Other Stock Phrases: Difference between revisions

 

== A ==

* "After them!"

** 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.)

* "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]].

** ''[[Clone High]]''

** ''[[Frasier]]''

* "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."

** ''[[Dirty Rotten Scoundrels]]'' [[The Musical]]

{{quote|"As we say in Vienna, 'Ole!'"}}

"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 ==

* "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.

* "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.

* "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."

* [[Dastardly Whiplash|"Curses! Foiled again!"]]

* "Curse you!"

 

== D ==

* "Does your mother know you're out?" Asked when someone isn't deemed tough enough—or old enough—for the context. (Averted and Lampshaded in [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s ''[[Iolanthe]]'' (1882) when Phyllis asks Strephon if his immortal fairy mother is aware of their engagement.)

* "Do you know who I am?" Said by the arrogant famous/powerful villain.

* "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 just stand there, ''do'' something!"

* "Don't look now, but..."

* "Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining." Popularized, but not coined, by ''[[Judge Judy]]''.

* "Don't tell me [unpleasant or unwelcome fact]". "Okay, I won't tell you."

** 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].

** 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."

 

== F ==

* "First time for everything."—Especially in (smug) response to "Nobody has ever succeeded in this task!", "I have never been defeated!", [[Tempting Fate|etc]].

* "From up here, they all look like ants!"—Said from atop a skyscraper or airplane. Cue the giant ants.

 

== G ==

* "God, I missed you."

* "Good luck... you'll need it."

* "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 ==

* "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 ==

* "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]]''.

* "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 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 knew that." No they didn't.

* "''I'' know that, and ''you'' know that, but ''he'' doesn't know that."

* "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..."

* "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.

** 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!"

'''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''."

* "[[Summation Gathering|I suppose you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today...]]"

* "It Can't 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]].

** 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.

** "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's a bird! It's a plane!"—Due to [[Popcultural Osmosis]].

* "It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it."

** Used in ''Spider-Man'': "This is my gift. This is my curse."

* "It's a trap!"

* "It's beautiful!"—Usually said by a female character when she receives a gift.

* "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 not about the (trivial thing)!" Said when it's time to discuss What's Going Wrong in This Relationship.

* "It's our only hope!"

* "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 ==

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

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

 

== M ==

* "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 ==

* "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.

* "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 where, when." Said by one time traveler after the less experienced companion asks "Where are we?"

* "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''.

== O ==

* "... of the ____shire Smiths." That is, the old-money ones. Sometimes shortened to "... of ''those'' Smiths."

* "Oh no! Not [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]! Anything but [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]!"

** "[[Robert McKimson|Nnnoot the Thiiinnkeeeeeer!]]"

* "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 ==

** 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 ==

* "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.

* "Right, let's do this."

* "Rules are meant to be broken."

 

== 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".

* "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.

* "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.

 

== T ==

** 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."

** 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.

* "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."

* "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!")

'''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.

* "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.

** 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.

* "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 ==

** 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?"

* "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.

** 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.

** Common in [[Hanna-Barbera]] cartoons, especially ''[[The Flintstones]]''.

** [[Nightmare Fuel]] to ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fans of late, thanks to [[Steven Moffat]].

* "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 ==

 

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