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For other uses see Catch phrase (disambiguation) A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is spontaneously popularized after a critical amount of widespread repeated usage in everyday conversation (i.e., it "catches" on). Also called a memetic phrase, catch phrases often originate in popular culture, and typically spread through a variety of media (such as motion pictures, television and radio), as well as word of mouth. A catch phrase’s defining features are its sudden, spontaneous, and widespread public reception, and its adopted use by the public, often to its own amusement.
What makes a catch phrase stick A sign that such a phrase has caught on is its use in many sectors of society — political, social, and cultural. Catch phrases usually decline in popularity after a time, but this is not always the case. The term "Manifest Destiny", for example, was a catch phrase of the mid-nineteenth century, coined by journalist John O'Sullivan in an editorial in 1845. The phrase spread so quickly that people soon forgot who first introduced the term. In time, "Manifest Destiny" ceased to be a catch phrase, instead becoming a standard historical term, and a permanent part of the lexicon of U.S. history. Some catch phrases derive from misquotations that are so commonly cited they become generally assumed to be correct. Three of the most common modern examples from the not-so-recent past are “Play it again, Sam” (Casablanca), “May the Force be with You” (Star Wars films) and “Beam me up, Scotty” (Star Trek). Others only catch on within specific sub-cultures. In more recent times, many such catch phrases have propagated through the Internet. The catch phrase "All your base are belong to us", from Zero Wing -a poorly-translated Japanese video game- is one example. (Incidentally, the Casablanca and Star Trek phrases were never spoken on screen. In Casablanca, Rick actually says, "You played it for her, you can play it for me!...If she can stand it, I can! Play it!" In Star Trek, the usual expression was "Energize!" or a similar variation. Society's collective memory is sometimes volatile.) Some catch phrases originate as a slogan in an advertising campaign. The catch phrase “Where's the beef?” became popular in the U.S. as a result of a successful 1984 commercial for Wendy's, a hamburger restaurant chain. Advertising slogans that do not catch on with the public do not, by definition, become catch phrases, and soon become lost to history. Many of American TV shows in the 1970's had many catch phrases and here are examples: "Dy-no-mite!", "What Can I Say?" and "I knoooooowwwwww", "J.J. Evans" on "Good Times" played by Jimmie Walker "Heyyyyyyyy!" and "Sit On It!", "Arthur Fonzerelli (aka "The Fonz")" on "Happy Days" played by Henry Winkler "Up your nose with a rubber hose!", "Vinnie Barbarino" on "Welcome Back Kotter" played by John Travolta "Kiss my grits!", "Florence Castleberry" on "Alice" played by Polly Holliday "I'll cuff em and stuff em! Kew-kew-kew!", "Sheriff Roscoe" on "The Dukes of Hazzard" played by James Best "Nobody got the Z-Man's back", "Alex Pinner" in May to December The trademark catch phrase Some catch phrases become the "trademark" or defining characteristic of the person or character with whom they originated. A notable example is the catch phrase (actually catch word) “D'oh”, the trademark exclamation of Homer Simpson from the long-running animated series The Simpsons. This expostulation has now been added to some dictionaries. Dan Castellaneta, who plays Homer, has acknowledged that he got this expression from Jimmy Finlayson, who often spoke it when encountering the frequent monumental stupidity from Laurel and Hardy. A classic “trademark” catch phrase is “Ehh… what's up, Doc?”, which is identified with the Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies’ star character, Bugs Bunny. Bugs usually intones this wry inquiry quite nonchalantly, pausing at the ellipsis, while idly munching on a carrot. In the professional wrestling arena, catch phrases are often essential to a wrestler’s gimmick. Some, such as The Rock’s “Can you smell what The Rock is cookin’?” and "Know your role, and shut your mouth" and Stone Cold Steve Austin’s “Austin 3:16” and “That’s the bottom line, 'cause Stone Cold said so” achieved exceptional popularity. These phrases have proceeded to symbolize pro wrestling itself, even after the active careers of their associated star figures have ended. Pronunciation and inflection are often essential to a catch word or phrase. For example, U. S. sports announcer Marv Albert’s “Yes!” is a catch word mainly due to his distinctive enunciation of that word, and those who imitate or parody it normally attempt to duplicate the announcer’s style. Another example, coincidentally using the same word, would be Frank Nelson's uttering of "Yeeeeeeesssss?" (also parodied in The Simpsons). Another classic example from mid-20th century Hollywood slapstick comedy is associated with Curly Howard, a member of the Three Stooges: his ebullient enunciation of the word “certainly” almost always comes out as: “SOYT-en-ly!” Lawrence Welk's trademark mangling of the word "wonderful" ("Wunnerful, wunnerful!") ended up becoming the way it is most recognized. In 2006, Emma Lovelace invented the use of the term "personal catch phrase" - a catch phrase used by an individual, and personally (sometimes famously) associated with that person. She started with the catch phrase "The way I sway, the things I say," - continuously using it around her friends and acquaintances. After a while, the catch phrase had spread into the community - to the point where people in many parts of the nation used this phrase. While this phrase is not as famous as many of the movie catch phrases, it spread into the U.S. to a small extent and continues to be used as a response to flattery. Example: "Why do I love you so?" "It's the way I sway, the things I say, darling..." Because of the noted continuity and common usage, Lovelace created a few more phrases as trial "personal catch phrases" - some of which have become more widely known. She prefers to remain anonymous as to the nature of the phrases - so that her phrases may be uniquely discovered and spread on an individual basis - and not linked to her - so she can note the spread of phrases from "unknown" or "common" people. Although Lovelace is probably not the first person to coin a widely used catch phrase, by charting the movement of the phrase - she is the first notable person to have coined a phrase that travels, and logged it as a small phenomenon. She points out that catch phrases can and do originate from people like you - you can use a phrase often and get your friends to use it too, and sometimes you'll make a phrase that sticks. Lovelace is not famous herself - merely an unknown factoral in the populace - but she has noted several of her phrases among new acquaintances and in other parts of the world, and thus decided to create the terminology "personal catch phrase" - for a commonly-known phrase created by an individual in the community - be they widely known star or just another John or Jane Doe. This entry is one example of a personally-created term. Opposition The use of catch phrases is sometimes protested as a type of cultural self-stereotyping, and sometimes as robbing people of genuine language. Several (albeit small) movements opposing the use of catch phrases have sprung up as a result. One (more humorous) example of this opposition is the character drawn by Jeffrey Rowland known as the Catch Phrase Killer, who is actually the Hamburglar in disguise. (Note: The humor in this is ironic, as Jeffrey Rowland is himself the inventor of several catch phrases, such as "I am made of poison.") See also For further reading Partridge, Eric (1894-1979) ed. Beale. A Dictionary of Catch Phrases, American and British, from the sixteenth century to the present day (enlarged trade paperback edition) Lanham, Maryland: Scarborough House, 1992 ISBN 0-8128-8536-8 | ||||||||
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