# 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:** 7
**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:** [December 8, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/121 "2024-12-08T21:59:48Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And the prophet said: “And lo, the beast looked upon the face of beauty. And it stayed its hand from killing. And from that day, it was as one dead.” That used to be my sig on a couple of old forums 🙂 ---
**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:** [December 8, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/122 "2024-12-08T22:09:45Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > the “ancient Arabian Phrase” quoted at the beginning of the 1933 movie _King Kong_ was made up by the scriptwriters Just like the quote from the Book of Bushidō at the start of _Le Samouraï_ and the one from the Buddha at the start of _Le Cercle Rouge_. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/123 "2024-12-08T22:57:35Z")
“Terminated with extreme prejudice,” glossed as “Killed,” was published in _Time_ magazine in 1971, in a glossary of spy slang titled “[Picnics and Wet Stuff](https://time.com/archive/6639236/the-world-picnics-and-wet-stuff/).” I believe that was the first publication that brought it to wide awareness. It was based off an existing phrase, “terminate with prejudice,” literally meaning you’re fired from your job and you’ll never get it back again. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/124 "2024-12-08T23:08:22Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > “If you can’t say somethin’ nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.” No form of the quotation is found in the novel by Felix Salten and as far as I can tell, it was not a common phrase before the movie came out in 1942. It probably originates from an old Islamic hadith: “Whoever believes in Allah and the last day should say what is good or else keep silent.” ---
**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:** [December 8, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/125 "2024-12-08T23:15:35Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > > [@bibliophage](#): > > > > “If you can’t say somethin’ nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.” No form of the quotation is found in the novel by Felix Salten and as far as I can tell, it was not a common phrase before the movie came out in 1942. > > It probably originates from an old Islamic hadith: “Whoever believes in Allah and the last day should say what is good or else keep silent.” The Quote Investigator has some interesting facts about this, or rather about a variation that people do use in conversation: > [@](#): > > If you haven’t anything nice to say about anyone, come sit by me. Often attributed to either Alice Roosevelt Longworth or to Dorothy Parker, it seems to appear in print first in a 1965 profile of the former. There isn’t evidence of either woman or of anyone else originating it, just evidence of it being attributed to them. As for the original, it seems to have become trendy online to attribute it to the movie _Bambi_ (as mentioned up-thread). [https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/08/09/sit-by-me/](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/08/09/sit-by-me/) ---
**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:** [December 8, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/126 "2024-12-08T23:19:14Z")
I came here to mention “another fine mess.” I do hear this in conversation often enough for it to qualify. In 1930, Laurel and Hardy released a short-subject talkie with that title. Oddly enough, Hardy appears to have always used a variant (“Another **nice** mess”) rather than the version heard today, “_this is another fine mess you’ve gotten us into._” > **[Another Fine Mess (Short 1930) ⭐ 7.3 | Short, Comedy, Family](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020643/?ref_=tttrv_ov_i)** > > 29m | Not Rated The phrase really caught on in print after Hardy’s death, rather than immediately on the release of the short: > **[Google Books Ngram Viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=another%2Bfine%2Bmess&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=en-2009&smoothing=3&case_insensitive=false)** > > Google Ngrams: another fine mess, 1900-2008 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/127 "2024-12-08T23:28:24Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > If you haven’t anything nice to say about anyone, come sit by me. That made it into the movie _Steel Magnolias,_ delivered by Shirley MacLaine, prefaced by “Well, you know what they say…” ---
**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:** [December 8, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/128 "2024-12-08T23:32:17Z")
Good catch. I suspect it’s the type of cutting cynicism that attracts many screenwriters. We all like to see the more-sanctimonious mottos preached at us get turned upside-down. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/129 "2024-12-08T23:39:25Z")
I use “glitch in the Matrix” reasonably often. That may just be me. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/130 "2024-12-09T00:07:59Z")
“I like to watch,” from _Being There_. Not a top contender for this thread, but top forty, for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/131 "2024-12-09T00:08:13Z")
That’s very close to a phrase used in The Mikado (1911) > Ko: Well, a nice mess you’ve got us into, with your nodding head and the deference due to a man of pedigree! ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/132 "2024-12-09T00:37:05Z")
All of these should be readily recognizable and are used when the occasion calls for it: What is your major malfunction? We are not worthy. We are not worthy. They’re here. There can be only one (or two). Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! Made it Ma. Top of the world! (Me) Tarzan, (you) Jane. It’s good to be the king. Is it safe? I’m walkin’ heah! I’m ready for my close-up. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2024, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/133 "2024-12-09T01:19:03Z")
That one was even a book title: > **[I Like to Watch by Emily Nussbaum: 9780525508984 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/563025/i-like-to-watch-by-emily-nussbaum/)** > > From The New Yorker’s fiercely original, Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic, a provocative collection of new and previously published essays arguing that we are what we watch. “Emily... ---
**Author:** ![cieskokid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cieskokid/32/5374_2.png) [@cieskokid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cieskokid)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/134 "2024-12-09T03:00:59Z")
Many quotes here, and they are SO VERY… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ruo312KyxJ0/maxresdefault.jpg "best quotes from Heathers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ruo312KyxJ0) ---
**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:** [December 9, 2024, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/135 "2024-12-09T18:25:54Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > That’s very close to a phrase used in The Mikado (1911) Cool! I know _The Mikado_ but hadn’t remembered that line. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/136 "2024-12-10T13:59:28Z")
“Elementary, my dear Watson” > **[Why do we say Elementary, my dear Watson?](https://www.bookbrowse.com/expressions/detail/index.cfm/expression_number/337/elementary-my-dear-watson)** > > Elementary, my dear Watson: The source of this phrase and how to use it. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/137 "2024-12-10T18:06:24Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > “Elementary, my dear Watson” We disposed of that one in post #32. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/138 "2024-12-10T18:15:56Z")
This doesn’t fit exactly, since Austin Powers didn’t debut the phrase “Yeah, baby!” but saying it in the style of the character (exuberantly with a British accent) happened like every 20 seconds in 1997 and while usage has waned, it never really went away. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/139 "2024-12-11T06:48:00Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > We disposed of that one in post #32. That’ll teach me to trust “Find in page”. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068/140 "2024-12-11T09:34:53Z")
“Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue!” “Have you ever seen a grown man naked?” “Do you like gladiator movies?”(or was it _Do you like movies about gladiators?_) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-commonly-used-phrase-in-english-that-came-from-a-movie/1011068.md?page=8)