# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/121 "2003-12-18T18:41:28Z")
I use a lot of SNLisms. “Maybe I am, and . . . MAYbe . . . I . . . AM!!” “Hold! Hold! Hold! and . . . . . . . . . . . . release!” “good times.” “And ladies, next time you wanna rob a bank but you don’t want your cooter poked, come to Minnesota!” Oh, and from Fargo: “And it’s such a nice day!” “And I guess that was your accomplice in the woodchipper.” “You gotta hava breakfast, Marge.” “No, I just think I’m gonna barf.” “What the heck d’ya mean?” “I’m not gonna debate you, Jerry. I’m not gonna sit here and debate.” “Prowler needs a jump.” ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/122 "2003-12-18T18:43:02Z")
Oh, and pre-1970: “THE SPOTS! THE SPOTS!” ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/123 "2003-12-18T18:46:14Z")
Actually, my current funniest reference is a cross-cultural non-sequitur. Proclaimed in a Stephen Hawkings synth drone: “One. Billion. Years. Ago. At. Band? Camp?” ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/124 "2003-12-18T19:00:13Z")
One from Barney Fife: “You [insert description of thankless task here], and what do you get in return? HEARTACHE!!” And one from Herb Tarlek: “If you need me for anything at all, I’ll be out driving around in my car somewhere.” ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/125 "2003-12-18T19:02:21Z")
When I’m wandering around the house and not being able to find what I’m looking for, I go to one of the dogs and say “What have you done with Professor Millmoss???” (from a James Thurber cartoon.) ---
**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, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/126 "2003-12-18T19:07:51Z")
My “Wee-na” ref is pre 1970. No one’s guessed it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/127 "2003-12-18T19:22:26Z")
I come from a family of quoters. We quote everthing: movies, TV, songs, comics, what have you. Figured they paid the writers; perhaps they’ve come up with better lines than we’re capable of. However, there are a few we use with regularity: Whenever we’re about to do something with gusto, I pull out the “we’re goin’ in, we’re goin’ in full throttle, that oughta keep those fighters off our backs.” (Star Wars) If someone says something like “Where’d he go?” the proper response is “Where’d _who_ go?” (Top Gun, emphasis on the “who”). And I’ve used a different quote from the Rhubarb commercial noted on page 1: “It’s a plant.” Lately I’ve been using “Whoo hoo, Jester’s dead” whenever something good or notable happens. (Top Gun) “I have absolutely no responsibility here whatsoever” is frighteningly useful. (A Few Good Men) I also say “Yesh” a lot, especially to Mr. Snicks, from the comic _Mutts_. And anything Izzard is good. “I like my women like I like my coffee: in a paper cup.” There’s lots more, but the brain is short today. Snicks ---
**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, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/128 "2003-12-18T19:51:35Z")
Jeez, how could I forget this one, the current favorite: _Me:_ “ThaaAAAAnnnnnnk yOooooou, sirrrrrrRRRR!” _Mrs. Tygr:_ “Gosh, I wish **I** could speak whale.” …followed by both of us breaking down into helpless peals of laughter. (From “Finding Nemo”, the most popular feature in our household.) Oh, yeah. I’ve also started saying “Hhhellooe” just like Bruce the shark. :D[sup]— Including the big toothy grin![/sup] ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/129 "2003-12-18T20:16:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kizarvexius \* > \*\*“FanTABulous!” > > “Cake or Death?” > > “Do you have a flag?” > > (Eddie Izzard) \*\* My favorite Eddie Izzard quotes are: **"…babies on spikes" "I pronounce it _h_erb…because there’s a fucking ‘h’ in it."** Obscure fave – from a snickers commercial several years ago: **"Pretty, pretty panda."** From SNL: **“Simma da na!”** That one comes in handy when we’re having a mild argument and one of us wants to diffuse the situation. High Fidelity: **"A Coooossby sweat-ah!"** ---
**Author:** ![MrMyth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19b73/32.png) [@MrMyth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMyth)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/130 "2003-12-18T20:17:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hampshire \* > \*\*“Pretty soon i’ll make Assistant Manager, and that’s when the BIG BUCKS start rolling in!” > Used a plenty in my younger years with co-workers to make fun of our managers in retail/food service. \*\* Ah, _Coming To America_. I like to use “Its a damn shame what they did to that dog.” whenever something goes wrong. Though my current fave is “It picked meh up with its mind pahwers an’ shook meh like a dawg!” ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/131 "2003-12-18T20:44:19Z")
Pre 1970: “Ohhhhh Daddy! (sob sob)” - Janie from _It’s a Wonderful Life_ And whenever I screw something up or generally want to protest something, I put on my best drunken Mr. Gower: “No. NOOOO!” ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/132 "2003-12-18T20:51:50Z")
**Nutty Bunny** , I use that commercial too! Except I prefer to use it when I ask if someone wants to join me for something. “I bet you do! I’m so pretty! I’m…so…pretty!” ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/133 "2003-12-18T20:51:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > Am I the only person who uses _pre_-1970 pop-culture references? Does **Monty Python** references count? (I used to use “One of these days… one of these days – POW! Right in the kisser!”, but it’s hard to find occassions when that’d be appropriate… 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/134 "2003-12-18T20:57:13Z")
I use a lot of early to mid 90’s Letterman gags. From the episode in Boston, where he tried to make some random kid at BU famous, “The Bah is wicked bizzare!” (“The Bah”, is of course, Matt “The Bar” Hirsch). Also, any time I’m at taco bell, I manage to use “They’re all out of Tack-oh’s”, from when Dave used to send Larry “Bud” Melman and Biff out to harrass people while Dave told them what to say. And, I’ve kept alive his 1997 effort to make “Something from the meat case, Linda?” into a nationally known catch-phrase. Because, it’s just way too genius to not keep alive. ---
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/135 "2003-12-18T21:05:57Z")
Going alone with **Max** , I like using “At the library!” yelled in a Clarence voice. Also, “No, no, you’re the assmaster. There’s a difference.” when someone in my department describes their job. ---
**Author:** ![presidebt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@presidebt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/presidebt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/136 "2003-12-18T21:09:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*Am I the only person who uses _pre_-1970 pop-culture references? \*\* Um, it’s gotta be 'cause all the pre-1970’s referencs aren’t obscure anymore, right? I mean, who doesn’t get, _I AM big; it’s the pictures that got small_? ---
**Author:** ![Montresor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@Montresor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montresor)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/137 "2003-12-18T21:21:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by delphica \* > **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?"** Am I completely mistaken, or does the entire bit go “Origami! The Japanese art of paper-folding! Look, a pterodactyl: caw caw!” Of course, it should be said very quickly. And then, if the listener doesn’t get it, repeat it a couple of times… That’s comedy gold. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by delphica \* > **"… 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…** “Mass hysteria!” I use this one a lot… Actually, a coworker said it to me a couple of weeks ago, which was pleasantly surprising, as she isn’t one of “those people” like myself (ie, a big geek with a head full of nonsensical trivia). Other favorites which I’ve managed to get my coworkers to use are “What did you do, Ray?” and “I’m fuzzy on the whole good-bad thing.” But my favorite moment was when someone came over the PA looking for my coworker “Scott,” asking “is Scott there?” His response, in a _basso profondo_, was “There is no Scott, there is only ZUUL!” Laughter from some, total blanks from others. And I feel like I should rise to **Eve’s** challenge for pre-1970 phrases, but all that I can think of are the Groucho Marx “I certainly hope so, I certainly hope so” with accompanying eyebrow waggle. I also have used quotes from “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” but I am by no means proud of that. Oh, and at dinner, I have repeatedly passed food to my friends or family with a campy “Have a po-TAY-to” courtesy of Earnest Thesiger in “The Old Dark House.” The less said about “The Simpsons” and how they have ruined my ability to construct my own sentences, the better. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/138 "2003-12-18T21:50:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > \*\*And then, depression set in. (When something bad happens to me) > \*\* _Stripes_. ---
**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, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/139 "2003-12-18T22:07:08Z")
Pre-1970: “What’s the use of having ignorance if you can’t show it?” - Lou Costello (from a radio program) Another SNL one I use: [shouted] “Touch my monkey!” Not recommended in public places. And Eddie Izzard: “Chocolate biscuits! \” ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498/140 "2003-12-18T22:39:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lissener \* > \*\*“I’D BUY THAT FOR A DOLLAR!” \*\* It seems about once a week I’ll be watching some sort of motion picture and one of the characters will say something which will tickle me just so and I’ll vow to remember it to use later. And in my 29 years of life pretty much the only one that I remembered long enough to use was that one. Although my life is pretty bereft of conversation at the moment and whatever lines I try to recall tends to go bad before I can use them. Actually I do occaisionally say “Look _that_ up in your Funk & Wagnalls.” Obscure enough for my generation I suppose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/media-references-that-nobody-ever-gets/219498.md?page=8)