# 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:** 13
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/241 "2020-12-08T14:32:37Z")
I’m pretty sure “Beautiful, downtown \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_” to mean a nonentity comes from _Laugh-in_. I guess there is a downtown area in Burbank, but it’s not much to remark on, since it’s essentially a suburb or LA, and is not very attractive. “The $64,000 Question” to mean the root query at hand, or the heart of the matter, comes from a game show called that, when $64,000 was the ultimate prize, and had the buying power of something more like $300,000. “Grifters” to mean “con artists,” and “graft” to mean a “con game” I think were around before the movie _The Grifters_, but I don’t think they were in common parlance-- I think they were pretty much limited to law enforcement and the legal profession, and maybe grifters themselves. The word certainly had no connotative meaning of simply being able to fool people in some way that is significant but perfectly legal. I can’t personally vouch for this one, but someone old enough to know once told me that the word “bunch” to mean a group of people shifted meaning after it was used for the show _The Brady Bunch_. I was told that the word “bunch” used to imply that the group of people thusly described was up to no good (cf _The Wild Bunch_). It lost that meaning, and simply meant “a group of people” after the show had been on a while. So I guess the show’s title was meant to be ironic, or tongue-in-cheek, but the very iconic status of the show caused it to lose that aura. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/242 "2020-12-08T15:35:10Z")
_Paparazzo_ (“a freelance photographer of celebrities”) wasn’t a word before Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960). In the film, a character (played by Walter Santesso) whose last name was Paparazzo was such a photographer. The English slang term mondo (“very large”, “very much”) probably comes from the title of the Italian film [Mondo Cane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondo_Cane) (1962). Twitterpated (“love-struck”) is from Bambi (1942). Kitty Foyle (a style of dress) is named for the 1940 film starring Ginger Rogers. Bombshell in the sense “beautiful woman” is from from the 1933 film Bombshell starring Jean Harlow, later re-released under the title Blonde Bombshell. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/243 "2020-12-08T17:08:27Z")
Big bad as a noun phrase (meaning “main adversary”) is from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Of course, its use as an adjectival phrase is much older, as in “big bad wolf.” The catchphrase “Resistance is futile” has been mentioned already. But recently, I have been seeing Borg collective being used outside a Star Trek context to mean a political group whose members are expected to follow the leadership uncritically. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/244 "2020-12-08T17:21:20Z")
Do video games count? “All your base are belong to us!” One of the funniest things I ever read was a Valentine poem supposedly written by a PC: "Roses are red, "Violets are blue; "All my base “Are belong to you.” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/245 "2020-12-08T17:24:26Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > _Paparazzo_ (“a freelance photographer of celebrities”) wasn’t a word before Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960). In the film, a character (played by Walter Santesso) whose last name was Paparazzo was such a photographer. I think that’s the best example so far. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/246 "2020-12-08T17:53:33Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > _Paparazzo_ (“a freelance photographer of celebrities”) wasn’t a word before Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960). In the film, a character (played by Walter Santesso) whose last name was Paparazzo was such a photographer. Interestingly, it’s a word, like _zucchini_, that is rarely used in singular form in English. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone referred to as “a paparazzo,” but rather as “a member of the paparazzi.” ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/247 "2020-12-08T18:43:54Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone referred to as “a paparazzo,” but rather as “a member of the paparazzi.” A lot of Americans don’t even realize it’s a plural, and talk about “a paparazzi.” I believe I have personally used “paparazzo” though. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/248 "2020-12-08T19:25:27Z")
Grift and graft go back a long way. It’s always been used in journalism, and I would guess we have a spike in it’s use nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/249 "2020-12-08T21:00:07Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone referred to as “a paparazzo,” but rather as “a member of the paparazzi.” Simpsons did it! [https://old.reddit.com/r/TheSimpsons/comments/4txoeq/damn\_you\_paparazzo/?espv=1](https://old.reddit.com/r/TheSimpsons/comments/4txoeq/damn_you_paparazzo/?espv=1) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/250 "2020-12-08T21:36:29Z")
Weirdly, if I recall correctly “Big Bad” (with no noun attached) originated in discussions of “Buffy,” by fans and show-writers who had noticed a pattern in how season long arcs worked, and was only later used on the show (much as the show adopted the term “Scooby gang” for Buffy’s associates after fans began using it). ---
**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:** [December 8, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/251 "2020-12-08T22:29:35Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > > [@markn\_1](#): > > > > It’s worth clarifying that it wasn’t just that memorable sentence that came from the show. The _word_ “self-destruct” was coined by the Mission Impossible screenwriters. > > And that is a) something I didn’t know before, and b) another great example of the sort of phrase I _was_ looking for. (Although that one is more of a compound word than a phrase). And, unfortunately, isn’t true. [Here’s an example](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=p-PqreO21jsC&q=%22self+destruct%22&dq=%22self+destruct%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwijk9nlsr_tAhXDnFwKHZeUC4A4jAEQ6AEwB3oECAcQAg) of “self destruct” from 1958. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/252 "2020-12-09T01:59:33Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > Believe it or not, I still hear it and use it here and there: “Same bat time, same bat channel”. I heard it an hour ago! Guys on zoom were talking about the next scheduled monthly meeting… when is it? Same bat time, same bat channel! ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/253 "2020-12-09T02:28:48Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > You might still hear older folk saying TTFN (Tata for now), which comes from ITMA, a radio show of the 1940s. wow I only know that phrase from Winnie the pooh because Tigger used it … i have to see if it was used in the books or if Disney just added it to the character … ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/254 "2020-12-09T03:13:58Z")
Not used in the books. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/255 "2020-12-09T03:29:13Z")
The spike coincided with the release of the movie _The Grifters._ ---
**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:** [December 9, 2020, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/256 "2020-12-09T03:39:19Z")
Not with me 👣 ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/257 "2020-12-09T14:29:10Z")
Linus from _Linus tech Tips_ uses it to sign off the weekly _Wan Show_ [Don't get SCAMMED when you buy an SSD - WAN Show December 4, 2020 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGY9hEVk_Bc) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/258 "2020-12-09T16:23:40Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > “Same bat time, same bat channel” That’s a great example! And I never saw that show in the original, just in afternoon reruns in the late 1970s, but I get it. I know some very young people who have never seen the show, but understand what it means. I just thought of something else: when a person recounts something that happened to them, that was weird, or uncanny, or spooky in some way, instead of responding with a word, someone in the conversation may say “Do-do-do-do” to the tune of “The Twilight Zone” theme. I have even heard this used as a genuine adjective. IE: “It was so ‘do-do-do-do,’” or “The most ‘do-do-do-do’ thing I’ve ever witnessed was [thing].” It’s not a word by any stretch, but it’s still part of the lexicon. I guess you could call it a “lexical item,” like making the sound of a whip cracking, or saying “Hm-mmm,” to dissent. Or “D’oh!” ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/259 "2020-12-09T17:43:31Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Grift and graft go back a long way. It’s always been used in journalism, and I would guess we have a spike in it’s use nowadays. Also, “graft” means simply corruption, usually the political sort. No confidence need be involved. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/260 "2020-12-09T18:48:46Z")
Robert Klein did that on his first LP, Child of the 50s, in 1973. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081.md?page=14)