# Words or phrases that were that were coined by a TV show or movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081 "2020-11-20T23:57:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/181 "2020-11-30T16:41:24Z")
> [@bump](#): > > “Cromulent” is my favorite. That’s a Principal Skinner-ism, isn’t it? Looks like it was Miss Hoover who was first heard to use it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WTzGnRQ9cfA/maxresdefault.jpg "The Simpsons is right: “Embiggen” is a perfectly cromulent word | Pop Lexicon") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTzGnRQ9cfA) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/182 "2020-11-30T17:46:08Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The legal profession has unofficially adopted the term “Chewbacca defense” from the _South Park_ episode “Chef Aid.” Please explain for the clueless amongst us, such as me. > [@Wheelz](#): > > Actual velociraptors were smaller and much more birdlike, so they were aptly named. The general public just wasn’t very familiar with the species before _Jurassic Park_ … and as it turns out, not so much after it either. Such is the power of falsehoods in the media. Who knew? Though I can’t fault Crichton’s artistic judgment. “Deinonychus” is not a winning stage name for anything. > [@adhemar](#): > > Inquiring minds want to know. IIRC, that was “ **E** nquiring minds want to know”, popularized as the tag line for the _National **E** nquirer_ tabloid. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/183 "2020-11-30T17:54:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Such is the power of falsehoods in the media. Who knew? Though I can’t fault Crichton’s artistic judgment. “Deinonychus” is not a winning stage name for anything. There are lots of dinosaur names that don’t end in “–saurus”, although, until recently, a lot of the ones in wide public use did. There are, of course, plenty of other forms, including popular ones – _Triceratops_ and its kin, _Diplodocus_, _Ankylosaur_, and plenty of others my five year old self already knew well. But there’s still a whole host of other coinages that never did get really popular, the “–raptors” among them. My favorite is the dinosaur _Laelaps_, named after a creature from Greek mythology. Charles R. Knight, the premier dinosaur artist, pained a couple of Laelaps jumping vigorously around at play, back when most people thought dinosaurs were slow-moving, cold-blooded creatures, as if he anticipated more recent theories about dinosaur metabolism. [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleoart#/media/File:Laelaps-Charles_Knight-1897.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleoart#/media/File:Laelaps-Charles_Knight-1897.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/184 "2020-11-30T18:08:28Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > There are lots of dinosaur names that don’t end in “–saurus” … Totally granted. Five year old me knew the same list five year old you did. But “Deinon” is a mess, “ychus” is a mess, and the sum is worse. The magic of velociraptor is it’s fully phonetic, it’s components are evocative, and it sounds Latin-scientificy without being too mysterious to pronounce or decode. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/185 "2020-11-30T18:12:50Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > The velociraptor was discovered and named in 1923. “Raptor” in Latin means “thief” or “plunderer.” Birds of prey were classed as “Raptores” in 1823, and referred to as raptors by 1873. Henry Fairfield Osborn, who named _Velociraptor_ (“fast thief”), was using the original Latin meaning, rather than drawing a specific link to birds. He apparently was fond of the word, since in the same year he also named _Oviraptor_ (“egg thief”), because he thought it was robbing a nest. In fact, it was actually brooding its own eggs. He referred to Velociraptor as “Ovoraptor” in a popular account but never published that name formally. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/186 "2020-11-30T18:17:59Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But “Deinon” is a mess, “ychus” is a mess, and the sum is worse. The magic of velociraptor is it’s fully phonetic, it’s components are evocative, and it sounds Latin-scientificy without being too mysterious to pronounce or decode. It would break down as Dei-no-ny-chus. Admittedly Velociraptor sounds cooler, but the name is actually scarier, meaning “terrible claw” rather than “fast thief.” ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/187 "2020-11-30T18:41:09Z")
> [@Didi44](#): > > Wazz = pee. It’s in the online dictionaries, but has no origin date. I believe it originated from _ICarly_ , and was used in _Victorious_ and _Sam and Cat_ which existed in the same TV universe. The first citation in the OED is from 1984. It says the origin is uncertain, but may be an alteration of “whizz”. > 1984 P. Beale _Partridge’s Dict. Slang_ (ed. 8) 1310/1 _Wass_ , to urinate. Felsted School… Ex Essex dial… But also Lancashire usage (where pron. _wazz_ ). > > 1992 J. Peters & J. Nichol _Tornado Down_ (1993) vi. 46 The crew members on the bridge deck were looking down at us as we wazzed gleefully over their ship. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/188 "2020-11-30T18:45:54Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > But “Deinon” is a mess, “ychus” is a mess, and the sum is worse. The magic of velociraptor is it’s fully phonetic, it’s components are evocative, and it sounds Latin-scientificy without being too mysterious to pronounce or decode. > > It would break down as Dei-no-ny-chus. Admittedly Velociraptor sounds cooler, but the name is actually scarier, meaning “terrible claw” rather than “fast thief.” Cool! Thank you. Would “Dei” be pronounced to rhyme with “tea” or with “tie”? Any killer with the “die” sound in its name gets bonus points. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/189 "2020-11-30T18:52:16Z")
Modern pronunciation of the first syllable is indeed “die”. Classical Latin would be more like “day”. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/190 "2020-11-30T18:56:45Z")
The Velociraptor was actually the smallest of the raptors, raptors discovered post Jurassic Park are almost all bigger than humans like the Utahraptor and Dakota raptor, so referring to them as generic Raptors does make some sense. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/191 "2020-11-30T19:02:03Z")
Several years ago I was getting a tooth filled by my dentist, and before he performed the task at hand he asked me if I was OK and advised me to just raise my left hand to signal him to stop or if I felt pain. I quipped to him "OK, sure. As long as you don’t ask me “_Is it safe?_”, to which he chuckled heartily. The younger dental assistant, she was all of 25 at most, didn’t “get it”. I don’t know how many here have seen the movie ‘Marathon Man’, but the dental torture scene of Dustin Hoffman by the ex-nazi dentist will not be soon forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/192 "2020-11-30T19:05:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@cochrane](#): > > > > The legal profession has unofficially adopted the term “Chewbacca defense” from the _South Park_ episode “Chef Aid.” > > Please explain for the clueless amongst us, such as me. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/34Em8BkZYnI/hqdefault.jpg "The Chewbacca Defense") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Em8BkZYnI) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/193 "2020-11-30T19:41:59Z")
Awesome! Thank you. I’d not seen that episode. The poor plaintiff’s attorney is superb. Though it reminds me of the one civilian jury I served on. The prosecution had a real nice case full of neatly interlocking facts about the crime that were well-proven. None of which actually tied the defendant to any wrong-doing. The defense summation was essentially that the prosecution made total sense but also total nonsense: > What does _this fact_ have to do with the defendant? Nothing! > What does _that fact_ have to do with the defendant? Nothing! > What does _this other fact_ have to do with the defendant? Nothing! > etc. etc. We acquitted. It was essentially a frame job where they prosecuted who they could catch, not who did it. If my wife had been on the bench they’d have taken the prosecutor to jail that day. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/194 "2020-11-30T20:48:27Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It would break down as Dei-no-ny-chus. Slight correction: Dei-non-y-chyus. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/195 "2020-11-30T21:18:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Awesome! Thank you. I’d not seen that episode. The poor plaintiff’s attorney is superb. What makes it surreal is that Johnnie Cochran _is_ the plaintiff’s attorney, so it doesn’t make sense for him to use the Chewbacca defense in the first place. Gerald is the defendant’s (Chef’s) attorney. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/196 "2020-12-01T12:08:25Z")
Even better! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/197 "2020-12-01T15:57:41Z")
The word Omnishambles was invented by Tony Roche for the BBC’s The Thick of It and became the OED’s word of the year 2012, so rapidly and widespread was it’s usage in the UK’s political world. Roche went on to write and produce Veep. MiM ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/198 "2020-12-01T16:51:16Z")
From the west side of the pond I can say I’ve never heard, or heard of, Omnishambles. And I read the Economist every week and did in 2012 too. So I have far more exposure to UK language, writing, and politics than the typical 'Merkin. I’ve got to say it’s a great word though. We really could use it over here. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/199 "2020-12-02T12:52:51Z")
FWIW I knew Raptors were only hawks and eagles etc. and that Jurassic Park didn’t literally invent the name but it didn’t enter the language until the movie which is the topic of the thread. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/200 "2020-12-03T19:19:43Z")
**Wheelhouse** , as in whether or not a subject is familiar to a person. As in “Sorry, but nuclear physics isn’t in my wheelhouse.” I don’t recall hearing it before _Deadliest Catch_ came around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081.md?page=11)