Other Stock Phrases: Difference between revisions

* "How do I know I can trust you?" "You don't." Common in an [[Enemy Mine]] situation.

* "How do I know you'll keep your word?" (Alternately, "How do we know he'll keep his word?") The obvious question the hero(es) should be asking (and often do) in a [[Hostage for McGuffin]] or similar situation. The most common response is more or less equivalent to the one Khan gave in ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'': "Oh, I've given you no word to keep, Admiral. In my judgment, you simply have no alternative." "What choice do we have?", or "You don't" are alternate versions. In dramatic terms, this means that the hero now has karmic permission to use any kind of trickery on the villain necessary to regain the advantage.

* "How hard can it be?" and/or "What could possibly go wrong?": Whenever a character comments on the apparent easiness of a task, it [[Tempting Fate|almost invariably]] turns out to be stunningly difficult. Suddenly things as simple as buying milk become epic quests or even life-or-death experiences. See all of the tropes in [[Tempting Fate]], such as [[Retirony]].

** Sometimes used satirically after listing a series of incredibly difficult and/or obviously fatal tasks. "We just have to sneak into a guarded fortress at noon, find the one person we're looking for, and convince them to betray the love of their life. How hard can it be?" Occasionally this is not intended satirically, to illustrate that the speaker is either clueless, arrogant to the point of insanity, or [[Just That Good]].

* "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Step right up and..."

** There's no record of any carnival talker (''not'' "barker") ever yelling "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Step right up!" The "cant" was always ''much'' more elaborate, which is part of why the talker was the best-paid man on the lot.

 

== I ==

'''Moddy''': I'm too beautiful to die!

'''Rattus''': And I'm too smart! }}

* "In my country we have a saying..."

* "I remember it like it happened yesterday." Often followed by "That's because it did happen yesterday" or "It happened ''today''."

* "Lock and load." followed by cocking a large gun.

* "Look out! He's got a bomb/gun/knife!"

* "(series) loves this trope." Used on this wiki in lists of examples, to describe series (games, whatever) that use the same trope several times.

** And if that's ''all'' it says, it should have a "<nowiki>{{context}}</nowiki>" tag immediately following it.

* "My patience is growing thin." Spoken by many an [[Evil Overlord]] after repeated attempts to do whatever have proven futile.

* "My work here is done."

 

== N ==

 

== S ==

* "Shaken, not stirred" or variations thereof. Either used to order a drink or to comment that a character has had a rough predicament but survived.

** In ''[[The West Wing]]'', Bartlet comments that Bond is "ordering a weak martini and being snooty about it".

* "A simple no would have sufficed.": An indignant response to a dismissal or rejection that is overly demeaning, verbose, or both.

* "Slowly I turn -- step by step, inch by inch..." Originally the [[Signature Line]] of a famous [[w:Slowly I Turned|vaudeville sketch]] which has now been mostly forgotten, if this line is used anymore, it's to indicate that the speaker is humorously pretending to have been triggered into [[Unstoppable Rage]].

* "Someone... or ''something''..." Used to identify that an act may have been done by something paranormal.

** When [[The Dresden Files|Harry Dresden]] used it, [[Action Girl]] Karrin Murphy calls him on it, saying, "You've been waiting years to use that one, haven't you?" Dresden, being the [[Smart Ass]] that he is, shrugs and mentions that opportunities don't arise as often as you'd think.

* "Something's coming." Often said with great solemnity by a [[Magical Native American]] or other [[Noble Savage]], sometimes with ear to the ground.

* "Sorry, but duty calls..." What a cop/military hero says to a pretty girl he's dating that he has to get back to work. She usually is gracious enough to leave it at that.

* "Stick that in your (noun) and (verb) it." Most commonly used after making a point to rub it in. Original form is almost certainly "Stick that in your pipe and smoke it," but modern usage plays it as a mad libs.

* "Stop me anytime." Someone is depressed or angry with themselves and starts listing all of their own failings, expecting the person they're talking to to break in and disagree. If the other person just lets them continue, they get annoyed and say this.

* "Stop the presses." Originally related to reporters have a new story that they just have to have in the next edition, it's rarer for use in actual news (actually stopping the presses is damned expensive and takes ages to start back up) and is used generally for any news that may need people to stop what they are doing.

** Subverted in ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]'' episode "Truth or Ed" where Eddy yells this when he hears that the school newspapers actually have profit.

 

== T ==

* "There's something odd about that guy." Usually said when a bystander, witness, or ally seems legit, but turns out to be [[The Mole]] or otherwise sitting on a whopper of a secret.

* "There's something you don't see every day..." Usually said by someone seeing something outrageous or crazy going on.

* "There's something you should know..." Usually said by character A to character B when character B is about to do something (or has just done something) that would turn out to be immoral or unwise if character B had the information that character A has. Or if Character A is about to dump a [[Reveal]] on B that makes their situation more complicated.

* "The very idea!" Shocked utterance of a [[Grande Dame]] or one who fancies herself such, often coupled with "Well I never!"

* "This is the end!" or "This fight is mine!" A staple of [[Shonen]] fighting series, it ranks right up with "[[Nothing Can Stop Us Now]]" for [[Tempting Fate|drawing the ire of the powers that be]].

* "This can't be happening" or "This isn't happening." A staple of horror and sci-fi flicks when the protagonists realize they're caught up in something really crazy, dangerous, surreal, or all of the above.

** [[Tron|Flynn's]] reaction to discovering he's been transferred into the computer: "This isn't happening. It just thinks it's happening."

* "Those are prescription glasses!" When a [[Blind Without'Em]] character is robbed of his spectacles.

** Stewie says to Brian who says this in ''[[Family Guy]]'', "Oh, that's such a douche time traveler thing to say."

* "Where have I heard that voice?" Say hello to the recurring villain.

* "Where did you find/get this guy?"

* Who the hell do you think I am? - Most prevalent in Gurren Lagann, but you'll find it all over the place, uttered by hot-blooded and/or self-confident characters who just get underestimated.

* "When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much..." The opening of [[The Talk]].