# 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:** 13
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/241 "2025-01-13T01:18:14Z")
I’ve always wondered how phrases like that get propagated without being on tv or on the radio. And where could it have been printed where everybody read it? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/242 "2025-01-13T01:35:23Z")
Mah dearest Chanille, ah do so miss your face, and partaking of lemonade on your Pappy’s verandah. _“Wah is hail”,_ as ah’ve heard here in the Union camp on a daily basis, and barely a fortnightly unfolds without General Grant stumbling out of his Smokin’ Tent shouting “A Perfect Storm!” He seems to want it to become a common phrase, and to that end I send it along to you, in hopes that you and your ladies-in-waiting will aid the war effort by describing the situation here, not as a _heck of a how-d’ya-do_ or a _fine kettle of fish,_ but as A Perfect Storm. I remain, your Ob†. Servant, _Private Josiah Sprout_ _21st Illinois Volunteer Regiment,_ _guarding the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad_ ---
**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 13, 2025, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/243 "2025-01-13T05:03:13Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I’ve always wondered how phrases like that get propagated without being on tv or on the radio. And where could it have been printed where everybody read it? If you’re at least 30-something years old you might remember in the olden days people used to communicate by making sounds with their mouths instead of texting. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/244 "2025-01-13T05:07:38Z")
Okay… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/245 "2025-01-13T05:28:47Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > “There’s no place like home.” Came from a 1823 opera- first. > [@needscoffee](#): > > How about “Pay it Forward”? I never heard that phrase before the movie. 1916 book. Also kinda in an ancient greek comedy. > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Was the expression “go full [whatever]” in common usage before Robert Downey, Jr. used it in _Tropic Thunder_? Go full throttle, go full bore, go full out. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/246 "2025-01-13T05:49:14Z")
_You talkin’ to **me**?_ - Taxi Driver _Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night._—Bette Davis _What a dump!_—Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor ---
**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, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/247 "2025-01-13T13:25:51Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > _You talkin’ to **me**?_ - Taxi Driver Taxi Driver was quoting [The Twilight Zone.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ol1kL4pCwg) ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/248 "2025-01-13T13:56:05Z")
In The Twilight Zone, _“Are you talkin’ to me?”_ sounds like a genuine, timid question. In Taxi Driver, that same line crackles with tough-guy bravado, transforming it into an iconic, confrontational challenge. In a similar vein, Bette Davis first delivered _“what a dump_" in **Beyond the Forest** , though her version was relatively understated. It was [Elizabeth Taylor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og1svYfNuDE), in _Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?_, who vamped it up and transformed the line into the iconic line we remember today. ---
**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 13, 2025, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/249 "2025-01-13T14:35:51Z")
At the time I first heard ‘shits and giggles’ I was out of the loop socially, not talking to people much in general except about work. I wasn’t going to hear it on TV or see it in print anywhere unless maybe in the National Lampoon, hardly saw any movies at the time. That kind of stuff was spread person to person back then. It sounded like a schoolyard phrase to me at the time, didn’t expect it to be as commonly said as it was in the 90s and later. Or maybe it’s was used more then and now than I know. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/250 "2025-01-13T14:37:17Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > In a similar vein, Bette Davis first delivered _“what a dump_" in **Beyond the Forest** , though her version was relatively understated. It was [Elizabeth Taylor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og1svYfNuDE), in _Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?_, who vamped it up and transformed the line into the iconic line we remember today. The phrase was common before those films, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/251 "2025-01-13T14:42:09Z")
True. The phrase was common. It’s the inflection that makes it unique and memorable. Same as _“I’ll be back”_ and many others. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/252 "2025-01-13T15:41:04Z")
“Shits and giggles” sounds like a naughtier way of saying “something else” and giggles, but what other two word phrases for “just for the fun of it” are there? ---
**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:** [January 13, 2025, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/253 "2025-01-13T15:46:08Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > but what other two word phrases for “just for the fun of it” are there? Hookers and blow? ---
**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 13, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/254 "2025-01-13T15:50:55Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > “Shits and giggles” sounds like a naughtier way of saying “something else” and giggles, but what other two word phrases for “just for the fun of it” are there? “Kicks and giggles”. It was the churchie substitute for “for the Hell of it”. So, of course, it was altered in the schoolyard to make it naughty again. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/255 "2025-01-13T15:55:29Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > “Kicks and giggles” I Googled it, and it’s much more pervasive than I realized. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/256 "2025-01-14T14:21:36Z")
“Sorry about that”. It was what Maxwell Smart said (usually to the Chief) when his bumbling led to a plate of spaghetti falling in someone’s lap or some similar embarrassment. It quickly became a national catchphrase, always said in the singsongy way that Max said it. Now I still hear it, often said in that same intonation by young people who couldn’t possibly know where it came from. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/257 "2025-01-14T15:04:16Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > It quickly became a national catchphrase And an Allan Sherman song: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yKw10gvBU_M/maxresdefault.jpg "Sorry 'Bout That") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKw10gvBU_M) ---
**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 14, 2025, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/258 "2025-01-14T15:14:34Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > “Sorry about that”. It was what Maxwell Smart said (usually to the Chief) More recognized as “Sorry about that Chief”. Still mainly by those who have seen the series. Said often in the 60s. The Cone of Silence is another once well known and well appreciated bit from the show but isn’t a simple catch phrase. The shoe phone and related concepts were big too and real shoe phones eventually became real as a sort of gag gift thing. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/259 "2025-01-14T16:06:47Z")
“Would you believe…” is also from Get Smart ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/260 "2025-01-14T17:31:51Z")
Along with “Missed it by _that_ much!” and “That’s the second-biggest [whatever] I’ve ever seen!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068.md?page=14)