# Origin of 'I'll be here all week' meme **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512 "2006-01-25T04:25:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/1 "2006-01-25T04:25:48Z")
So I think I get that that’s what touring comics who were working at clubs/Vegas would say- “I’ll be here all week.” Anyone know when the meme started picking up so much as something people said after saying a joke? Like, your friend makes a joke, and follows it with “Thank you, I’ll be here all week”? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/2 "2006-01-25T04:29:03Z")
That is pretty well-known schtick for lounge entertainers, as you say, but I think it was thrust into the public consciousness in Shrek. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/3 "2006-01-25T05:49:00Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > Anyone know when the meme started picking up so much as something people said after saying a joke? I’m the wrong person to ask, because I do stand-up. And so most people I meet will use it after they crack a joke. Among comedians and the like, however, there are nuances to it. Do you throw in the bit about tipping your waitress? Do you say, “I’ll be here all week…try the veal?” What about meatloaf? Is “meatloaf” funnier than “veal?” Believe it or not, I’ve actually had discussions with people about those topics, and more. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/4 "2006-01-25T06:50:25Z")
It probably goes all the way back to the Catskills, if not further. I remember hearing it in a popular commercial (for beer, maybe Beck’s?) years before Shrek, but I don’t know when you could say it became really popular. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/5 "2006-01-25T14:04:21Z")
Deja Vu. We had this same, exact thread earlier this friggin’ month. > **[I'll be here all week. Try the veal.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=352286)** > > Little quips like “try the veal” and “remember to tip your servers” often appear after bad one-liners in SDMB posts, and on many other message baords. We know comedians always used likes like this after their performance, but I never saw people... ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/6 "2006-01-25T14:49:19Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I remember hearing it in a popular commercial (for beer, maybe Beck’s?) years before Shrek That is what I remember. A guy with a German accent telling unfunny jokes and saying “Thank You. I’ll be here all the week”. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/7 "2006-01-25T15:56:17Z")
I’ve heard several variations on this, including: “Thank you, I’ll be here all week.” “Good night, thank you, be sure to tip your waitresses.” “Thank you, good night, drive safely.” Obviously, these are all sign-offs that standup comedians have done for years. But I’ve invariably heard them after someone has just told a joke that utterly bombed. A friend may tell a joke he thinks will get a huge laugh, and when the reaction is deafening silence, he’ll try to escape with a smile and a “Thank you, I’ll be here all week.” It’s become shorthand for, “I see now that joke was a stinker- sorry!” For decades, David Letterman has been saying “Good night, drive safely,” after a joke goes over badly. He may have been the one to perpetuate the idea that an old Catskills comedian’s sign off was a safe way to apologize/duck responsibility for a bad joke. ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/8 "2006-01-25T18:09:47Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’ve heard several variations on this, including: > > “Thank you, I’ll be here all week.” > > “Good night, thank you, be sure to tip your waitresses.” > > “Thank you, good night, drive safely.” > > Obviously, these are all sign-offs that standup comedians have done for years. But I’ve invariably heard them after someone has just told a joke that utterly bombed. A friend may tell a joke he thinks will get a huge laugh, and when the reaction is deafening silence, he’ll try to escape with a smile and a “Thank you, I’ll be here all week.” > > It’s become shorthand for, “I see now that joke was a stinker- sorry!” > > For decades, David Letterman has been saying “Good night, drive safely,” after a joke goes over badly. He may have been the one to perpetuate the idea that an old Catskills comedian’s sign off was a safe way to apologize/duck responsibility for a bad joke. The “tip your waitress” one was done, I’m almost certain, by Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura- I thought of that one already. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/9 "2006-01-25T18:51:38Z")
How’s the veal? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/10 "2006-01-25T19:20:44Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Among comedians and the like, however, there are nuances to it. Do you throw in the bit about tipping your waitress? Do you say, “I’ll be here all week…try the veal?” What about meatloaf? Is “meatloaf” funnier than “veal?” I prefer “I’ll be here all the week…Don’t forget to tip the veal.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/11 "2006-01-25T20:01:33Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > I prefer “I’ll be here all the week…Don’t forget to tip the veal.” 🙂 And try your waitress! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/12 "2006-01-25T22:18:02Z")
**Sports Illustrated** used to have a weekly column of sport-related humor/one-liners, that always closed with something similar. (The column is no longer being run, otherwise I’d have more specifics). This author’s shtick was slightly different – he’d close each week’s column with the name of a washed-up 80s rock band, presumably playing the resort circuit (a different band each week), and following the comic onstage. Like, “You’ve been great – enjoy REO Speedwagon.” ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/13 "2006-01-26T01:14:39Z")
I kind of remember this being started by Jay Leno when he used to be a frequent guest on Letterman’s show. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-ill-be-here-all-week-meme/341512/14 "2006-01-26T01:20:43Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > I prefer “I’ll be here all the week…Don’t forget to tip the veal.” 🙂 Most important rule of “veal tipping?” Get drunk first.