History Main / FlashbackToCatchphrase

** In the episode ''Dangerous Curves Ahead'', we get a flashback to one of Homer's many catchphrases: When Homer and Marge are dating, they meet the newly-wed Flanderses for the first time. Homer initially likes Ned, but when they stop at a motel, Neddy says an unmarried couple can't share a room.

** Another flashback episode has Homer and Marge meet as children, but not realising it because they used pseudonyms. When Marge calls asking for Homer's obviously fake rockstar mashup name, Moe responds with the string of threats [[RunningGag for which he has become known]]. He the [[NoFourthWall turns to the camera and says]] "[[LampshadeHanging And that's the origin of that thing]]". The same scene also has Patty and Selma decide to start smoking. ([[MultipleChoicePast Even though Patty and Selma already took up smoking in a completely different flashback in an earlier episode.]])
** Also in "Lisa's Sax", it shows a five-year old Bart (who sees school as a living nightmare) came to get attention from the other students by acting out. When Principal Skinner came to reprimand him for this he replied "Eat my shorts!"

* The ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' comic "Uprising" shows Tracer (Lena Oxton)'s first mission as a member of Overwatch. When she meets Torbjörn, he sarcastically greets her with "Looks like the cavalry's here". When Tracer became renowned herself, her catchphrase was "Cheers, love! The cavalry's here!"

* [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Axel]] is known far and wide for his catchphrase -- "Got it memorized?" -- almost always used after introducing himself. In "Birth by Sleep", though, we see just where it came from. As a child, he decided that he'd be metaphorically immortal if everyone remembers him always.

* [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Axel]] is known far and wide for his catchphrase -- "Got it memorized?" -- almost always used after introducing himself. In the recent prequel, though, we see just where it came from. As a child, he decided that he'd be metaphorically immortal if everyone remembers him always.

A major character has some sort of {{catchphrase}} or other profound statement which defines their character. A "Flashback to Catchphrase" is a {{flashback}} which takes place before the series chronology (or at least before this major character was introduced) which shows the moment in which the phrase came into ''their'' vernacular.

* Interestingly inverted in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', with Doc's "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything!" being repeated by Marty to his 17-year-old father while in 1955, [[spoiler: to discover back in the future that George has adopted it as his motto.]]

* Interestingly inverted in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', with Doc's "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything!" being repeated by Marty to his 17-year-old father while in 1955, [[spoiler: to discover back in the future that George has adopted it as his motto.]]

* In ''Literature/HonorHarrington'', the main character's CatchPhrase is "Let's be about it." On her midshipwoman's cruise, guess what her first commanding officer seems to say at every opportunity?

* In the web-novel ''Literature/{{Domina}}'', Derek and Laura swear "silver and gold," which almost certainly comes from their parents' CatchPhrase "silver moon and golden sun." In a flashback chapter, someone asks what it means. [[SubvertedTrope Turns out it doesn't mean anything at all]].

* Before the ''Enterprise'' leaves on its first mission in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''; a small sending-off ceremony is held. During the ceremony [[FourStarBadass Admiral Forrest]] plays a quick video clip from Zefrem Cochrane, the man who invented the warp engine and laid the foundation for the new era of interspecies cooperation and space travel. Cochrane's speech reveals the origin of the [[ArcWords famed "where no one has gone before" motto]] adopted by Starfleet and made famous to every ''Franchise/StarTrek'' viewer.

* The ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' short story ''Rainy Day'' tells the origin of Kyon's trademark "Yare yare". (Roughly translated, "Good grief", "Oh brother" or any real generic exclamation of exasperation.)

* "Memory is the key." in Machinima/RedVsBlue. So much that ''[[TheDitz Caboose]]'' lampshades this ("Aren't we done with this already?")

* In the ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' {{Prequel}} ''Rock and Chips'', a teenaged Del says "One day, I'm gonna be a millionaire!"

* Not quite this trope, but related: In ''Manga/KurokosBasketball'', Izuki has a habit of making cringe-worthy {{pun}}s left and right. And the flashback arc to the founding of the basketball team of course had to show a scene where the team is in a restaurant and Izuki overhears a bad pun on the name of a Korean condiment[[labelnote:*]]According to the English scanlation: "This place doesn't have any [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gochujang gochujang]]?" "Got-you-dang?"[[/labelnote]]. Cue Izuki being visibly striken by it.

* A number of [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Harry Dresden's]] spell phrases and sayings are this. Being Jim Butcher's works, these almost always overlap with StealthPun. Fliccum Bicus? Harry tried to cheat at a fire-starting spell. [[spoiler: [[=DuMorne=]] told Harry that he wouldn't always be able to "flick his bic"]].

* In ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', it's revealed that womanizer Barney used to be a hippie, and that his look, attitude and catchphrases all come from the guy who stole his girlfriend off him.
** Except "Suit Up!", which came from an advertisement.

** In "Lisa's First Word", it is revealed that Bart’s first word was actually his catchphrase "Ay caramba!"

A major character has some sort of {{catchphrase}} or other profound statement which defines his/her character. A "Flashback to Catchphrase" is a {{flashback}} which takes place before the series chronology (or at least before this major character was introduced) which shows the moment in which the phrase came into ''their'' vernacular.

* Not quite this trope, but related: In ''Manga/{{Kuroko no Basuke}}'', Izuki has a habit of making cringe-worthy {{pun}}s left and right. And the flashback arc to the founding of the basketball team of course had to show a scene where the team is in a restaurant and Izuki overhears a bad pun on the name of a Korean condiment[[labelnote:*]]According to the English scanlation: "This place doesn't have any [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gochujang gochujang]]?" "Got-you-dang?"[[/labelnote]]. Cue Izuki being visibly striken by it.

* Though it's not a catchphrase, [[Series/{{Scrubs}} J.D.]]'s moussed-up hair was apparently due to a suggestion by his college buddy, Spencer.

* [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney "The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over."]] The origins of this repeated line are shown in the fourth case of ''Trials and Tribulations''.

* [[VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture "After all... isn't that what a gentleman does?" "Luckily for me, every puzzle... has an answer."]]

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'''s BigBad, Xykon, adopted his name as a teenager after meeting a thinly-veiled parody of Professor Charles Xavier from the X-Men (called the S-Men, because it's a team of sorcerers), specifically because he thinks names that start with "X" sound cooler.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode ''Dangerous Curves Ahead'', we get a flashback to one of Homer's many catchphrases: When Homer and Marge are dating, they meet the newly-wed Flanderses for the first time. Homer initially likes Ned, but when they stop at a motel, Neddy says an unmarried couple can't share a room.

** Another flashback episode has Homer and Marge meet as children, but not realising it because they used pseudonyms. When Marge calls asking for Homer's obviously fake rockstar mashup name, Moe responds with the string of threats [[RunningGag for which he has become known]]. He the [[NoFourthWall turns to the camera and says]] "[[LampshadeHanging And that's the origin of that thing]]". The same scene also has Patty and Selma decide to start smoking.
*** [[MultipleChoicePast Even though Patty and Selma already took up smoking in a completely different flashback in an earlier episode.]]

** And you can't forget that in the same episode it shows why Beast Boy says "dude" and the beginning of Robin's catchphrase.