Should Have Thought of That Before X

• Main
• All Subpages
• Create New

Principal Skinner: Over here, Simpson! The detention room is dangerously overcrowded so you'll be spending your time in the cafeteria. Student: Oxygen running out... Principal Skinner: Yes, you should have thought of that before you made that paper airplane. —The Simpsons

So a particular situation, severe or trivial, could whether rightly or wrongly be perceived as character A's fault, by character A or by another character, based on point [X]. Cue a Stock Phrase of one of two forms:

"I should have thought of that before [X]." if said by character A.

OR

"You should have thought of that before [X]." if said by another character.

Very commonly used by parents and other adults when disciplining children, as everyone who was once a child can likely attest.

Examples of Should Have Thought of That Before X include:

Film

• The Dark Knight

Maroni: This madness... it's just too much. Gordon: You should have thought of that before you let that clown out of the box.

• The Emperors New Groove

Yzma: It is no concern of mine whether or not your family has...what was it again? Peasant: Umm...food? Yzma: Ha! You should have thought of that before you became peasants!

• • And another one of the more trivial variety:

Guard: For the last time, we did NOT order a giant trampoline! Salesman: You know, pal, you could have told me that before I set it up.

• American Pop

Palumbo: Don't you think it's time for a wedding? Zalmie: How can I ask her? I don't have a cent. Palumbo: You should have thought of that before you got her pregnant.

• Beethoven Lives Upstairs

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Where are the pens! I need a pen! Schindler: You should have thought of that before you destroyed the last one!

Live Action TV

• House episode "Hunting"

Kalvin: This is none of your business! House: Well, you should have thought of that before you stalked me. Now I'm interested.

• Heroes episode "Chapter Eighteen 'Parasite'"

Isaac Mendez: How am I supposed to pretend this didn't happen? Candice Wilmer: Maybe you should have thought about that before you shot her. Twice.

• Ugly Betty episode "A Tree Grows in Guadalajara"

Alexis: [Hates the fact that Daniel is seeing her ex-girlfriend] Daniel: You're just jealous because I've got the one thing you can't have. Guess you should have thought of that before you gave away the family jewels, huh?

• Dollhouse episode "Omega"

Caroline: Hey! That *is* my brain! I want my brain back! I want back in my brain! Alpha: You should have thought of that before you vacated the premises.

• In one disturbing example from Law and Order Special Victims Unit, a man is framed for raping a teenage girl, and is subsequently abused in prison. He pleads with the officers for protection but they just tell him, "You should have thought about the pecking order before you raped that girl." He ends up getting killed.

Theatre

• From Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance:

Sergeant of Police: It is most distressing to us to be the agents whereby our erring fellow-creatures are deprived of that liberty which is so dear to us all-- but we should have thought of that before we joined the force.

Web Original

• The Joker Blogs

Mr Quinzel: I just don't want to have anything happen to my daughter. The Joker: Probably should've thought of that before you gave her away.

Western Animation

• Aside from the current page quote, The Simpsons provides another example that sort of toys with this. In "Lost Our Lisa", Lisa can't go to the Isis Exhibit because Marge has to take Bart to the hospital to get the novelty items he glued to his face removed, leading to this exchange:

Lisa: Oh! It's the last day of the Isis exhibit! Bart: Well, you should have thought of that BEFORE I glued all this stuff to my face!

• • Occurred another time when Homer gets banned from Moe's Tavern after pranking Moe by unscrewing a lid to a jar of sugar.

Homer: Aw, come on, everybody. This bar is like a tavern to me. Moe: Sorry, Homer, you should have thought of that before you gave me the old sugar-me-do.

• Teen Titans.

Robber: [Bats come swarming out of the shadows] Who's there? I don't want any trouble. Robin: You should have thought about that before you committed the crime!

• In the South Park two-parter "Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut" when Lianne is talking about abortion:

Lianne: I mean, what right do I have bringing another child into this overpopulated world? Then again, I should have thought of that before having sex...