Hey, That's My Line!

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Kafuka: I'm in despair! I'm in despair even within a dream!

Nozomu: That's my line.
—Zoku Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, episode 6

Bob has a Catch Phrase and is in an situation where it's appropriate to use it, but Alice was faster and stole the catchphrase. Bonus points for Bob saying, "That's my line!"

In Anime, it can also be used to mean, "I'm the one who should be saying that to you." For example, if Alice barges into a place where she's not supposed to be, and unexpectedly finds Bob (who is supposed to be there) and says "What are you doing here!?" Bob might respond with Watashi no serifu da!, "That's my line." (Of course, pronouns, construction, formalness, etc. varies. Listen out for the "no serifu" every time, though.)

If the other character isn't able to notice, then it's a Borrowed Catchphrase.

Not to be confused with Whose Line Is It Anyway?.

Examples of Hey, That's My Line! include:

Advertising

  • One of the commercials during the awfully misguided "Hare Jordan" era had Michael Jordan saying "That's all, folks" with Porky Pig indignantly retorting, "Hey, that's my line!"
  • There was a "Chicken of the Sea" tuna commercial where some kids shout the name of the product at the moment the animated mermaid has spoken it in all previous ads; she pouts and can be heard muttering, "I was supposed to say that!"

Anime and Manga

  • Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei
    • Kafuka stole Itoshiki-sensei's catchphrase "I'm in despair!" Having his catchphrase stolen becomes a running gag in season two. Though, he tends to take it pretty well.
    • A variation also occurs in the Hot Springs Episode, after the barrier between the men's and the women's halves falls down. Itoshiki-sensei shrieks and covers himself and one of the girls says, "That should be our reaction."
  • Negima Second Season: Three different character, including the narrator, stole Motsu the frog's catchphrase "in a good way."
  • Azumanga Daioh: Subversion, Tomo accuses Yomi of catchphrase stealing but it wasn't something Tomo would ever say.
  • Pokémon
    • Ash once stole May's exploration team line that she sometimes did during Hoenn, and she scolded him for it (mysteriously absent in the dub).
    • Misty, Tracey, and Jesse have also stolen Ash's capture pose.
    • Ash and his friends have stolen Team Rocket's motto at least twice.
    • In the Pokémon Special magna, Red gets the better of Blue and brags about having two gym badges in the process. Blue steals the badges shortly afterward. Later, Red infiltrates Team Rocket while they're pursuing Blue. She brags about "her" two gym badges, leaving Red unhappy that the badges weren't the only things stolen.
  • In one chapter of Sailor Moon, Mars decides that she's going to do the In the Name of the Moon speech instead. She does tweak it, though... "Wearing high heels, I will punish you!" She has used "In the name of Mars, I will chastise you!" as well, and the other Senshi have their own version they use occasionally.
  • Yuuichi in Kanon occasionally steals Ayu's "Uguu~" to mock her. It usually escalates into an all-out Verbal Tic war.
  • Bleach, at least in the scanslations, uses this so often that you read it more than the phrases they're supposedly copying. "That's my line" is a Japanese stock phrase, too, and the line doesn't have to be a Catch Phrase.
  • In the Yu-Gi-Oh GX dub, Alexis once said "Get your game on" before a game with Aster, right before Jaden showed up.
  • In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's episode 29, when Jack and Carly start their duel against a possessed Ushio/Trudge, on their first move, Carly draws for Jack and declares that it's her turn, which results in Jack angrilly shouting "It's MY turn!", and Carly apologising. This happens in the dub as well, but Jack doesn't shot, he just says "Actually, it's my turn." after Carly draws.
  • Fist of the North Star has three Catch Phrase thefts, without being retorted:
    • A mook, after getting finger-stabbed by Kenshiro, is "brainwashed" to tell him where the man they're looking for is being held prisoner. He promptly breaks down, fearing execution. But Rei assures him that he's not gonna get executed. When asked why, he steals Kenshiro's Catch Phrase "You're already dead", and the rest you know. Being The Stoic he is, Kenshiro obviously does not comment on it.
    • In the middle of battle, where there's no Kenshiro (only Rei, Mamiya and... Bart. Yeah, him), a Mook attacks Bart. For once the kid gets a bit "brave" and hits the mook on the face with a "WHAAA-CHAA!!" yell. And then he steals Kenshiro's Catch Phrase "You're already dead". The mook, thinking that his head is going to asplode, asks "How many seconds?". Bart replies "3 seconds!" and counts to 3... The mook gets scared shitless, but after the countdown... he realizes nothing happened and Bart has already run off.
    • A Mook who claims to know Hokuto Shinken attacks Kenshiro, does a really lame-looking move (he holds his thumbs against Kenshiro's temples), and declares "You're already dead!" Kenshiro asks how many seconds, the mook counts down from ten... and then his own head blows up due to a previous Offhand Backhand from Kenshiro. You do not screw with the man.
  • Sōsuke says this during the Curb Stomp Battle at the end of Full Metal Panic the Second Raid, when the A.I. of his Humongous Mecha announces how many enemies are remaining. This, and the fact that both Sōsuke and the AI announce the next enemy's defeat in unison, is used to indicate that Sōsuke is now working with his mecha instead of resenting it.
  • In Rurouni Kenshin, Kenshin plays this straight with Saitou. This is almost a kind of subversion, as instead of trying to be funny, this moment is terrifying; it's when Kenshin snaps.

Saitou: The end? This wasn't my plan... but it doesn't matter. I'll kill you now.
Kenshin: I think you've got it wrong. Those are MY words.

Miaka: Hotohori! Nuriko! I'm so glad you're safe!
Nuriko: Uh, I thought that was supposed to be our line.

Nobunaga: Who... who are you? You're a suspicious lot!
Inu-Yasha: That's my line.

  • In Axis Powers Hetalia, not exactly a catchphrase, but something that England would probably say is said by America. They are both stranded on an island.

America: However, I don't think that I'd be unhappier than I am. Given being together with you is the greatest misfortune there can be.
England: I-I beg your pardon?! That's my line!

  • They Are My Noble Masters
    • In a battle of Shout-Outs between Ren and Kojyuuro, Ren (voiced by Domon Kasshu's seiyuu) recites the Shining Finger quote: "This hand of mine glows with an awesome power! It's burning grip tells me to defeat you!". Then, Kojyuuro took over with saying "Take this! My love! My anger! And all of my sorrow!". And obviously, Ren retorted, "That's my line!" (should be also noted that afterwards, Kojyuuro, voiced by Guy Shishioh's seiyuu, continues with "HIKARI NI NAREEEE!!!!", not stolen.)
    • Kojyuuro also steals another one of Domon's lines: "Those who interfere with others' love... should be kicked by a horse straight to hell!" If you don't remember this line in G Gundam, Domon says it as he defeats Wong Yunfat for the last time, with Fu'unsaiki's help.
  • Lampshaded in Excel Saga when Nabeshin is fighting the army commando-turned-random-helicopter. Nabeshin steals what his enemy was going to say, and when it is pointed out, he yells "I'm the director, so I get all the best lines!".
  • In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Joseph Joestar does this continuously to his enemies in order to confuse them and throw them off guard. "Your next line will be X" is pretty much his catchphrase, and is not amused when one of his opponents turns the tables on him in exactly the same fashion.
  • Ranma ½:

Ranma: Oh, and don't try to take advantage of me if you get scared, ok?
Akane: Hey! That's my line!
Ranma: Is this what I get for bein' nice?!
Akane: That's my line!
Ryōga: Huh?! What're you doing here?
Ranma: That's my line!

  • In the Fairy Tail anime, Happy the talking cat loves to tease his human companions (especially Lucy) about any hint of romance. Then, in the "Oración Seis" arc, he meets a female cat of his species, and it's Love At First Sight. Lucy doesn't miss the opportunity to tease him back, to which Happy responds, "How dare you steal my lines!"


Comic Books

  • At the end of Tintin and the Picaros, Haddock begins a sentence with "To be precise", prompting the hero to exclaim about how they have forgotten about Thomson and Thompson (who at this point are about to be executed by firing squad).


Comic Strips

  • This trope appears once in a Cul de Sac strip, when Petey is being stubborn with his mom about something:

"Petey, in a moment I'm going to start chewing my arm off."
"Hey, that's my line!"


Fan Works

Joey: I summon Copycat. It lets me copy your Catch Phrase... in America!
Bandit Keith: Hey, that's my joke! It only works when I say "in America." It loses all meaning when you say it.


Films -- Animation

  • In Igor, the title character decides to pass his own evil invention as his dead master's in order to win the Mad Scientist competition. Since it is strictly forbidden for Igors to invent (they can only fetch things and pull switches), this idea is deemed suicidal by his friends/creations. Scamper, an immortal, suicidal talking rabbit, slaps Igor and tells him that he can't be suicidal because "that's my thing."


Films -- Live-Action

Shaggy: Let's split up, gang.
Fred: Hey, he stole the thing that I say!


Literature

  • Animorphs
    • It sometimes happens that another character (usually Marco) shouts the words "Let's do it!" instead of Rachel. Hey, That's My Line! was usually the reaction, or Hey, That's Her Line!
    • Occasionally, no one would say it, prompting someone (usually Marco) to go "Rachel? We're waiting." or something to that effect.


Live-Action TV

  • In The Office (US) episode The Injury, when Dwight is taken to the hospital for a concussion:

Doctor: Does the skin look red and swollen?
Dwight: That's what she said.
Michael: That's my joke, damnit Dwight.

  • In the Sledge Hammer! episode where he's got Humphrey Bogart as a Spirit Advisor: Sledge says "Here's looking at you, kid!", and Bogey answers... guess what.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
    • Only tenuously connected to this trope, but funny all the same: In the musical episode, the duet between Xander and Anya has one part where the two switch off verses (funnier since at this point the verses are essentially insulting each other); however, Anya jumps in at Xander's cue (still rhyming perfectly) with "His eyes are beady!" causing him to sing, "This is my verse, hello?!" The DVD extra has a karaoke cut suitably named that line.
    • In the episode "Who Are You?":

Anya: We were going to light a bunch of candles and have sex near them.
Faith-in-Buffy's-body: Well, we certainly don't want to cut into that seven minutes.
Anya: Hey!
Xander: (to Anya) I believe that's my "hey". (to Faith) Hey!

DiEnd: Let me say this: before you came along, I was a passing-through Kamen Rider! Remember that.

  • The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: In the Hollywood episode, Cody gets so nervous when he forgets his line, that the next time he says his line AND Zack's, which he notes.
  • In Top Gear, the presenters fight over who gets to use the phrase "Back to the studio".
  • Psych's season 5 episode "Extradition II" has Shawn saying Gus's classic "you know that's right!" It's actually difficult to tell whether Gus is more angry because Shawn stole his primary "cool black guy" catchphrase or because he emphatically disagreed with the sentiment.
  • The third series of Father Ted has a scene taking place after Ted has a few drinks in him. When Father Jack enters the room and tries to walk to his chair, Ted shouts, with Jack's usual inflection, "FECK OFF!" Father Jack is uncharacteristically taken aback and runs away.
  • Done twice in a Celebrity Deathmatch between Judge Judy and referee Mills Lane. Judy steals Mills' "Let's get it on!" and "I'll allow it" catchphrases.


Video Games

  • In Final Fantasy V, this happens if Gilgamesh comes to assist you in the fight against Necrophobe.

Necrophobe: Enough of this. Die!
Gilgamesh: (snort) I believe that's MY line!!!

Shadow: Well then, It'll be a date to die for!
Sonic: Hey, that's my line!

Raine: Give me your name and I'll give you mine.
Genis: Hey, you copied Lloyd.
Lloyd: Now that I've heard someone else say it, it sounds kinda arrogant.

    • Another case (Later in the game, and during a sidequest):

Hell Knight: Congratulations on making it this far. I shall give you death as a reward.
Lloyd: Hey! That's My Line.

  • In one of the battle result dialogues in Digimon World Data Squad, Yoshino says this when her partner Digimon Lalamon uses her catch phrase, "This is the worst!"
  • In Solatorobo, Red steals a train conductor's "All aboard!" and gets scolded for it.


Visual Novels


Web Animation

Homestar: So, what kind of concoctions might one stir with your wares?
Bubs: Well, a little eye of newt, some toe of frog. Baby, you got a witches' brew goin'.
Homestar: Hey, that's my line!

  • Arby 'n' the Chief: Chief has this exchange with an intoxicated Arbiter for stealing his use of LOL.

Arbiter: LOL, remember Chief?
Chief: HAY. thats mai thing arbitur. u cant use mai thing. remember. remember its mien. lol remember arbitur?
Arbiter: LOL, I remember Chief.
Chief: LOL. ur so silly.
Arbitur: I know, LOL.
Chief: LOL


Web Comics


Web Original

  • In the Lonelygirl15 self parody episode "Proving Science Wrong... with Lonelybeast and Danielgirl15", Daniel uses Bree's "Proving science wrong!" Catch Phrase before launching into an extremely inaccurate description of the Coriolis effect, which he terms "the Cornwallis effect". In the background, Bree bangs her head against the magazine she's reading.
  • Crackitus Potts is the de facto leader of The League of STEAM and usually introduces the episodes he appears in. When someone else will occasionally start the introduction, he'll usually run to the camera to interrupt them and take over the intro.


Western Animation

  • Futurama
    • When Zoidberg's contemporary iHawk uses a joke Zoidberg had told before (and was much better received), Zoidberg freaked out and threatened to kill him, because "That's my joke!"
    • That whole Futurama episode is a parody of a Mash episode in which BJ started taking credit for a joke Hawkeye's father told him. It seemed to bug Hawkeye more that BJ hadn't laughed when he first heard the joke than it did that he stole it.
  • In The Simpsons, Lisa uses several of Bart's Catch Phrases (like "Don't have a cow, man") line to impress her new friends, which upsets Bart. However, Marge points out that he hasn't said those phrases in years, and tells him to "let Lisa have it".
  • Seen in Dudley Do-Right, after Dudley has been tricked into letting Snidley tie his finger to the railroad tracks for the second time in about two minutes:

Dudley: Curses, foiled again.
Snidely: Hey, that's my line!

  • ReBoot. Both Dot and Enzo have been known to use Bob's "This is bad. Very bad" line, or his "I don't believe in the no-win scenario" line. Bob does use the "That's my line" response on one occasion. Seeing how Bob stole "I don't believe in the no-win scenario" from Captain Kirk, he's got no right to complain.
  • Two examples from the same episode of The Spectacular Spider-Man:

Chameleon: (posing as Spider-Man) My insect early warning system is tingling!
Black Cat: My kitty-sense is purring...

Spidey himself rarely, if ever, gets to finish the line, which is internal dialogue in most incarnations. How has either of them heard it?
  • Where's Wally (Waldo if you live across the pond) has Odlaw turn up too late to follow the protagonist and says the narrator's catchphrase "Where's Wally?", as a result the narrator invokes this trope.
  • From the South Park episode "The Red Badge of Gayness":

Stan: Oh my god, They Killed Kenny!
Stan's Grandpa: You bastards!
Kyle: Hey!

  • Slappy Squirrel in Animaniacs always says "Now, that's comedy!" at the end of her every cartoon. In one episode, however, her nephew steals her catchphrase, at which she says, "You're adorable... but that's my line."
  • Isabella from Phineas and Ferb is highly protective of her "Whatcha doin'?" Catch Phrase, to the point where she can sense if someone says it from halfway across the town.
  • Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
    • During an episode, the Deadly Duplicator thinks about how he's going to "Eliminate" Birdman. X appears beside him, and tells him to get his own thing.
    • Reversed during the Grand Finale, as X excitedly yells, "This is good, this is good!" DD tells him, "Hey, that's my line."
  • One episode of Captain Planet and the Planeteers has the heroes team up with their future counterparts. Captain Planet complains when the future captain says, "The power is yours!"
  • At the end of an episode of The Powerpuff Girls, the narrator protests that a TV reporter is using his usual closing lines, "So once again, the day is saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls," and shows him how it's done.
  • In Kim Possible: So The Drama, when Kim and Ron are held hostage in Drakken's lair (after Kim discovered that her new beau Eric was The Mole):

Ron: So what's the plan?
Kim: I--I've got nothing.
Ron: Okay, first that's my line, and second that's quitter talk!

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