# A "Source this quote!" thread of my very own **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-source-this-quote-thread-of-my-very-own/502734 "2009-07-12T03:31:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-source-this-quote-thread-of-my-very-own/502734/1 "2009-07-12T03:31:16Z")
“What is this \_\_\_\_\_ you speak of?” I see references all the time. Some cheesy sci-fi movie, I’m guessing? ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-source-this-quote-thread-of-my-very-own/502734/2 "2009-07-12T03:58:44Z")
No wait, sorry, I knew I shouldn’t be typing this late at night. :smack: The quote in question is, “What is this \_\_\_ of which you speak?” ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-source-this-quote-thread-of-my-very-own/502734/3 "2009-07-12T04:09:14Z")
Well, while googling I found a mention [here](http://www.scienceaddiction.com/2006/06/08/etymology-what-is-this-you-speak-of/), which led to [here](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002285.html) and [here](http://158.130.17.5/~myl/languagelog/archives/002289.html). > [@](#): > > The origin seems to be in the collective memory of big-screen and small-screen science fiction from the '50s and '60s. It has the sound of a clichéd line spoken by an alien to a human exploring other planets (often the vocative “earthling” is appended). In such “first contact” scenes, aliens can of course speak perfect English yet lack certain key concepts and their associated significations, which the humans can then explain. (It’s also possible to imagine the line spoken in intra-human settings involving time travel, lost tribes, unfrozen cavemen, etc.) > > \< snip \> > > It’s probably just a spurious quotation, along the lines of “Play it again, Sam” or “Judy, Judy, Judy” (or for that matter “Beam me up, Scotty”). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-source-this-quote-thread-of-my-very-own/502734/4 "2009-07-12T04:41:52Z")
Yeah, I think it’s just a parody of the whole sf clueless-alien-who-asks-about-something-blindingly-obvious-to-you-and-me meme. I’ve seen and read a lot of sf over the years, and I can’t recall anyone actually using that phrase. Close to it in the original _Star Trek_, and Data said some roughly similar things in _ST:TNG_, but never that particular phrase. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-source-this-quote-thread-of-my-very-own/502734/5 "2009-07-12T16:24:04Z")
Any ideas on “I know it’s crazy but it just might work!”? ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-source-this-quote-thread-of-my-very-own/502734/6 "2009-07-12T17:00:48Z")
I think the phrase in the OP can be classified as a snowclone. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowclone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowclone) [http://snowclones.org/](http://snowclones.org/) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-source-this-quote-thread-of-my-very-own/502734/7 "2009-07-12T21:05:02Z")
“Judy, Judy, Judy” isn’t spurious. At most, it’s leaves out some words. Cary Grant said “Judy” often in **Only Angels Have Wings** ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-source-this-quote-thread-of-my-very-own/502734/8 "2009-07-12T21:10:12Z")
> **[Article - "Judy, Judy, Judy" - The Ultimate Cary Grant Pages](https://www.carygrant.net/articles/judy.htm)** > > Sources for purchasing all 72 Cary Grant Videos in NTSC format; some PAL in format. Reviews of all CG films by CG fans! Hilarious Fan Fiction! > [@](#): > > Peter Bogdanovich believes that the genesis of the imitation came from Grant’s delivery in several lines in Only Angels Have Wings.. 'In the film his former girl friend is called Judith or Judy (played by Rita Hayworth). Cary has lines like “Hello, Judy. Come on, Judy. Now, Judy.” But he never said “Judy, Judy, Judy.” ’ > > \ > > [Cary Grant]: We looked up track after track and outtake after outtake. As far as we can tell, I never said it. We think it started with a celebrity impersonator by the name of Larry Storch. He apparently was appearing in a nightclub and doing me when Judy Garland walked in. And that’s how he greeted her. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-source-this-quote-thread-of-my-very-own/502734/9 "2009-07-13T17:08:53Z")
It sounds like something General Zod might have said in _ **Superman II** _.