Catchphrases. You all know them. Those little bits of dialouge that start in one medium and spread through mass culture. In the past year or so we’ve had such phrases as “Wazzzup!”, “You quiero Taco Bell!”, “Is that your final answer?”, and (most recently) “All your base are belong to us” come and go.
My question is: What makes a catchphrase a catchphrase? What qualities does something have to have to become so infectious?
On a related note, what causes catchphrases to die? For weeks at a time, AYBABTU was the toast of the 'net. Then, almost literally overnight, it ceased to be funny and mentioning it could be the cause of death threats. Some have attributes it to a phrase expanding beyond the realm of cult-dom, therefore becoming mainstream and “boring” [For example AYBABTU was mentioned in some widely circulated publications shortly before it died out. But are there other reasons? Granted, something will always get old, but why the sudden death syndrome?
(And one final thing: beware of “You are the weakest link!” I sense potential catchphrase status there…]
Sense?
Kee-hrist, man. NBC already has overdone that phrase in just two weeks of airing the show. It’s already annoying.
The problem with catch phrases is just that. They are overused by those who believe they are being witty and original by parroting a piece of pop culture.
Anything, from jokes to phrases, that is repeated enough times gets old, trite and clichéd.
However, it is interesting that there are some catch phrases, such as “All your bases …” that go no farther than the 'Net. Can’t say I’ve seen the above in other media, but I could be mistaken.
If so, then … Well, excuuuuuuse meeeee!
I dunno. I think Seinfeld had some CPs that have lasted quite long. I wouldn’t even say they are on the outs now.
I still find pleasure saying “Hellllooooo Newman!” csg
Maybe even a Honeymooner one might survive. But generally they are either part of an AD campaign where they suddenly realize they have a hit line and cram it down our throats. I think late night comedians do that to. Once they figure they have something they beat it like a dead horse. David Letterman is a prime example. Sometimes he’ll just latch onto a phrase and maybe you’ll laugh the first couple times he gets that look and you say to yourself “here we go again.”
As for what causes a CP to die … Allow me to theorize. We live in a society (Western for me) where peer pressure is tremendous. We all love to be part of the group and as soon somebody begins to express disatisfaction with something, those around him will rather quickly begn to gravitate towards that idea. Now I’m not saying that 1 person is responsible for the death of AYBABTU but probably a small percentage of the people sensed that people were ready to let it go and lept off the bandwagon and pretty quickly most everybody followed. Let’s call it, oh I don’t know, the Lemming Theory.
Actually, I think the Seinfeld reference can be more illuminating. Remember the “Hellllllllllooooooooooooo” episode? How Jerry beats that little voice and it’s “La-La-Laaaa” to death everytime anyone was around? After awhile, even George is asking “Still?”
I think it’s a simple case of something being funny the first hundred times or so you hear it and then it’s “OK, we’ve gotten all the laughs we’re going to out of this.”
Of course, they’re back to saying it by the end of the episode, so what the hell do I know. 
People take up catchphrases because they’re new and different. Once they stop being new, they drop them.
What makes a catchphrase catch on? Repetition. It also has to be funny or must strike a chord (e.g., “Have a nice day”).
Would you buy it for a quarter? 
Man, talk about CULT status…Nice to know folks are still reading SF classics
I wonder if it derives from radio comedian Joe Penna’s
“Wanna buy a duck?” from the 30’s
They start out when somebody who’s cool says something that is…uh, really cool. Jerry Seinfeld, e.g.
They reach Catch Phrase status when every goober and every uncool dork starts saying it, because they think it’s the cool thing to say and they want to be cool too. George Costanza, e.g.
Catch Phrases fizzle and die when the cool people quit saying it, lest they be thought a goober or a dork (and all that. And a bag of chips.) - 'cuz most of the people saying it by then are just regular losers.
Latest CP I can’t stand: “Good to know.”
Even that idiot girl on the TV Guide channel says it during the promo for “Meet The Parents.”
Every teenage girl I see says it and it’s making me CRAZY!!
Hasn’t it reached its peak and died yet?!?
Not even close, Kinsey. If the teenage girls are still saying it, then it is by definition on its way up the catch phrase life cycle ladder.
Once their middle-aged parents start saying it, it will be on its way down the slide.