# 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:** 12
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/221 "2025-01-01T14:43:36Z")
Did “the dark side” come from Star Wars? Such as “he went to the dark side”. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/222 "2025-01-01T15:01:48Z")
The term was used for basically the same meaning prior to Star Wars, but was like 1000 times amplified by the 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:** [January 2, 2025, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/223 "2025-01-02T15:49:00Z")
It’s not a phrase but I bet a million (billion?) people have done the ‘der-dum…der-dum…derdumderdumderdum’ from Jaws when they’ve seen a fin in the water, or just been messing about swimming at the beach. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2025, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/224 "2025-01-02T16:03:52Z")
Also, the six repeating notes of the wicked witch theme from _The Wizard of Oz_. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/225 "2025-01-02T16:52:43Z")
> [@Cybertruck explodes outside Trump hotel in vegas, one dead \[2025-01-01\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cybertruck-explodes-outside-trump-hotel-in-vegas-one-dead-2025-01-01/1012464/12): > > > [@Cybertruck explodes outside Trump hotel in vegas, one dead \[2025-01-01\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cybertruck-explodes-outside-trump-hotel-in-vegas-one-dead-2025-01-01/1012464/7): > > > > At the press conference, they showed a picture of the back of the truck (after the fire was put out), which the speaker from the Las Vegas police said was filled with “gasoline canisters, camp fuel canisters, and large firework mortars.” > > Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff. (Just testing if you can quote from a different thread in a different topic, and yes, you can). ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/226 "2025-01-02T20:43:32Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > That is so fetch. “Stop trying make fetch happen” might be more popular. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/227 "2025-01-02T22:07:59Z")
> [@Cybertruck explodes outside Trump hotel in vegas, one dead \[2025-01-01\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cybertruck-explodes-outside-trump-hotel-in-vegas-one-dead-2025-01-01/1012464/12): > > > [@Cybertruck explodes outside Trump hotel in vegas, one dead \[2025-01-01\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cybertruck-explodes-outside-trump-hotel-in-vegas-one-dead-2025-01-01/1012464/12): > > > > Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff. > > (Just testing if you can quote from a different thread in a different topic, and yes, you can). It’s certainly relevant to _this_ thread; I expect quite a few people have quoted that line over the years (in voices as close to that of Slim Pickens as they can manage). ---
**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:** [January 3, 2025, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/228 "2025-01-03T12:16:40Z")
You realize, of course, that was not the original line? **Trivia challenge:** What was the original line, and why was it changed? ---
**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:** [January 3, 2025, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/229 "2025-01-03T13:21:55Z")
Dallas, JFK ---
**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:** [January 3, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/230 "2025-01-03T14:43:28Z")
Correct! 👍 “Too soon.” ---
**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:** [January 7, 2025, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/231 "2025-01-07T00:15:28Z")
It’s certainly not the most commonly used phrase in English, but tonight I learned that the line “Be afraid. Be very afraid.” came from _The Fly_ (1986) and was in fact suggested by Mel Brooks (the producer of the film). Brooks also coined the term “High Anxiety” for his 1977 film of the same name. ---
**Author:** ![Strenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Strenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strenger)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2025, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/232 "2025-01-12T11:11:11Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > _Sliding Doors_ is a phrase I’ve seen used a lot over the last 25-odd years, as in ‘a real _Sliding Doors_ moment’ Yeah, I remember the bargain basement “movie” Blythe Danner’s child attempted to perform. Never heard anyone say that seriously, though. > [@iamatractorboy](#): > > It’s not a phrase but I bet a million (billion?) people have done the ‘der-dum…der-dum…derdumderdumderdum’ from Jaws when they’ve seen a fin in the water, or just been messing about swimming at the beach. That might be a winner. My own contribution **?** “A boy’s best friend is his mother.” Doesn’t come up that often in conversation, but when it does, it’s a goodie. **EDIT** “Fuck Heineken! Pabst Blue Ribbon!” Trust me, I hear it a few times a month. I’m as big a David Lynch fan as there ever was, but to me that phrase is Lumberton sawing logs…big dumb catchphrase which I hate. Don’t personally care about either beer, but it’s always some dumb oaf shrieking it out at some bar. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2025, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/233 "2025-01-12T11:42:17Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Brooks also coined the term “High Anxiety” for his 1977 film of the same name. [Not really, no](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22state+of+high+anxiety%22&sca_esv=49951f578ada085d&biw=1138&bih=462&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3AJan+1_2+1800%2Ccd_max%3ADec+31_2+1975&tbm=bks&sxsrf=ADLYWIL6skC9u3zLRXRKBvziSYfR1m1VFQ%3A1736681246754&ei=HqeDZ9rZLfSnhbIPqKahwQg&ved=0ahUKEwja4LPmifCKAxX0U0EAHShTKIgQ4dUDCAo&uact=5&oq=%22state+of+high+anxiety%22&gs_lp=Eg1nd3Mtd2l6LWJvb2tzIhcic3RhdGUgb2YgaGlnaCBhbnhpZXR5Ikj-HVCeCFitHHAAeACQAQCYAYgBoAHuB6oBAzQuNrgBA8gBAPgBAZgCAqAC1wHCAggQABiABBiiBMICBBAhGAqYAwCIBgGSBwMwLjKgB7AQ&sclient=gws-wiz-books). It’s an obvious combination that describes a mental state. What Mel Brooks did was take the phrase and give it a different meaning: fear of heights. It’s a pun that only works because “high anxiety” was already in common use. And have you ever actually heard someone outside the movie use it in that sense? ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2025, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/234 "2025-01-12T12:44:49Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > How about “Pay it Forward”? I never heard that phrase before the movie. I knew that Heinlein had used it, so [I checked Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_it_forward): “Pay it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying the kindness to others rather than paying it back to the original benefactor. It is also called serial reciprocity. The concept is old, but the particular phrase may have been coined by Lily Hardy Hammond in her 1916 book In the _Garden of Delight_. Robert Heinlein’s 1951 novel _Between Planets_ helped popularize the phrase.” ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2025, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/235 "2025-01-12T16:41:28Z")
The first time I heard the phrase “shits and giggles” was in Austin Powers. It’s entered the vernacular now, basically meaning a frivolous reason to do something. Did the expression predate the movie? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2025, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/236 "2025-01-12T18:47:36Z")
Definitely. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/237 "2025-01-12T18:51:03Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Did the expression predate the movie? Yes. I can recall hearing it for the first time in the late 70s. It seemed to be commonly known to everybody but me at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/238 "2025-01-12T23:24:03Z")
I mentioned this upthread but it might’ve got lost in the shuffle so I’ll ask again - was the term “perfect storm” used much before the book/movie? ---
**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:** [January 12, 2025, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/239 "2025-01-12T23:34:31Z")
That’s a weird one because the book/film’s use of the phrase is meteorological and was used in that sense for more than a hundred years previous. It’s use to describe situations other than weather seems to postdate the film, but I’m not sure who was the first to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/240 "2025-01-13T00:34:41Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > I mentioned this upthread but it might’ve got lost in the shuffle so I’ll ask again - was the term “perfect storm” used much before the book/movie? In the first place, the book/ movie was based on a historical event in 1991 that was known as [the perfect storm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Perfect_Storm) before the book came out. Secondly, that name was an existing phrase. [Here is an example](https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Papers_of/xwA1FZ8zLzAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22the+perfect+storm+%22&pg=PA99&printsec=frontcover) of it being used by Ulysses S. Grant in 1865. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068.md?page=13)