# Media references that NOBODY ever gets. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2003, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498 "2003-12-17T07:55:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/101 "2003-12-18T14:05:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tygr \* > > **"Ever hear of origami?"** > > - From a Little Caesars Pizza ad. Said whenever confronted with an empty cardboard box. Followed by folding/spindling/mutilating box into bizzare shape and proudly proclaiming, “A Pterodactyl!” then bounding off making loud cawing noises. Oh my gosh, **Tygr** , I reference that too, only I say “A Pterodactyl!” when someone asks me “what’s that?” or “what are you doing there?” and then I make the CAW CAW noise. At which point I start choking with laughter, because honestly, is anything funnier than the noise of a pterodactyl? And then the other person usually says “wow, your life is really sad, isn’t it?” Others: “I have no response to that.” from _Joe vs. The Volcano_ which I use absolutely deadpan in stupid work meetings. “Always remember, and don’t ever forget …” from _The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai_ just before I am about to spout some wisdom, usually about things like how to change the toner in the fax machine. “… cats and dogs, living together …” which I think is from _Ghostbusters_. Said with great agitation when something has fallen into complete chaos, like when the toner gets jammed into the fax machine because someone didn’t put it in correctly and everyone is standing around wringing their hands over it. This probably doesn’t quite fit into this thread, because some people DO get it, but if they don’t get it, they are absolutely confused, and sometimes you can see them sort of running through the mental picture of cats and dogs, well, living together. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/102 "2003-12-18T14:22:27Z")
Am I the only person who uses _pre_-1970 pop-culture references? ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/103 "2003-12-18T14:25:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trunk \* > \*\*I believe **I’ll buy that for a dollar** was from a commercial that ran a couple of times during something like **The Running Man** or **Total Recall**. That’s ringing a bell for me, but I’m prepared to be told I’m full of shit. \*\* Close, it’s actually the first **Robocop.** ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/104 "2003-12-18T15:25:05Z")
I remember “I’d buy that for a dollar” from a game called Super Smash TV where you fought monsters and won fabulous prizes. Just sayin’, there may be different sources. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/105 "2003-12-18T16:24:48Z")
Well, **Eve** , um, _Ted Kennedy was shot?!?_ “I’ll buy that for a dollar” is originally from Robocop – it was the punchline to a commercial that you could see running in the background in various scenes. IIRC, a nebbishy little guy with a beautiful trohpy wife was ecstatically pleased when she hired a similarly-beautiful prostitute for him on his birthday; the phrase was his, um, ejaculation of pleasure. It was then used in SmashTV some years later as one of the things the smarmy host said whenever you did something particularly cool. I thought of another one I use – whever I see some person get injured in a funny way, especially if it’s the result of a prank I pulled, I say “Now _that’s_ comedy!” – Slappy Squirrel’s tag line from Animaniacs. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/106 "2003-12-18T17:09:52Z")
I have the unfortunate habit of spouting old SNL lines in a country that doesn’t show SNL. Just _try_ explaining why you just said “I’m _Gumby_, dammit!” to someone who a) has never seen SNL and 2) doesn’t know who or what Gumby is. I think that’s grounds for commital in the UK. I actually pulled a double the other day. Waiting quietly in the choir onstage for the arrival of the (late) soloists and conductor, and watching the audience get progressively more restless, I turned to the person next to me, gestured to the crowd and said (in my best Linda Richmond impersonation) “Tawk amongst yawselves. I’ll give you a tawpic: A fishstick is neither a fish nor a stick; it is a fungus. Discuss.” I got a very strange look indeed. Fortunately the person sitting behind me was American and thought this was quite funny indeed. Except that now I can’t remember where the fishstick joke came from – it’s either from “Life in Hell” or “Sam and Max” though. ---
**Author:** ![CadburyAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@CadburyAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CadburyAngel)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/107 "2003-12-18T17:16:17Z")
Well, I have been dying to say, “Don’t worry honey, as long as there’s sidewalks, you’ll have a job” to somebody, but I haven’t worked up the nerve nor gotten angry enough yet. One that people rarely get is from **Spinal Tap** : “I’d probably feel much worse about this if I weren’t under such heavy sedation.” Perfect when people are freaking out about something that’s really not such a big deal, and you’re maintaining your cool and they give you a hard time about it. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/108 "2003-12-18T17:16:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BraheSilver \* > \*\*Oh yeah, I just remembered. _Snatch_ is a treasure trove of good lines, if you have the right situations. > > It was a tricky angle! > > Who took the jam out of your doughnut? > > Protection from whom? [thick accent]_Ze Germans?!_ > > Quoth the Virgin Mary, ‘Come again?’ > > This diamond is a phony. Fake. Not genuine. And it’s worth… (hand gesture) Fuck-all. > > Look inside the dog. > > And my favorite - a string of Pikey Irish-tinged gibberish ending with ‘periwinkle blue.’ \*\* Two that I use from this (great) film: “What? Proper fucked?” And (when talking about the timing of something) “Before _ze Germans_ get here?” Also, probably mis-quoted from _Cast a Deadly Spell_, “Get up, Mahoney. People’ll think you’ve never been smacked by a broad before.” ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/109 "2003-12-18T17:18:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CadburyAngel \* > **Well, I have been dying to say, “Don’t worry honey, as long as there’s sidewalks, you’ll have a job” to somebody, but I haven’t worked up the nerve nor gotten angry enough yet.** Ah, there’s no Blondell like a Joan Blondell! ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/110 "2003-12-18T17:19:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lissener \* > \*\* > > “I’D BUY THAT FOR A DOLLAR!” \*\* From Robocop, of course… but the interesting thing about it is that it’s a quote itself. From “The Marching Morons”, a short story by CM Kornbluth, I believe. Classic science fiction about the dumbing of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/111 "2003-12-18T17:26:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cliffy \* > **Well, Eve, um, _Ted Kennedy was shot?!?_** Heh. That reminds me: on at least two occasions I’ve been able to use the line “Mickey Mouse’s dog was gay?!?” to great comic effect. It helps that nobody remembers _Soap_ anymore, so I can take full credit for the line. On the pre-1970’s front, I’ve also used “If that’s too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff”, but Marx Brothers quote too often require a good lead-in. I do sometimes do Lena Lamont impersonations that at least make my wife laugh; especially “Whaddaya think I am: dumb or sumpin’?” and “I caaaaahhhn’t stannum.” ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/112 "2003-12-18T18:00:28Z")
And then, depression set in. (When something bad happens to me) Cleaning woman. (With very exaggerated lip movements. When I’m trying to get someone’s goat) There’s always work at the post office. (When something bad happens to someone else) Wee - na (When someone doesn’t get what I’m explaining) That’s my head! (When I’m drunk/stoned) Now… someone else gets to guess what movies/shows they are from. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/113 "2003-12-18T18:05:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > **You and me both. And it was, indeed, from the extremely short-lived (thank God) soap _Fresno!_, which was supposed to be a sort of _Dallas_ but with wine plantations instead of oil fields.** Grape plantations for raisins, not wine. They were trying to be breakfast-cereal kings. You might be thinking of the blessedly short lived _Filthy Rich_, source of “Marrrr-shalll, it’s raining! \ Thunder Marshall, Thunder!” > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*Not sure if it was supposed to be funny or not. I seem to remember the commercials making it out to be a comedy, but I also don’t remember laughing at anything in the show. \*\* Not even, “I was busy, raising Kane?”. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/114 "2003-12-18T18:07:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > \*\*That’s my head! (When I’m drunk/stoned) > > Now… someone else gets to guess what movies/shows they are from. \*\* That one’s from _Fast Times at Ridgemont High_, but it’s actually, “That’s my skull!” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/115 "2003-12-18T18:13:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > **Cleaning woman. (With very exaggerated lip movements. When I’m trying to get someone’s goat)** _Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid_ > [@](#): > > **There’s always work at the post office. (When something bad happens to someone else)** _Hollywood Shuffle_ Another fine movie for random quotes is _Fletch_: “Can I borrow your towel? My car just hit a water buffalo.” “Do you have the Beatle’s White Album? Never mind; just get me a hot cup of fat…and while you’re out there bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia.” “Oh it’s me, Dr. Rosenpenis…” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/116 "2003-12-18T18:14:43Z")
“I want _my_ cigarettes, Miss Ratched! I don’t want his cigarettes, or _his_ cigarettes! I want _my_ cigarettes!” (If you commit to the performance, this one gets you some _really_ strange looks.) > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gyrate \* > \*\*Except that now I can’t remember where the fishstick joke came from – it’s either from “Life in Hell” or “Sam and Max” though. \*\* As I myself posted earlier in this very thread, it’s from “Life in Hell.” Brush up your Shakespeare, bucko. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/117 "2003-12-18T18:21:14Z")
Not my damn planet, Monkey Boy! (When someone tells me of possible consequences of what I’m doing/planning) You guys are doing great so far. 3 out of 5 including one correction! And I haven’t even started on the Trek stuff yet… ---
**Author:** ![Tygr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df788c/32.png) [@Tygr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tygr)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/118 "2003-12-18T18:30:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gyrate \* > \*\*I do sometimes do Lena Lamont impersonations that at least make my wife laugh; especially “Whaddaya think I am: dumb or sumpin’?” and “I caaaaahhhn’t stannum.” \*\* Oh, goodness YES! Lena makes for great commentary. “Put together!” AND we often will go into an exaggerated shaking-your-head-while-in-a-deep-voice-saying-“Yes, yes, YES!” followed by the other person going into an exaggerated nodding-your-head-while-in-a-high-voice-saying-“No, no, NO!”. _(all of the above, in case you’re wondering, are from “Singing in the Rain”.)_ I’ll also sometimes answer a question with a metallic-voiced “Yes!” or “No!”, or, if called for, an emphatic “No! No! No! No!”, a la the bit from _Tron_. End of line. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/119 "2003-12-18T18:33:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CadburyAngel \* > One that people rarely get is from **Spinal Tap** : “I’d probably feel much worse about this if I weren’t under such heavy sedation.” Perfect when people are freaking out about something that’s really not such a big deal, and you’re maintaining your cool and they give you a hard time about it. \*\* “You ask yourself, how much more sucky could this cheesburger be and the answer is none. None more sucky.” “I know what the problem is. Your wife.” “She’s not my wife!” “Whatever fuck she is.” “What’s wrong with being sexy?” “It was in danger of being trounced upon!” “Have a good time. . . ALL the time.” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/120 "2003-12-18T18:38:42Z")
> [@](#): > > **Eve** : Am I the only person who uses pre-1970 pop-culture references? Whenever someone introduces me to some new joy, my stock ejaculation is “Flyspecks! I’ve been spending my life amongst flyspecks!” (_Harvey_) I don’t often get a chance to trot it out, but I like to say “When I come back, I expect to find you gone. Wait for me.” (_Arsenic and Old Lace_) Moving back into more recent obscurity, I just remembered one that no-one _ever_ appreciates, even when the context is damned-near perfect: > [@](#): > > [Herve Villachez voice] I love to feel your nipples stiffen as I caress them with my fingertips! [/HVV] Nobody understands me. Sometimes I even detect a slight detumescence. Go figure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498.md?page=7)