# What is the most commonly used phrase in English that came from a movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 2, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068 "2024-12-02T16:37:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/201 "2024-12-26T20:42:16Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > Today I learned that “Shut your pie hole” came from Christine by Stephen King. It was in the book and used in the movie. As a child in the UK in the 60s I was familiar with ‘shut your cake hole’, but not ‘pie hole’. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/202 "2024-12-27T01:17:35Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > a real _Sliding Doors_ moment’, where had something panned out slightly differently, the future could have been very different I’m not familiar with that term but perhaps Butterfly Effect? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/203 "2024-12-27T02:04:54Z")
No, the two are completely different. The Butterfly Effect was illustrated in the episode of _ **The Simpsons** _ where Homer goes back in time and kills a dinosaur, thereby altering the future. The Sliding Doors Effect was illustrated in the movie _ **Sliding Doors** _, where making and missing a subway train produced two alternative futures. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/204 "2024-12-27T02:56:25Z")
In _Ghostbusters_, > [@Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/797): > > In the OED, Bill Murray is credited with the first recorded [proleptic](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolepsis) usage of the word “toast”. From the OED: The lines in quot. 1983 do not in fact appear in the U.S. film Ghostbusters as released in 1985, since a considerable amount of the dialogue is ad-libbed. The actual words spoken by Venkman (played by Bill Murray) as he prepares to fire a laser-type weapon, are, ‘This chick is toast’; this is probably the origin of the proleptic construction which has gained particular currency. 19… ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/205 "2024-12-27T12:19:25Z")
Would “red pill” qualify? ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/206 "2024-12-27T13:15:23Z")
I would think so. As would ‘a glitch in the Matrix’. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/207 "2024-12-27T13:52:52Z")
I wonder, did the crack about bringing a knife to a gunfight (and all its variations) originate with _The Untouchables_? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/208 "2024-12-28T02:31:32Z")
I have heard more about the blue pill: > **[Blue Pill (software)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Pill_(software))** > > Blue Pill is the codename for a rootkit based on x86 virtualization. Blue Pill originally required AMD-V (Pacifica) virtualization support, but was later ported to support Intel VT-x (Vanderpool) as well. It was designed by Joanna Rutkowska and originally demonstrated at the Black Hat Briefings on August 3, 2006, with a reference implementation for the Microsoft Windows Vista kernel. > The name is a reference to the red pill and blue pill concept from the 1999 film The Matrix. > The Blue Pill conce... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/209 "2024-12-28T04:33:35Z")
That was the first time I ever heard it. How about “I have a bad feeling about this”? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/210 "2024-12-28T07:59:18Z")
Houston, we have a problem. Show me the money! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/211 "2024-12-28T14:17:50Z")
I still think “The Usual Suspects” must be a strong contender. So far as I know, that phrase had never been used prior to Casablanca, and it’s definitely used regularly, even by people who’ve never seen the movie. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/212 "2024-12-28T15:14:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I still think “The Usual Suspects” must be a strong contender. It even made it into German as “die üblichen Verdächtigen”, which is rare because Casablanca, as most foreign movies, was dubbed, and often classic movie lines lose their impact in translation. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/213 "2024-12-28T16:13:23Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > How about “I have a bad feeling about this”? The problem is that is a pretty basic phrase used by people a lot before Star Wars. And then in the series they use multiple variations on the phrase so it’s rarely an exact quote. > **[I have a bad feeling about this](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/I_have_a_bad_feeling_about_this)** > > "I have a bad feeling about this" is a well-known phrase in Star Wars and has become a running gag throughout the saga, as well as several different Lucasfilm stories and other works. The phrase is spoken for the first time in Star Wars: Episode IV A... ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/214 "2024-12-30T14:12:52Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The Butterfly Effect was illustrated in the episode of _ **The Simpsons** _ where Homer goes back in time and kills a dinosaur, thereby altering the future. > > The Sliding Doors Effect was illustrated in the movie _ **Sliding Doors** _, where making and missing a subway train produced two alternative futures. Okay. But while I have heard people use “butterfly effect” as a phrase (though it wasn’t created by that movie and so doesn’t qualify) I have never in my life heard anyone use “Sliding doors effect” or some such phrase. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/215 "2024-12-30T14:13:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I still think “The Usual Suspects” must be a strong contender. So far as I know, that phrase had never been used prior to Casablanca, and it’s definitely used regularly, even by people who’ve never seen the movie. Hell, it became its own movie! ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/216 "2024-12-30T14:40:53Z")
I’m not sure where you’re from but I’m in the UK so maybe it’s more of a British thing, since _Sliding Doors_ was British, or at least set in the UK. I’m not saying it’s massively in use but a phrase I have definitely heard on many occasions over the years when talking about something similar to the also mentioned Butterfly Effect. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/217 "2024-12-30T15:15:03Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > I’m not sure where you’re from but I’m in the UK so maybe it’s more of a British thing, since _Sliding Doors_ was British, or at least set in the UK. Would you say it comes up more often or less often than referring to, say, ‘a _Groundhog Day_ situation’? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/218 "2024-12-30T15:33:53Z")
Terms like “Sliding Doors” and “Groundhog’s Day” are mostly just used to describe situations in other works of fiction. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/219 "2024-12-30T21:13:20Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Would you say it comes up more often or less often than referring to, say, ‘a _Groundhog Day_ situation’? Didn’t you ask me that yesterday? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/220 "2024-12-30T21:37:27Z")
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