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{{trope}}{{Mechanics of Writing}}
''This page is not for phrases that have their own page and spot on the [[Stock Phrases]] index. If it doesn't already have a page, then you stick it here. If it does, then you don't. And if it gets a page, take it off this list.''
{{examples}}
== A ==
* "After them!"
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** Honestly, to show that, despite all the troubles they went through, the protagonists finally have what they want, and life is good, or:
** Satirically, to show that, even though the main plot has been wrapped up, there's a dangling thread the protagonists never took care of. (They don't usually care.)
** Was the last line ever said on ''[[Another World]]'', and was the last line of an
* "All the cool kids are doing it!"
** It's pretty much impossible to use this one straight anymore, due to its use in [[The Aggressive Drug Dealer|anti-drug]] and peer-pressure resistance education back in [[The Eighties]].
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** ''[[Clone High]]''
** ''[[Frasier]]''
* "Are you calling me an X?" Typically used to call out somebody making more-or-less veiled accusations of just that. Since 'X' is usually something bluntly unflattering such as "coward" or "liar", this also plays on the common social impulse to be tactful first and honest second in order to get the accuser to temporarily shut up or at least backpedal while flustered. When the "X" is misunderstood, this is [[Calling Me a Logarithm]].
* "Are you happy now?" (or, alternatively, "I hope you're happy." or "I hope you're proud of yourself." or "I hope you're satisfied.")
** Often a [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]] situation.
** Multiple repetitions of this line or variations thereof make up much of the entire first half of the showstopper "Defying Gravity" from the musical ''[[Wicked (theatre)|Wicked]]''.
* "As an X ... you make an excellent Y."
** Or, in [[Self-Deprecation]], "As an X, I make an excellent Y."
*
** ''[[Dirty Rotten Scoundrels]]'' [[The Musical]]
{{quote|
** [[Phineas and Ferb|Dr. Doofenshmirtz]] is fond of this:
{{quote|
"As they say in Mexico, 'dosvedanya!' Down there, that's ''two'' vedanyas." }}
** [[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country|"There is an old Vulcan saying: 'Only Nixon can go to China.'"]]
== B ==
* "Well, back to the drawing board"
* "Be afraid. Be very afraid"
* "*exasperated sigh* ''Boys!''"
** And in one ''[[Buck Godot]]'' comic: *exasperated sigh* ''Fish!''
** [[Animaniacs|"Boys! Go fig!"]]
* "Behold, my true form" or "It's time to show you my true form"
* [[Species Lost and Found|"But these creatures have been extinct for ''millions'' of years!"]] (They're [[Not So Extinct]].)
* "But why am I telling ''you'' all this? And you, a total stranger."
** The [[Ur Example]] of this phrase may have been delivered by Greta Garbo in ''[[Grand Hotel]]''.
== C ==
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* "Can we keep him/her/it?" See [[Pet Baby Wild Animal]]. Occasionally prefaced with "He/she/it followed me home".
** Said in the ending of ''[[Commander Keen]] Episode I'', when Keen's mom discovers a Yorp he brought back with him from Mars.
** In some cases, it's also asking permission for [[I'm Taking Her Home with Me]].
* "Can't you see I'm busy?" Said while doing something relatively mundane while someone is trying to inform you about the apocalypse or a masked gunman aiming at you.
** Occasionally "can't you see we're busy?" is used.
* "Catch!" Said while [[Hot Potato|throwing something sharp, heavy and/or explosive at an opponent]].
* "X had changed over the summer": stock phrase associated with a [[Fan Service Pack]]. Originated in ''[[Harry Potter]]'' [[Fanfic]], and [[Dead Horse Trope|usually used satirically nowadays]] not necessarily in that context.
* "Clean up on aisle five."
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* [[Dastardly Whiplash|"Curses! Foiled again!"]]
* "Curse you!"
== D ==
* "Damn, I'm good."
* "... Dead to me."
** This phrase usually has "you're" or some sort of noun and "is" before it.
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* "Did <name> send you?" "<name> doesn't know I'm here." Usually spoken when the second speaker comes to the first (usually the villain) to make a deal on behalf of their love interest/best friend/etc.
** Subverted in the Conan story "The Scarlet Citadel," where the guy making the deal turns out to be a former tribesman out for vengeance for a brother killed during Conan's pirate days, where he was known as "Amra." He meets his end at the fangs of Tsotha's snake Satha before he can kill Conan.
* "Does your mother know you're out?" Asked when someone isn't deemed tough
* "Do you know who I am?" Said by the arrogant famous/powerful villain.
** "Should I?"
* "Do you like what you see?" Usually spoken by a lingerie-clad (or nude) [[Femme Fatale]] as she prepares to seduce (or outright rape) the hero, perhaps after her [[Dress Hits Floor]].
* "Do you think he/she/they bought it?" Quick way of letting the audience know that whatever they just did was staged for another character's benefit.
* "Don't call me, I'll call you."
* "Don't call me 'Mr. <name>'
* "Don't call me 'sir'! I work for a living!" — often seen in a military context, when a non-com is addressed with excessive deference by a green soldier.
* "Don't just stand there, ''do'' something!"
** Occasionally inverted to "Don't
* "Don't just stand there, ''run!''"
* "Don't look now, but..."
* "Don't mess with Mother Nature."
* "Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining." Popularized, but not coined, by ''[[Judge Judy]]''.
** The inevitable ''[[The Simpsons]]'' parody: "Don't spit on my cupcake and tell me it's frosting."
* "Don't tell me [unpleasant or unwelcome fact]". "Okay, I won't tell you."
** Sometimes the second person tells the first person said unwelcome fact followed by the first person replying "I told you not to tell me that." (This version was popularized by ''[[Get Smart]]''.)
** A specific form of this is: "Don't tell me that [character] is/will [action]". Often followed by either:
*** A [[Gilligan Cut]] to [character] doing [action].
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* "Don't worry, I'll/we'll be right behind you!" Usually said by the [[Lovable Coward]] to [[The Hero]] when faced with threatening situations, usually followed by the speakers running and taking cover behind something, or hiding behind the hero.
** A variation from ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'':
{{quote|
* "Don't worry! I know this [country|city|land|terrain] like the back of my hand." Sometimes subverted or spoofed by having a character say this, then examine the back of their hand and say "Wow! I never noticed that before!"
** In another common spoof, the other person says, "That's the ''front'' of your hand (you're looking at)."
** And yet another spoof features them running headfirst into something immediately afterward.
== E ==
* "Eat lead!"
** [[Monsters vs. Aliens|"Evidently, it eats lead."]]
** For instances of [[Abnormal Ammo]], substitute 'lead' with the appropriate substance. (For example, [[Darkwing Duck]]'s "Suck gas, evildoer!" or Elric's "Eat steel, beast!" from ''Die By The Sword''.)
* "Everyone has a price."
** Inverted with [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules]].
== F ==
* "First time for everything."
* "From up here, they all look like ants!"
* [[Precision F-Strike|"Fuck you."]]
== G ==
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* "Get off my lawn!" Battle cry of bitter and cantankerous old men and women. Increasingly used ironically by characters and people realizing they're older than they thought.
* "Get the hell out of there!" The nuke's about to go off, what are you doing standing around?! Get the hell out of there!
* "Gives a whole new meaning to X." A flag that some formerly innocent expression has now become a [[Double Entendre]] thanks to someone's actions.
* "God, I missed you."
* "Good luck... you'll need it."
* "Good thing I landed on my head..." (implying that it's the least vital part of the speaker's body).
* "Goodbye, cruel world!" Pre-suicide stock phrase. Usually satiric.
** ''[[Veronica Mars]]'' has a faked "sucide" using this phrase, where Veronica had previously [[Discussed Trope|discussed]] the idea that using this phrase would be a good way to commit a perfect murder in a criminology paper.
* "Great, JUST, great." said by the more pessimistic character after a disaster/failure, followed by the level headed leader telling them to calm down and formulating a new plan.
== H ==
* An emphasized "had" (so as to mean the past tense of "have"): Without saying so many words, a character is disappointed say, that a villain he was chasing somehow got away when he was so confident that, well, he ''had'' him (think of Arnold Schwarzenegger complaining to a horse in a scene from ''True Lies'' after it refuses to chase a baddie who's just jumped across a street, airborne, on a motorcycle).
** An emphasized "was" appears in the original ''[[Casino Royale]]''
* "Hands Up!" Said by anyone with a gun. The phrase isn't even needed sometimes; if a character sees someone with a gun they'll automatically raise their hands with no prompting. (See also [[Stick'Em Up]], which is a [[Sub-Trope]] of this.)
* "Hang on!" "To what?!"
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* "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 do you play this game, then?" Part of [[The Magic Poker Equation]]. As stated in ''[[
* "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]].
** Often the [[Deadpan Snarker]] or the [[Literal
* "How you holding up?": After some disaster or other bad thing has befallen a character. Done to death in ''[[Smallville]]''.
* "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 ==
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* "I don't think, I ''know''." "I don't think you know, either."
* "I eat X for breakfast!" A common type of [[Badass Boast]].
* "If he could do it, then so can I!"
* "I know a guy." Or sometimes, "I know a guy who knows a guy."
* "If these walls could talk...": Your stock phrase for an [[Evidence Scavenger Hunt]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071013205827/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/story.cgi?show=15
* "[[Wouldn't Hit a Girl|If you were a man]], I'd...," and the invariable response, "If ''you'' were a man..."
* "If you were, you wouldn't ask": The inevitable reply to a character wondering if they're insane, thoughtless, evil, or otherwise [[Not So Different]] from the villain.
* "If you were anyone else...." A character is informed by another that s/he only gets away with something because they are them. A good example is what Worf says after Picard accuses him of being a coward in ''[[First Contact]]''.
* [[Dead Man Writing|"If you're [reading|watching] this, I'm most likely dead."
* "I got to get me one of those!" Jokingly said by a character upon encountering some incredibly awesome but wholly implausible weapon or device (Will Smith in ''Independence Day'', Commissioner Gordon reacting to the Batmobile in ''Batman Begins'').
* "I had nothing to do with this!"
* "I have a plan." Usually a sign you should run
** Especially if it's a ''[[Blackadder|cunning]]'' plan.
* "I have a prescription for that!" Said by anyone caught popping pills.
* "I have a reputation to maintain." Said by the [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] who prefers to be known as a straight [[Jerkass]].
* "I ''heard'' that!" "You were ''supposed'' to!"
* "I hope I'm wrong, because otherwise..." aaaaand...
* "I knew that." No they didn't.
* "''I'' know that, and ''you'' know that, but ''he'' doesn't know that."
* "I know what is best for you." Usually the one who says it is misinformed. If they're not misinformed, they're often malevolent.
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* "I'll deal with ''you'' later." Usually a villain's response to a Hero's [[Sidekick]]'s snarky comments that usually translates as "You piss me off too and you'll pay for it, but I have more important business for now."
* "I'll do it, or my name isn't..."
** Occasionally inverted by the character finishing the phrase with somebody else's name.
* "I'll never wash (these clothes/this body part) again": Something romantic happens to a character involving his/her clothes/body part. Examples: Doug holding Patty's arm (''[[Doug]]''), Arnold hugging Helga (''[[Hey Arnold!]]!'', "Arnold's Hat"), and there's also a variation in ''[[Hey Arnold!]]!'', "It Girl", involving Helga shoving Eugene.▼
▲* "I'll never wash (these clothes/this body part) again": Something romantic happens to a character involving his/her clothes/body part. Examples: Doug holding Patty's arm (''[[Doug]]''), Arnold hugging Helga (''[[Hey Arnold]]!'', "Arnold's Hat"), and there's also a variation in ''[[Hey Arnold]]!'', "It Girl", involving Helga shoving Eugene.
** Subverted in ''[[The Simpsons]]'', where, after Bart declares this about his hand, we cut to ten minutes later, where we see it's become incredibly dirty.
** Similarly in the ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''[[Jingo]]'', Nobby says he'll never wash his
** In ''[[My Little Pony:
** One episode of ''[[Cow and Chicken]]'' has the latter declaring never to wash his eyeball again.
* "I'll sleep when I'm dead," or "Sleep is for the dead." May be countered with "If you don't sleep, you ''are''/''will be'' dead!"
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* "I'm too young to die!" Or, in more comedic settings, "I'm too pretty to die!"
** Subverted in ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]: The Mis-Edventures'':
{{quote|
** Lampshaded in [[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]:
{{quote|
'''Old Man''': I'm not, but I still don't wanna! }}
** Both are used in an episode of [[The Ferals]]. [[Rule of Three|Followed by a third addition.]]
{{quote|
'''Moddy''': I'm too beautiful to die!
'''Rattus''': And I'm too smart! }}
* "I never asked for this." [[Cursed with Awesome|The main character has an incredible power/gift/ability but the writers want to make things seem angsty?]] Cue this phrase.
* "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''."
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* "[[Summation Gathering|I suppose you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today...]]"
* "It Can't Happen Here"
** Inverted in the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' short Dough for the Do-Do: [[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!|"It. Can. Happen. Here."]]
*
* "I think (s)he's dead already." Often uttered near the end of a killing where the killer is [[Pummeling the Corpse]].
* "I think we lost them." Often uttered moments before the bad guys reappear. A common example of [[Tempting Fate]].
* "[[I Thought You Were Dead]]." Used after [[Disney Death
** Often followed with "I got better."
* "It may be a (noun phrase), but it's ''my'' (noun phrase)." Often rendered as "He/She may be...", where the noun phrase is something derogatory.
** [[Real Life]] example (allegedly, anyway): Franklin D. Roosevelt of Anastasio Somoza
* "[[I
** "I hate to say 'I told you so,' but I told you so."
** "I hate to say it, but... hmmm, actually I don't. I told you so!"
* "It worked(?)", "It actually works!", or "I can't believe it worked". Said when the plan that sounds [[Crazy Enough to Work]], does. Ditto the insane invention that really does work.
* "It's a bird! It's a plane!"
* "It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it."
* "It's a gift...and a curse." Stock line for the [[Defective Detective]], reminding everyone that their Holmesian acuity comes at a price. Popularized by ''[[Monk]]''.
** Used in ''Spider-Man'': "This is my gift. This is my curse."
* "It's a trap!"
* "It's beautiful!"
* "It's dead." / [[Never Say "Die"|"Could you ''please'' not use the word 'dead'?"]] Exchange that takes place at that point in a horror movie when someone tries to phone for help.
* "It's going to blow!" - just before the explosion.
* "It's got to work!" (or "It has to work!"). Because if it doesn't work, they're dead.
* "It's our anniversary!" followed by "..." and "YOU FORGOT, DIDN'T YOU." or some variation on that.
* "It's no use, Johnny. I'm done for. You save yourself." From classic [[WWII]] films, the soon-to-be-martyred hero urges his friend to escape the oncoming enemy while he bleeds out. Sometimes results in the martyr being picked up and carried to medical aid, though.
* "It's not about the (trivial thing)!" Said when it's time to discuss What's Going Wrong in This Relationship.
* "It's our only hope!"
* "It's over (between us)." Standard breakup line. See [[Let's Just Be Friends]] for the more polite version.
* "It's so hard to get good help these days." Usually by the head villain regarding his bumbling [[Evil Minions]] (often with regard to the one [[You Have Failed Me...|he's just killed]]). See [[Surrounded by Idiots]].
* "It's the right thing to do."
* "It was all just a huge [[Poor Communication Kills|misunderstanding]]." Openly uttered at the very end of cliche sitcoms. See [[Three Is Company]].
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* "I was afraid you were gonna say that."
* "I was ''this'' close" (to achieving something): with the "this" accompanied by the appropriate one hand gesture. Without the hand gesture "this" is changed to "so". Either way, the character knows almost doesn't count, and lets others know it. Made famous by ''[[Get Smart]]'', where it took the form "Missed it by ''that much''". (The trope [[Missed Him by That Much]] is related [[In Name Only]].)
== J ==
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* "Lock and load." followed by cocking a large gun.
* "Look out! He's got a bomb/gun/knife!"
** "[[Crocodile Dundee|That's not a knife.]]"
* "
** And if that's ''all'' it says, it should have a "<nowiki>{{context}}</nowiki>" tag immediately following it.
== M ==
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* "My, my, what have we here?" Usually said by older good characters, or occasionally the villain from afar.
* "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."
** "You didn't do anything!'
== N ==
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* "No more Mister Nice Guy!"
* "NO! PLEASE!" shouts the heroine after being captured by the [[Big Bad]] and presumably taken to his lair to have things done to her, just seconds before the hero busts in.
* "Nothing human could have done this!" Used in horror movies on discovering a savagely mutilated corpse.▼
* "No, this is ''not'' a prank!" See [[Cassandra Truth]].
* "No trial for us, we're for stringing him up right away!" The [[Old West]] lynch mob streamlines the legal process.
* "Not just no, but hell no!"
* "Not where, when." Said by one time traveler after the less experienced companion asks "Where are we?"
▲* "Nothing human could have done this!" Used in horror movies on discovering a savagely mutilated corpse.
* "Now if you will excuse me, I have a <noun> to <verb>!"
* "Now I've seen everything." Said by a miscellaneous character on seeing the ridiculous culmination of ridiculous events. Used to be [["Seen It All" Suicide|followed by the character's suicide]] until the [[Media Watchdogs]] put a stop to ''that''.
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== O ==
* "... of the ____shire Smiths." That is, the old-money ones. Sometimes shortened to "... of ''those'' Smiths."
** "[[Looney Tunes|I'm Beans!]] Of the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Boston Beans!]]"
* "Oh no! Not [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]! Anything but [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]!"
** "[[Robert McKimson|Nnnoot the Thiiinnkeeeeeer!]]"
** "[[Kentucky Fried Movie|No! Not Detroit]]"
** From ''[[Megamind]]'': "You know the drill." "Not the drill!"
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* "Oh no... they got to you too!" Mostly used by conspiracy theorists referring to skeptics, or friends/family who are no longer as patient or understanding as they used to be.
* "Oh, please, Judge -- my Tony, he's a good boy." The mobster's mother pleads for leniency for her child. Most often seen in 1930s and 40s dramas, more often parodied today.
* "Oh ''yes'', ''well done''." Said in a mocking tone. Occasionally accompanied by [[Sarcastic Clapping]].
* "Okay...okay, okay, okay, okay..." While freaking out as a [[Survival Mantra]].
* "O''kay'' then..." Standard response to [[Too Much Information]], [[Digging Yourself Deeper]], [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick]] and other tropes of that ilk, generally indicates a [[Sarcasm Failure]].
* "Olé!" Response to any lively music that sounds even ''vaguely'' Spanish.
* "... once and for all!"
* "''One'', two, three, ''one'', two, three..." Counting out the beats of 3/4 time is the perfect way to set people waltzing.
* "One-way ticket" to someplace that you wouldn't want to go, e.g., "a one-way ticket to jail."
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* "Over my dead body." Ironic and serious.
** Traditional responses include "That can be arranged," "That's the plan," or "Have it your way then," followed by a gunshot. There's also the slightly less evil "If necessary."
== P ==
* "Play time is over." Often used by villains to indicate that they're going to start taking the fight
** And of course, from the video game that manages to directly use so so many stock phrases completely straight: "Play time is over, [[Star Fox (series)|Star Fox]]!"
* "Please don't shoot my dog, he couldn't have eaten those sheep!"
* "''Please'' tell me you're kidding..."
== R ==
* "Rape isn't about sex, it's about power." <s>Often</s> Universally [[Truth in Television]].
* "Remember where we parked." Usually a comedic phrase that either follows parking the automobile/ship in a crowded or unusual spot.
* "Rest in Pieces". Back when this joke was used for the first time, it might be amusing. It's not amusing [[Dead Horse Trope|when you hear it millions of times]], though.
* "The rest is history." Used when the speaker expects the listener to already know what happened.
* "Right, let's do this."
* "Rules are meant to be broken."
== S ==
* "Says the X..." In forms like "Says the X to the Y" or "Says the X who/that did whatever."▼
* "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".
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* "Oh, shut up...": Usually said after an [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] or a lame [[Chew Bubblegum]] line.
* "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]].
* "So there I was..."▼
* "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.
▲* "So there I was..."
* "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.
* "Stay with me, stay with me..." Said to someone who's been critically injured or wounded and is in danger of dying before emergency aid arrives.
* "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.
▲* "Says the X..." In forms like "Says the X to the Y" or "Says the X who/that did whatever."
== T ==
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** Subverted in ''[[Fables]]'', where the dying man says: "Tell each of my girlfriends I said her name last."
** Also subverted in the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "Brannigan Begin Again": '''Neutral Leader:''' "If I don't survive, tell my wife: Hello."
** Wonderfully subverted in ''[[No Country for Old Men]]'', near the start of the film.
{{quote|'''Llewellyn''', speaking to his wife: "If I don't come back, tell my Mom I love her."
** Nicely subverted in the reboot of ''[[Star Trek (film)|Star Trek]]'', in which Spock starts one of these and Kirk cuts him off -- to assure him the plan's going to work.▼
'''Llewellyn's wife''': "Your mama's been dead for years..."
'''Llewellyn''': "Oh. Then I guess I'll tell her myself."}}
▲** Nicely subverted in the reboot of ''[[Star Trek (film)|Star Trek]]'', in which Spock starts one of these and Kirk cuts him
* "That was too close.": Spoken just after a near miss by a projectile, a last-second disarming of a bomb, etc. Sometimes seen in a two-character variation, as "That was close." "Yeah, a little ''too'' close."
* "That went well.": Sentence used to break the appalled hush after something goes terribly wrong.
** A common subversion involves the apparent disaster to turn out to be a good thing after
** ''[[Firefly]]'' only used it once, but it was spoken by a naked man marooned in the middle of the desert. What's ''really'' funny is that he meant it!
** Alpha 5's line after the first meeting with the would-be [[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]] in "The Day Of the Dumpster" goes very wrong.
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* "There goes our deposit." Spoken when property damage ensues.
* "There's no 'I' in 'team'!" Optional stock response: "But there's an 'm' and an 'e', and that spells ''me''!" (Then there's the response from web series ''Red vs. Blue'': "Yeah, and there's no U either. So if I'm not on the team and you're not on the team, there's nobody on the goddamned team! The team sucks!")
{{quote|
'''House''': There is a 'me', though...if you jumble it up a bit. }}
** This troper prefers, "Then why is there an 'I' in 'partnership?" He's never had the opportunity to use it though.
* "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.
{{quote|There’s something you don’t see every day.|Dr. Peter Venkman, as the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man walked down a Manhattan street|''[[Ghostbusters]]''}}
* "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!"
* "Things can't get any worse." Things will always get worse. See [[Tempting Fate]], [[Rock Bottom]], and [[Finagle's Law]].
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* "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."
* "This isn't what it looks like!" When somebody walks in on something that looks worse than it is.
* "Those are prescription glasses!" When a [[Blind Without'Em]] character is robbed of his spectacles.
** Parodied in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' with the obese Comic Book Guy: "Those are prescription pants!"
* "This will all end in tears." Often used by [[The Eeyore]] to express doubt in the current plan or actions of other characters.
* "Those drums are driving me ''mad!''" British explorer/colonial (complete with pith helmet) is having trouble dealing with native communications protocols.
** [[Comically Missing the Point|"Sorry! He's not our usual drummer!"]]
* "Try and get some (rest/sleep)." Said after a particularly trying experience for one or more characters, generally during a down-time scene before [[The Climax]]. Often accompanied by a hug, pat on the back, or even a tuck into bed.
== V ==
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==
* "Was it good for you?": Asked after having sex.
* "Was it something I said?": When a conversation ends with one person suddenly thumping the other person and/or storming out and slamming the door, the other person says this. Usually, what they said or did to prompt the reaction is blindingly obvious to everyone except them. But occasionally, it was something completely external, such as the activation of the Bat Signal.
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* "Water! Water!" Has to be exclaimed when someone is [[Fainting]] in public.
* "We are asking the questions here!" Usually with a German accent. Can make [[Talking Your Way Out]] very difficult.
* "
* "We can't take that chance!" Indicates when [[The Federation]] ([[Hostage for Macguffin|or even the Hero]]) all-but-folds in the face of the huge demands of the villain [[
* "We didn't start this fight, but we're gonna finish it."
* "We do not negotiate with terrorists". When this line is uttered, expect negotiation with terrorists to follow fairly quickly.
** Although not in ''[[
** Parodied in ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' when Mayor Quimby says, "This city will not negotiate with terrorists. Is there a city nearby that will?"
* "We don't know what we're fighting for!"
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** 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.
{{quote|'''[[Rocky and Bullwinkle|Rocky]]:''' That voice. Where have I heard that voice?
'''Bullwinkle:''' [[Lampshade Hanging|In about 364 other episodes. But I don't know who it is, either]].}}
* "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
▲* 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 git underestimated.
* "When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much..." The opening of [[The Talk]].
* "Where have you been? You missed all the excitement!" Usually said to the one who was secretly the cause of the excitement. Common in the [[Superhero]] genre.
* "Why can't I make you see, Pa? I got music inside of me." The gifted child tries to explain what drives him to his more down-to-earth parent. Variations are common and continue to the present
* "Why don't you come up to my place?" The classic come-on line (though variations in phrasing are numerous).
** ''On The Town'' has the comic duet "Come Up To My Place."
** Used in ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' in homosexual contexts.
* "Who turned out the lights?" A character has just been blinded, often by a bucket landing on his head.
** In ''[[Key Largo]]'', after a spate of this line being uttered, one character mentions "I'm the electrician."
** Common in [[Hanna-Barbera]] cartoons, especially ''[[The Flintstones]]''.
** [[Nightmare Fuel]] to ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fans of late, thanks to [[Steven Moffat]].
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* "With you by my side as queen..."
* "Why me?" Often uttered by characters (usually the [[Deadpan Snarker]] or [[Butt Monkey]]) when things never seem to go right for them.
== X ==
* "X?! Ooh, I love X! ... What's X?"
== Y ==
* "Ya gotta believe me!" The Standard Suspect Punch Line, used to end almost every interrogation that includes an unbelievable alibi.
* "Yes, I did it, and I'm glad!" Standard line in the [[Motive Rant]], often used by the faithless wife confessing to her husband's murder.
* "...yes? no?" [[Funny Foreigner
* "You ARE the One!" The usual statement when the most adamant doubter of the [[The Chosen One]] is finally convinced.
* "You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy." Almost any other noun can take the place of "country" in order to fit this to the current context.
* "You can't do this!" "I just did!"
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* "You won't get away with this!" "But I already have." Your typical superhero and enemy exchange. Related to [[Just Between You and Me]].
** Subverted in the famous miniseries/graphic novel ''Watchmen'':
{{quote|
''' {{spoiler|Ozymandias}}:''' "Do it? Dan, I'm not a Republic serial villain. Do you seriously think I'd explain my master-stroke if there remained the slightest chance of you affecting its [[The Tokyo Fireball|outcome]]? {{spoiler|[[Dangerously Genre Savvy|I did it thirty-five minutes ago.]]"}} }}
* "You would have done the same." Standard response of a character confronted by their past morally ambiguous actions.
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* "You're really starting to piss me off."
* "You're weird. I'm <really strange thing>, but it's ''you'' that's weird." The dark grey pot tells the kettle that it's really, ''really'' black.
* "You still have family in [[The Old Country]], don't you?" [[Shame If Something Happened|Standard lead-in to a threat/blackmail attempt]] by an enemy agent in a [[World War Two]] or [[Cold War]] setting.
* "You've got til noon to leave Santa Fe." Or there's going to be one heck of a gunfight at the climax of the film.
* "You've been hurt!" Or just "____, you're hurt!"
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Stock Phrases]]
▲[[Category:Other Stock Phrases]]
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