# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/41 "2024-12-02T21:33:08Z")
I believe the phrase “as if!” originated with “Clueless”. “This ain’t my first rodeo” came from “Mommie Dearest”. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/42 "2024-12-02T21:39:53Z")
“Must go faster” from Jurassic Park. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/43 "2024-12-02T22:10:00Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > maybe “Say hello to my little friend.” Your life must be… interesting if you hear that even once. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/44 "2024-12-02T22:37:47Z")
“Revenge is dish best served cold” But there are are some arguments about that ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/45 "2024-12-02T22:49:24Z")
“There’s no place like home.” Also a slight cheat, but the phrase is slight different in the book. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/46 "2024-12-02T22:51:26Z")
And finally, perhaps the longest: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/47 "2024-12-02T23:04:59Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > > [@dirtball](#): > > > > maybe “Say hello to my little friend.” > > Your life must be… interesting if you hear that even once. LOL. Yeah, I’ll admit I momentarily lost track of the idea on that one. It’s come into use among my little inner circle when someone is about to do something drastic to resolve a problem, but no, it’s not something I’d propose as “commonly used.” ETA: Oh, and this is with awareness of how Tony Montana ended up. That’s the joke. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/48 "2024-12-02T23:09:53Z")
How about, “We’ll head 'em off at the pass”? > [@Zoobi](#): > > “Revenge is dish best served cold” > > But there are are some arguments about that It was a Klingon saying long before it was ever used in a movie. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/49 "2024-12-02T23:34:20Z")
“Staycation” came from an episode of Corner Gas, a Canadian TV show (maybe). Apparently, the first time it was used was in 1944, but didn’t become popular until after the TV show. (and is that a “phrase”?) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/50 "2024-12-02T23:36:47Z")
“Houston, we have a problem.” Now, you may think that this is a quote from astronaut Jim Lovell, but what he actually said was “Houston, _we’ve had_ a problem here”. The 1995 movie _Apollo 13_ changed the line, and that’s the phrase that actually entered the vernacular. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/51 "2024-12-02T23:39:52Z")
Sadly, “Punch it Chewie!” is another one of those misquotes. And “Punch it!” may not be original to any movie, let alone _Star Wars_. Yet I’ve used it and heard it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/52 "2024-12-02T23:44:09Z")
Not exactly a commonly used phrase, but anytime somebody orders (or even mentions) a martini: “Shaken, not stirred.” ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/53 "2024-12-02T23:47:44Z")
…and don’t call me Shirley! From _Airplane!_ ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/54 "2024-12-02T23:49:05Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > > > ‘That’s what she said’ is a Michael Scott thing > > This is 100% false. Lots of people have said that for decades, dating back at least to the 80s (when I started hearing it in high school and college). I can attest that when I was an intern at IBM back in 2001 I had a coworker who made that joke all the time (along with lots of other misogynistic jokes). That was where I first heard it, and that was a few years before the US version of The Office, and just slightly before the UK version. Come to think of it that coworker was kind of a real life Michael Scott, at least in terms of his sense of humor. ---
**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 3, 2024, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/55 "2024-12-03T00:04:00Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Now, you may think that this is a quote from astronaut Jim Lovell, but what he actually said was “Houston, _we’ve had_ a problem here”. “Failure is not an option.” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/56 "2024-12-03T00:08:05Z")
“I’ll have what she’s having.” From **When Harry Met Sally** of course ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/57 "2024-12-03T00:08:58Z")
I always thought that Nigel’s final utterance to Debergi–“These go to eleven”–summed everything up, by making it clear how clueless Nigel was. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/58 "2024-12-03T00:20:14Z")
Well, yes, that’s the payoff in the movie. But you have to work with the phrasing a bit, to fit the context, if you’re going to use it as a metaphor for taking something to an extreme in the real word. Even so, anyone familiar with that scene will understand the reference. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/59 "2024-12-03T00:27:41Z")
Agreed. “Go to eleven” is probably the kernel. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2024, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/60 "2024-12-03T08:18:26Z")
How about “Pay it Forward”? I never heard that phrase before the movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068.md?page=4)