# 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:** 4
**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 21, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/61 "2020-11-21T23:10:18Z")
Actually, [the first use of the phrase seems to have been in 1864.](https://www.overthinkingit.com/2010/05/04/i-pity-the-fool-origin/) However, Mr. T. used it differently than previous fool-pitiers, using it to express contempt before punching the pitiful one’s lights out. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/62 "2020-11-21T23:34:51Z")
Mentions of magnets nowadays may be immediately followed by the question “how do they work?” from the Insane Clown Posse song “Miracles”. For example, Bill Nye revealing that he is an old school Juggalo: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/d7yEV6Un_tg/maxresdefault.jpg "Bill Nye Explains Magnetism and How Magnets Work") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7yEV6Un_tg) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/63 "2020-11-22T00:09:19Z")
Yes, but nobody said them the way they were said in those shows, just like Mr T and “I pity the fool…” I use “Jak se maš?” (“How’s it goin’?”) and recognize it immediately as coming from Borat. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2020, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/64 "2020-11-22T00:12:37Z")
A good 90% of the responses in this thread are reports of catch phrases that shows have made popular. That is very different from what the OP is asking. From the OP: > [@WildaBeast](#): > > …Are there any other examples of _ **words essentially being made up** _ for a TV show or movie, that ended up entering the language as everyday words? (emphasis mine) mmm ---
**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:** [November 22, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/65 "2020-11-22T00:47:49Z")
HIMYM must be full of these. There’s an episode with the title “The Possimpible”, and “Dowisetrpla”, and many more Stinsonisms. ---
**Author:** ![essaychess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/2bfe46/32.png) [@essaychess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essaychess)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/66 "2020-11-22T03:47:37Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > > You’re kidding. > > > > > We used that in the 1980s and I’m sure it was old and withered then (“that’s what SHE said!”) > > We used that in the 1960s. _The Office_ had Michael use it because it was so trite. Well, I had never heard it before The Office made it popular, so I assumed they coined it. Thanks for the corrections. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/67 "2020-11-22T03:58:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I use “Jak se maš?” (“How’s it goin’?”) and recognize it immediately as coming from Borat. Ok but like millions of Czech people have been using it as a phrase for as long as there’s been a Czech language. Claiming that Borat invented (the OP’s request) or even popularized (what people posting here seem to be posting) the phrase is…a stretch to say the least. When I saw Borat’s movie I didn’t think “that’s a funny phrase he made up” I thought “he’s saying ‘what’s up?’ In Czech. This thread is really off the rails yeesh. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/68 "2020-11-22T04:01:51Z")
I didn’t say he “made it up.” I said he used it in his movie. I lived in Czechoslovakia for a year. I know where it came from before he used it. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/69 "2020-11-22T05:26:55Z")
To be fair, the OP him/herself confuses the issue by asking for “Words or phrases…”, then only gives and asks for words in the description. It’s virtually impossible to create a coherent phase without stringing together existing words from any language that hasn’t been used in some context previously. So this thread really has two parts, both IMO true to the subject. Made up words and phrases that were _popularized_ by a TV or movie. ---
**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 22, 2020, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/70 "2020-11-22T06:03:58Z")
It says it clearly in the title: “coined by a TV show or movie.” Do people not know what “coined by” means? ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/71 "2020-11-22T06:52:48Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > coined by "coin to [invent](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/invent) a new word or [expression](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/expression), or to use one in a [particular](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/particular) way for the first [time](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/time)" [https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/coined](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/coined) Most of the phrases mentioned fit that criteria. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/72 "2020-11-22T06:55:39Z")
Did “pay it forward” and “bucket list” originate in _Pay it Forward_ and _The Bucket List_? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/73 "2020-11-22T08:11:33Z")
I just saw tonight on a TV show a mention of “pulling the curtain back” to reveal the true nature of something. That’s a direct nod to _The Wizard of Oz_, and it comes up quite often. True, those actual words were not spoken in the film, but I think it fits the spirit of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/74 "2020-11-22T09:58:53Z")
The typographical term “dingbat” has been around forever. But was its other meaning used before _All in the Family_? ---
**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 22, 2020, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/75 "2020-11-22T10:57:02Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Did “pay it forward” and “bucket list” originate in _Pay it Forward_ and _The Bucket List_? “Bucket list” was in fact coined by the writer of the movie. ---
**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 22, 2020, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/76 "2020-11-22T11:04:25Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > The typographical term “dingbat” has been around forever. But was its other meaning used before _All in the Family_? Yeah, I’ve heard it before Archie Bunker was calling his wife one. It’s been used to mean an empty headed or silly person since the mid-19th century. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2020, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/77 "2020-11-22T13:36:31Z")
Wendy from Peter Pan Madison as a first name from Splash ---
**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:** [November 22, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/78 "2020-11-22T14:10:57Z")
Over here we have a lot of catchphrases and hit lines from comedy shows, some of which are just passing crazes, but some last. You might still hear older folk saying TTFN (Tata for now), which comes from ITMA, a radio show of the 1940s. More recent ones, off the top of my head, which seem to have not been totally forgotten: “All the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order” (Morecambe and Wise) “Don’t panic!”, "We’re doomed! Doomed! and “Stupid boy!” (Dad’s Army) “Does my bum look big in this?”, “No offence” and “Oh bugger!” (The Fast Show) “Lovely Jubbly!” (an old advertising slogan of the 50s, picked up and used in the 80s and 90s in Only Fools and Horses). ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/79 "2020-11-22T14:47:07Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > [@PastTense](#): > > > > “Get a life” came from a SNL skit with William Shatner. > > Genuine question: That skit popularized the phrase “Get a life,” but did it invent it? I believe the phrase was already widely used before the SNL skit, although to be honest I don’t remember exactly when the SNL skit first aired. Back in the early 90’s there was a Fox sitcom called “Get A Life” starring Chris Elliott as a 30 year old paperboy still living with his parents. ---
**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 22, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081/80 "2020-11-22T14:50:26Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > Wendy from Peter Pan > **[Was the name Wendy invented for the book "Peter Pan"?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343192/was-the-name-wendy-invented-for-the-book-peter-pan)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-or-phrases-that-were-that-were-coined-by-a-tv-show-or-movie/926081.md?page=5)