Though some of today’s TV characters still have catchphrases, they were much more common back in the ‘90s. Almost every single character on Full House had a catchphrase, and can you get any more ‘90s than Full House? You have to wonder, though, were these catchphrases meant to be a touchstone for these characters/shows from the start, or did the line happen once and then the audience reacted so positively that the writers were like hey, we might have a catchphrase here?
Today, we’re going to take a look back at some of the most memorable ‘90s TV character catchphrases, complete with gifs that you can use wherever you might like to use a gif. To see all of the gifs we’ve made you can check out our Giphy channel.
Friends
"How you doin'?" - Joey Tribbiani
Joey has some great lines throughout Friends (“Joey doesn’t share food!”), but no line was more iconic than his catchphrase.
Family Matters
"Did I do that?" - Steve Urkel
As Family Matters progressed, it became more and more about nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel, in no small part to this lasting catchphrase.
Full House
"You got it, dude." - Michelle Tanner
Michelle actually had a few different catchphrases, including “Aw nuts,” “You’re in big trouble, mister,” and “No way, Jose.” But none of those are what you’d call her signature catchphrase — that definitely goes to “You got it, dude!”
"How rude!" - Stephanie Tanner
And let’s not forget about Stephanie’s most memorable catchphrase, which is definitely one of the most memorable of them all. She also liked to say, “hot dog” and “pin a rose on your nose,” but neither of those are nearly as iconic as “how rude!”
"Have mercy." - Jesse Katsopolis
While Jesse also liked to make sure no one touched his hair (“the hair!”), he was also known for this catchphrase, which apparently came from Garry Marshall telling John Stamos he needed to have a catchphrase. Is that why Full House had SO MANY of them? Hmm.
"Cut. It. Out." - Joey Gladstone
Though Joey did a lot of impressions and voices, including the Woodchuck and Popeye, we wouldn’t really consider those catchphrases. But “Cut. It. Out.” certainly counts, and also comes with a specific hand gesture.
"Oh mylanta!" - DJ Tanner
DJ often said this catchphrase when she was feeling nervous around a boy on the original Full House — she also says it quite a lot in Fuller House, the sequel series, for a wider variety of situations.
Blossom
"Whoa." - Joey Russo
Blossom’s brother Joey was kind of the dimwit of the group, but always with an upbeat attitude, and nothing captured that flavor better than his signature “whoa!”
Seinfeld
"Yada yada yada."
Though this phrase was mostly just used in one episode (“The Yada Yada,” of course), it became so well-known in the world at large, we just have to include it.
"Serenity now!" - Frank Costanza
George’s father Frank gets to utter this catchphrase, which was inspired by a self-help tape. The full phrase is “serenity now, insanity later” and can really just lead to an explosion of anger as demonstrated in the episode “The Serenity Now,” where the catchphrase was introduced.
"Hello, Newman." - Jerry Seinfeld
Though others on the show also greeted villainous postal worker Newman with the signature phrase, Jerry was most known for the snide way he would say it.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
"Make it so." - Jean-Luc Picard
As you can see from this list, most catchphrases are on sitcoms, which makes sense. But here we have a rare entry from a drama. Whether it was actually a catchphrase or just something everyone said in the future is debatable, but Picard said it so many times, we’re including it.
The Simpsons
"D'oh!" - Homer Simpson
Is there any catchphrase that has entered the national consciousness more than Homer Simpson’s “D’oh!”? We think not. It’s not only basically a symbol of the character, but also just used in regular conversation in real life. That’s some lasting power.
"Ay carumba!" - Bart Simpson
Though the phrase is really “ay caramba” in Spanish, we wrote it out as “carumba” as in an episode of The Simpsons, they show it as “carumba” on screen. Which is correct? Debatable. Nonetheless, Bart first uttered the phrase in one of the shorts produced for The Tracy Ullman Show, so it’s definitely one of his most iconic.
"Excellent." - Mr. Burns
Of course we had to also include Mr. Burns’ catchphrase — which he almost always says while steepling his fingers together. Harry Shearer, the voice of Mr. Burns, has said he partially based his character on the baddie in It’s a Wonderful Life, who also displays some finger-tenting action.
"Eat my shorts." - Bart Simpson
Yep, Bart had quite a few catchphrases, including “Don’t have a cow, man” — but “eat my shorts” and the above “ay carumba” definitely are his top two. In recent years, he doesn’t say these phrases as much, as the writers feel these catchphrases have worn out their welcome. But we’ll always have the ’90s episodes!
Boy Meets World
The Feeny Call - Eric Matthews
This catchphrase evolved over time — initially Eric would just call, “Mr. Feeny!” outside of Mr. Feeny’s house to get him to come out, but eventually it morphed into a more playful phrase, and our gif above is one of our favorite versions of The Feeny Call.
Saturday Night Live
"Well, isn't that special." - The Church Lady
Dana Carvey’s classic character from Saturday Night Live appeared from the years 1986 to 1990 when he was a cast member on the show, and though she had a few different repeated sayings, none are as memorable as this one.
"We're not worthy!" - Wayne and Garth
Here we have a few different catchphrases from Wayne and Garth, played by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live. “Wayne’s World” appeared on the show from 1989 to 1994. “We’re not worthy” was used when the guys felt, well, not worthy, of whatever musical guest they encountered.
"Party On!" - Wayne and Garth
Wayne and Garth often completed this exchange at the end of each segment in some variation or another.
"Schwing!" - Wayne and Garth
And, of course, how can we forget “Schwing!” This catchphrase was used whenever Wayne and Garth saw a girl they thought was hot.
South Park
"Oh my god, they killed Kenny!"
Used mostly in the earlier seasons of South Park, this trademark gag featured the character Kenny getting killed in some way, and then the rest of the gang exclaiming, “Oh my god, they killed Kenny!” often followed up by “You bastards!”
Dinosaurs
"I'm the baby, gotta love me." - Baby Sinclair
Though Baby Sinclair says this phrase throughout the show, what makes it all the more memorable is the fact that it was turned into a song. Yes, for real, if you don’t remember, check out the music video, and try not to get it stuck in your head (good luck with that, it’s stuck in my head right now!).
"Not the mama!" - Baby Sinclair
Baby Sinclair would often direct this phrase toward his father Earl whenever he was disobeying him, often accompanied by hitting Earl over the head with a frying pan. How many kids followed suit in real life, yelling at their dads that they were “not the mama!”? I’m sure the dads were so appreciative! Thanks, Dinosaurs!
What was your favorite ’90s TV character catchphrase? Did we miss any that you were hoping to see? Let us know in the comments!
- DJ Tanner’s catchphrase of “Oh mylanta” came from Candace Cameron not wanting to say “oh my god” due to her religion.
- Joey Lawrence shared that originally, the writers intended his signature “whoa!” to sound more like Keanu Reeves’ surfer-dude version in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but when audiences weren’t laughing during the live episode recording, they asked him to change it up, and he came up with the new way to say it, and it stuck.
- For awhile, Homer Simpson’s classic “D’oh!” was written in scripts as “Annoyed Grunt” but eventually switched over. The word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2001, with the definition: Expressing frustration at the realisation that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish. Also (usu. mildly derogatory): implying that another person has said or done something foolish.
- The “Wayne’s World” sketch on Saturday Night Live spawned two movies: Wayne’s World in 1992 and Wayne’s World 2 in 1993. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey have also reprised the roles a few different times — at the 2008 MTV VMAs, in 2011 and 2015 on SNL, and in 2021 for a Super Bowl commercial.
- The creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have said that the “you bastards!” part of the “OMG they killed Kenny” catchphrase was actually directed at them, the writers, for putting Kenny’s death into the script.
- DJ Tanner’s catchphrase of “Oh mylanta” came from Candace Cameron not wanting to say “oh my god” due to her religion.
- Joey Lawrence shared that originally, the writers intended his signature “whoa!” to sound more like Keanu Reeves’ surfer-dude version in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but when audiences weren’t laughing during the live episode recording, they asked him to change it up, and he came up with the new way to say it, and it stuck.
- For awhile, Homer Simpson’s classic “D’oh!” was written in scripts as “Annoyed Grunt” but eventually switched over. The word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2001, with the definition: Expressing frustration at the realisation that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish. Also (usu. mildly derogatory): implying that another person has said or done something foolish.
- The “Wayne’s World” sketch on Saturday Night Live spawned two movies: Wayne’s World in 1992 and Wayne’s World 2 in 1993. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey have also reprised the roles a few different times — at the 2008 MTV VMAs, in 2011 and 2015 on SNL, and in 2021 for a Super Bowl commercial.
- The creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have said that the “you bastards!” part of the “OMG they killed Kenny” catchphrase was actually directed at them, the writers, for putting Kenny’s death into the script.
