop Games

 * The dashing swordsman prestige class from Dungeons and Dragons has the power of catchphrase.
 * Many factions of Warhammer 40000 have their own:
 * Imperium of Man: For the Emperor!/The Emperor Protects!
 * Let's not forget that every Space Marine Legion has its own Pre Ass Kicking One Liner, but the Dark Angels' "Repent! For tomorrow you die!" seems pretty popular (But an amusing point made by a forum poster once has a Chaos Space Marine note that for them to follow their battlecry, they would have to come back to attack them tomorrow. Naturally, if they kept saying it, they'd never get a chance to attack. The Dark Angels were reasonably upset that their centuries-old battlecry just got ruined).
 * Well, the point of that battlecry in the first place was that they would capture the Chaos worshippers alive and torture them to death...
 * Chaos: Death to the false Emperor!/For the Dark Gods!
 * Khorne: Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Throne of Khorne! (or Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!)
 * Kharn The Betrayer: KILL MAIM BURN! KILL MAIM BURN!
 * Orks: WAAAAAAGH!
 * Tau: For the Greater Good!

Theatre
"Young Sally: Hi.
 * Various characters in Gypsy, in the Show Within a Show sequences: "Hello, everybody! My name is _____. What's yours?" Used first by Baby June, then by her older version, Dainty June. After June leaves the show, the phrase passes to Louise, and is sarcastically appropriated by Rose in "Rose's Turn."
 * Follies has a Catch Phrase spread among four characters:

Young Ben: Girls.

Young Phyllis: Ben.

Young Buddy: Sally."

"Zangler: Only you'll have to stop using that word. It's stupid.
 * In The King and I, the King has "etcetera, etcetera, etcetera." Also, less often: "is a puzzlement."
 * Numerous characters from Gilbert & Sullivan operettas have catchphrases:
 * Lady Jane in Patience: "Crushed, again!"
 * Every appearance of the Bridesmaids in act I of Ruddigore is marked by the song "Hail the bridegroom, hail the bride" - eventually leading to other characters yelling at them and chasing them off.
 * As well, when Captain Corcoran, a character from HMS Pinafore, reappears in Utopia, Limited, he tells how the British Navy "never runs a ship ashore" - leading to his catchphrase from ten operas previous: "What never?" "No, never." "What, never?" "Well... hardly ever!"
 * Similar use of catchphrases appear in Patience and Gilbert's solo work, Engaged.
 * Punch and Judy. Punch's famous Catch Phrase is "That's the way to do it!"
 * In On The Razzle, by Tom Stoppard, the Servile Snarker Melchior uses the word "Classic" constantly. This leads to the following exchange with his new employer-

Melchior: There's nothing stupid about the word. it's just the way some people use it without discrimination.

Zangler: Do they?

Melchior: Oh, yes. It's absolutely classic."


 * The Arab in The Time Of Your Life: "No foundation. All the way down the line." He rarely says anything other than this cryptic comment.
 * Fastrada in Pippin: "After all, I'm just an ordinary housewife and mother, just like all you housewives and mothers out there."