Garfield / Tropes T to Z

T

• Take a Third Option: In one strip, Jon offered Garfield either a cookie or a donut. No guess for what Garfield decides on.
  Garfield: What is this "or" stuff of which you speak?
• Take Our Word for It:
  • Garfield's and Jon's reactions upon seeing the picture of Doc's girlfriend.
  • The only to clue to what Odie is barking to in this strip is Garfield saying "That cloud does look like a squirrel".
  • Garfield is shocked upon seeing Jon's freshman picture.
    Jon: Doc Boy gave me a haircut with the sheep shears.
    Garfield: I hope you didn't tip him.
• Take That!: The July 17, 2022 strip has Garfield impressed by the discovery of a singing fish and contemplating making money off of him, then deciding to eat him instead once he starts singing "Baby Shark".
• Talking Animal: Averted. There is an early strip where it seemed Garfield was talking, but it was Lyman pulling a prank on Jon.
• The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Liz left Jon a message at his cell phone confirming their date and asking him to leave the accordion at home. In fact, he was with the accordion while listening to the message.
• Tastes Better Than It Looks: Jon makes "weenie gelatin" in one strip, which is a green hunk of jello/jelly with sausages poking out. Garfield eats it and remarks that his mouth liked it, but his stomach is still making up its mind.
• Tastes Like Chicken:
  • Garfield comments that the cat food he's eating "tastes sort of like chicken". Upon reading the label, he learns "it's made from sort of chickens".
  • According to Garfield's translation of Odie's barking, dogs bite mailmen because "They taste like chicken".
• Technologically Blind Elders: Old Man Yarber is so out of touch with technology he tries to control a tractor with a whip.
• Technology Marches On:invoked After not using the landline since 2015, a 2017 week arc has Jon and Garfield reminisce about all the times they spent using it (and Jon forgetting that it hasn't got a camera and what a dial tone sounds like).
• Temporal Paradox: To celebrate the strip's 25th anniversary, they ran an arc where 1978!Garfield meets 2003!Garfield. 1978!Jon and 1978!Odie also show up alongside their 2003 counterparts at the end.
• Tempting Cookie Jar: Cookie jars have made frequent appearances, usually as a source of temptation while Garfield is on a diet. In one 1991 strip, Jon places the cookie jar atop the fridge, and Garfield is seen running with a pole so he could vault and reach it.
• Tempting Fate:
  • At the beach, Jon tried to get the attention of a girl by screaming "Shark!". He was trampled by everyone who ran away out of fear, was slapped by the girl and, when he said things couldn't get worse, a shark appeared.
  • Jon was in a date with Ellen and she couldn't even remember who he was. When he said it couldn't get worse, Garfield showed Liz dating somebody else.
  • Taken to absurd extremes when Jon, Garfield, and Odie once went on a walk.
  • Garfield during this Monday strip. "Well, at least Monday's over" He rips a calendar page, revealing the next day to also be a Monday. "I'll be going back to bed now".
  • Jon believes the best part about Christmas shopping online is "no lines, and no waiting!". He's then forced to wait while his order is processed.
  • During a diet arc, Garfield is glad he's not having any weird hallucinations this time. A roast chicken shows up wanting to borrow a cup of giblet gravy.
    Garfield: Don't look, Garfield. Don't look.
  • Garfield addresses the weather in the wrong month.
  • Garfield tells the reader that he'll beat up the next person who uses Baby Talk on him. Unfortunately, said "next person" turned out to be a muscular, spike-and-chain-wearing man.
  • When Jon, Garfield, and Odie are wrapped inside a curtain roll, Jon wonders how they'd get out of it. The curtain gives way and drops them to the floor, still wrapped inside said curtain roll.
    Jon: Isn't that the way? Just when everything looks hopeless, things work out.
    Garfield: I love happy endings.
  • A menu shows up as one of Garfield's age nightmares. Garfield doesn't find it scary, until...
    Menu: I'm the menu you can't read without the glasses you can't find.
    Garfield: I stand corrected.
  • When Garfield gets stuck in a tree, he tries to cheer himself up by stating that "no cat has ever lived his whole life up a tree". A random cat appears behind Garfield and contradicts him by saying "I have".
    Garfield: You stay out of this.
  • Garfield wonders why Jon always takes him golfing. Cue Jon accidentally breaking a glass window of a car while golfing and deflecting the blame on Garfield when the car owner confronts him.
  • In this strip, dinnertime is coming and Garfield fully expects to have pizza... only for Jon to state that they're having tofu patties.
  • Jon sees a fly in his coffee cup in this strip. After the fly leaves, Jon asks "What could be more disgusting than that?!" Cue a swarm of flies setting up on and around his cup and treating it like their own beach resort.
  • In the December, 15, 2011 strip Garfield told a spider that was under a mistletoe to forget it and that he'd rather kiss a dog. Odie then showed up.
  • In the January 11, 2003 strip, Garfield asks his audience "Any requests?" while on the fence. Then he dodges a shoe being thrown at him. Cue the response to his question being "Yeah! Hold still!".
  • Garfield wonders what the new year will bring in the December 31, 2020 strip. Cue Jon telling Garfield that he just found a great new tofu recipe.
    Garfield: Bring back the old year!
  • In the January 1, 2021 strip, Garfield claims that he doesn't need an alarm because he wakes up naturally. Cue Jon showing up in an Jetson-esque outfit with a statement "It's 2078!".
    Garfield: Oops.
  • Jon considers the world a dangerous place and prefers the safety of his own home.
    Garfield 3... 2... 1...
    (crash)
    Jon: Oww!
  • A couple times Garfield has said, "You gotta get up pretty early in themorning to pull one over on old Garfield." And shockingly, he ran out of luck both times he said it.
  • In the August 21, 2021 strip, Garfield boasts to the grumpy, chained guard dog that nothing can wipe the smile off his face.
    Dog: I know what's really in cat food.
    Garfield: (in a panicked expression) Don't tell me!
  • The September 26, 2021 strip combines with trope with Exact Words. Garfield goes outside, sees a leaf from a tree turning orange, points at said leaf, and saying in a commanding tone: "I am not ready for autumn yet. Do not fall off that tree!" Cue all other leaves from that tree falling on top of him.
  • In the October 5, 2021 strip, Jon decides to read more, so he starts by reading from a cereal box... and tires himself out quickly.
    Jon: "Fortified with essential vitamins and minerals..." That's enough for today. My head hurts.
    Garfield: Tomorrow, we read a milk carton!
  • In the October 10, 2021 strip, Jon tries to lure Garfield into consuming a pill hidden in a treat, so Garfield takes the treat on the plate Jon is not promoting to him, realizing too late that he fell for Jon's trick.
    Garfield: *takes the treat on the plate and swallows it* I believe I'll have this one instead. Heh, heh, heh.
    Jon: *with a sly grin* Heh, heh, heh.
    Garfield: I think I've just been had.
  • Nermal asks Garfield in the November 19, 2021 strip what he would do if he could do anything in the world. The strip ends with Garfield throwing Nermal out — through the door (with Impact Silhouette on said door, to boot).^note  Nermal addressing him as "chubs" doesn't endear himself to Garfield, if anything.
    Garfield: He walked right into that one.
  • In the December 26, 2021 strip, Liz pokes fun at the matching Homemade Sweater from Hell that Jon, Garfield, and Odie receive from Jon's mother. She no longer finds it funny once Jon hands her the matching sweater his mother made for her.
  • The February 28, 2022 strip has Jon claiming he can make Garfield smile, while Garfield dismisses him because it's Monday. Jon succeeds.
    Jon: I bet I can make you smile.
    Garfield: Nothing about a Monday can make me smile.
    Jon: Tomorrow is Taco Tuesday.
    Garfield: *with a toothy smile* Curse you, Jon Arbuckle!
  • Upon weighing himself in the April 14, 2022 strip, Garfield attempts to bribe the talking scale into lying about the result for him, but the scale refuses. Garfield promptly proves Every Man Has His Price by naming his bribe of choice, which gets the scale to oblige.
    Garfield: If you give me a good number, I'll make it worth your while.
    Scale: You can't bribe me!
    Garfield: Two words: unlimited batteries.
    Scale: Hellooooo, SKINNY!
  • Lampshaded in the August 2, 2022 strip.
    Jon: Nothing bad has happened today. (Beat Panel) I probably shouldn't have said that.
    Garfield: Here come the locusts.
  • In the December 20, 2022 strip, a mouse attempts to get a kiss Under the Mistletoe from Garfield. Garfield refuses at first, but the mouse gets him to change his mind by reminding him it's Christmastime. The last panel shows Garfield deeply regretting his decision.
    Jon: My mouthwash is all gone!
    Garfield: (with a grossed-out expression) And it still wasn't enough.
  • Garfield's moment of appreciating peace and quiet ("I love the starry nights... so peaceful... so serene") in the April 16, 2023 strip is disrupted once Jon and Odie turn up, with Odie barking and Jon shouting for Odie to shut up and then screaming in reaction to be a bee.
    Garfield: [over the phone] Hello, Snoopy? Your strip needs a cat. Think about it.
  • In the April 23, 2023 strip, Jon notes that Garfield is never seen walking on all fours nowadays and asks him whether he has actually forgotten how to do so, and so Garfield decides to prove Jon wrong by demonstrating... only to end up landing face-first on the surface with a THUD.
    Jon: A little rusty, Garfield?
    Garfield: You didn't see that.
  • Garfield boasts of having the balance of a cat while standing on one foot up on a tree branch in the May 4, 2023 strip... right before losing balance and falling off it, landing on his face onto the ground.
  • Garfield's claim of fearlessness gets shattered quickly in the August 24, 2023 strip.
    Garfield: I'm not afraid of anything.
    Jon: [off-screen] Garfield, they're ready!
    Garfield: [in hiding] Except broccoli smoothies.
  • In the October 10, 2023 strip, Garfield has a good feeling about the day.
    Jon: [off-screen] The ice cream truck and the pizza delivery van broke down! (Garfield is shocked) Right in front of our house! (Garfield gives a thumbs-up)
  • Garfield tells the spirit haunting him in the October 30, 2023 strip that the spirit in question isn't scary. Then the spirit lists off things that make Garfield change his tune.
    Spirit: I am the spirit of Mondays past. I came from 1978.
    Garfield: Not scary.
    [beat]
    Spirit: Mood rings? Leisure suits? Disco? Man perms? Laser discs?
    Garfield: Okay, that's scary.
  • Garfield wonders in the March 26, 2024 strip why Jon hasn't saved him yet when he's stuck in a tree, right before Jon scream "Save me, Garfield!" from higher up above him in a tree.
• That Cloud Looks Like...:
  Jon: I think that cloud looks just like a cloud.
  (Beat Panel)
  Garfield: Which one?
  • Garfield once found one that resembled Odie: the same ears, the same stupid expression. When it started to rain, he commented that it also had "the same slobber."
• There Was a Door:
  • Tired of the mess Garfield and Odie were making, Jon opened the door and told them to go outside. They jumped through the window. Berating his pets, Jon told them to use the door next time. Unfortunately, since it was closed then, they broke it while reentering.
  • There's one strip in which Jon calls Garfield to dinner. Garfield comes bounding up to Jon from off panel. Jon says, "I appreciate your promptness, Garfield...." and finishes in the last panel, "... but next time, OPEN THE DOOR!", revealing that Garfield broke through the (closed) door. Could be justified in that Garfield is a cat and can't work a doorknob, but....
  • There's also one where he comes through the pet door, but gets stuck inside because he's too fat and thus rips the normal door from its hinges anyway. Also, he repeatedly kicked Nermal out the front door without opening it first.
  • And there's another wherein he smashes the front door down and says, "When I want in, I want in NOW!"
  • Happens in yet another strip◊ when Jon yells "FIRE!" to test his pets' fire drill knowledge. Both run straight through the wall — or, rather, we assume they did, thanks to the hole.
• This Explains So Much: Garfield's reaction when Jon shows him a picture of his father trying to milk a pig.
• This Is My Human: Garfield refers to Jon as "his cartoonist" in the very first strip and considers himself to be superior to Jon in every way imaginable (and thus treats Jon accordingly).
• This Is No Time to Panic: This comic strip. Jon Arbuckle was desperate about his age because he found a gray hair. Garfield told him not to panic. When Jon said it was in his ear, Garfield replied "Okay, panic".
• This Just In!: Garfield gives us the page quote from this parody◊.
• This Loser Is You: Jon, although this wasn't a big part of the comic until the nineties.
• Thought Bubble Speech: Coupled with Inner Monologue Conversation, as Jon seems to be able to understand what Garfield is thinking when they interact.
• Threatening Sharks: Jon, reading the warning on Garfield's new flea collar: "While this collar will repel fleas, it has been known to attract sharks."
• The Three Certainties in Life: One strip had a variant, "Death, taxes, and teddy bears. Three things you can always count on."
• They Don't Make Them Like They Used To:
  • In this comic strip, Garfield tried to climb a tree but it fell through. His comment: "They don't make trees like they used to."
  • In this one, he broke a ming vase and said "Ming, schming. They don't make'm like they used to."
• Three... Two... One...: Jon decides to wear his Eiffel Tower hat in the yard right after Garfield watches a weather report about thunderstorms.
  Garfield: Annnnd 3... 2... 1... (Boom! Zat!)
  Jon: Gah! I've had better ideas.
  Garfield: Like the one with the kiddie pool and the high dive?
• Time Crash: "Maybe if I tore Monday off the calendar there'd be no more Mondays."◊ He attempts this on a Monday.
• Timmy in a Well: Repeatedly parodied.
• Toilet-Drinking Dog Gag: A running joke is dogs, usually Odie, drinking from toilets.
  • When the toilet starts overflowing, Odie runs towards it excitedly.
  • Garfield is woken up by the sound of Odie drinking out of the toilet.
  • Lyman laughs when Odie licks him. Garfield thinks that Lyman wouldn't be as happy if he knew that Odie just drank out of the toilet.
• Toilet Humor: A story arc has Jon, Garfield and Odie visiting a tropical island called "Guano-Guano".
• Tombstone Teeth: The characters usually smile with piano-looking teeth, specially when it's fake◊ or smug.
• Tongue on the Flagpole:
  • A variation. Odie gets his tongue stuck on a frozen fire hydrant. The strip then shows six panels' worth of outstretched Odie tongue, leading to Garfield saying, "We need a blow dryer and a really, really long extension cord."
  • Jon once got his tongue stuck on the mailbox, but it wasn't seen.
• Tongue-Out Insult:
  Jon: Cindy called. (sticks his tongue out at the phone) She said I'm immature.
  Garfield: What does she know?
• The Tonsillitis Episode: Happened to Jon in April 1988.
• Too Dumb to Live:
  • Two people entering a scary-looking house which they suspect is haunted by a murderous psycho.
  • A snowman is happy to have won "a two-week vacation at the beach!".
• Too Incompetent to Operate a Blanket: Occurs in this strip for "Honko's Chain Mail Body Sock".
• Too Many Halves: This strip features Garfield saying he's "half hungry, half sleepy and half bored". He later admits he's "apparently, bad at math".
• Totem Pole Trench: Garfield and Odie use Jon's shirt to bypass a ride's minumum height requirements.
• To the Pain: Jon receives this when he tries to pick up a girl by claiming he has ESP.
  Woman: I'm going to pull your ears over your head and tie them into a knot. Then I'm going to stretch your upper lip over your chin, and then I'm going to pull your shoe off and stuff it up your left nostril.
  Jon: I knew that.
• Towering Flower: This◊ strip has Garfield walking next to a daisy almost twice his size without batting an eye. According to the cat, it really had rained a lot.
• Tractor Beam: Aliens trying to abduct Garfield fail because their tractor beam isn't strong enough. Garfield reacts by telling the aliens he's not fat.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Garfield eats everything except raisins, spinach, and mice, but he prefers lasagna. He's also very fond of pizza, to the point that he considers the pizza delivery boy his best friend. Early strips also had a running gag of him eating Jon's chicken in creative ways.
• Trapped in TV Land: The Garfield and Friends episodes "The Lasagna Zone" and "T.V. of Tomorrow", the video game Garfield: Caught in the Act, and The Garfield Show episode "Virtualodeon".
• Tree Buchet: During a short arc where Garfield was hanging from a tree by his mouth, Odie tries repeatedly to get him down. His final idea was to simply bend the tree branch down, lowering Garfield, who congratulates him for doing something right. Odie lets go to do a victory clasp, which causes the branch to snap back, sending Garfield flying.
• Tremor Trampoline: In a couple of strips, Garfield is able to bend the panel with his weight, and another has him bouncing on a hardwood floor. In an early one, Garfield even manages to flip Jon's chair over just by jumping!
  Jon: Diet time.
• Trivially Obvious: In this strip, Jon says: "Odie, you're such a good boy! And Garfield, you're such a... such a... cat."
  Garfield: A "good boy" would kill you, wouldn't it?
• Trojan Veggies: In one Sunday strip, Jon disguises a dish of liver for Garfield by covering it with ice cream and calling it "Sweet Surprise." Unfortunately, the Genre Savvy fat cat realizes what's going on and gives Jon a surprise of his own by hurling the liver at his head.
• Two Words: Added Emphasis:
  • July 15, 1995:
  Jon: It's the weekend, and you know what that means... Two words, Garfield... "Board games".
  Garfield: Whoa! My fun meter is a-jumpin' off the scale!
  • April 14, 2022:
    Garfield: If you give me a good number, I'll make it worth your while.
    Electronic Scale: You can't bribe me!
    Garfield: Two words: unlimited batteries.
    Electronic Scale: Hellooooo, Skinny!

U - W

• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: The cartoony art style obscures it a bit, but the reader is given to understand that Jon and girlfriend Liz vary widely in levels of attractiveness. Garfield himself will sometimes remark on it.
• Unabashed B-Movie Fan: Garfield and Jon are fond of things like "Sludge Monster", helped by how seemingly the TV is always playing this sort of movie.
• Uncatty Resemblance: Jon and Garfield commented on this trope, with pets who look increasingly (and more absurdly) like their owners. This culminated with some guy who looked like a man in a bird suit and his pet canary. Another strip had Jon sitting down to eat dinner with Garfield, which they both began gobbling up in perfect sync. The strip ends with Jon realizing he has to get away from Garfield when they eat.
• Uncle Sam Wants You: A Garfield strip featured A sign with Binky saying "I want you. Join the circus" and making an Uncle Sam pose.
• Under the Mistletoe: A frequently used gag during the holiday season.
• Understatement: Garfield describes the "Santa's Elves Versus Godzilla" battle as "just a little loopsided".
• Unishment: It's so hot that Garfield decides to kick Jon while the later is watering the flowers. Jon retaliates by hitting him with water, which Garfield liked. Realizing what just happened, Jon kicks Garfield hoping to receive the same retaliation. Garfield instead pulls down Jon's shorts and wraps him with his hose.
• Unnamed Parent: Jon's parents. Also, Garfield's mother, who appeared in a series of strips in 1984.
• Unsound Effect:
  • For a rather unconventional example, whenever a hammer is being used, the sound effect is usually "hammer" instead of "bang."
  • Others include "unscrew" for the top of a saltshaker being unscrewed, and "plug" for Christmas lights being plugged in.
  • These◊ two◊ early strips use "Leap!" to indicate Garfield jumping off a table.
  • And there's plenty more where that came from, such as Hook!◊ for Garfield being Vaudeville Hooked offscreen.
  • And "Fling!" is◊ often◊ used◊ to◊ indicate◊ a◊ character◊ flinging◊ something.
• Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Garfield is all over this trope.
• Unusual Euphemism: Garfield notably says "Oh, lawsey, lawsey, lawsey" when Odie makes his first appearance. This is an old-fashioned and primarily Indiana-centric euphemism for using the Lord's name in vain.
• Unwinnable by Design: Spin-off game Garfield: Big Fat Hairy Deal is a Cruel variant. You play as Garfield, who has a constantly depleting hunger meter. If the meter depletes and Garfield doesn't have any items, it's Game Over. Otherwise, Garfield eats whatever he currently has. The game is full of Moon Logic Puzzles and Red Herrings, so it's hard to figure out what you actually need and what's just there to refill the hunger meter.
• Urine Trouble:
  • Hinted at in the April 21, 1982 strip, where Garfield disguises himself as a bush, then notices that Odie is sniffing at him.
  • The December 12, 1995 strip has Jon, Garfield and Odie trying to pick out a Christmas tree. Jon states that he can't decide which tree he likes, then makes a shocked expression while Garfield quips "Neither can Odie. He likes them all", clearly implying that Odie is marking his territory on all the Christmas trees.
  • Implied in the May 16, 2011 strip when Garfield once again finds himself stuck up a tree.
  Garfield: Oh, look! Odie has come to rescue me from this tree! (Beat) Well, he did something involving this tree.
  • Hinted at once more in the April 4, 2012 strip when Garfield admonishes Odie while the dog is walking by whistling.
  Garfield: Some of us like to climb that tree!
  • Yet another implication of Odie peeing on something occurs in the October 5, 2022 strip, with Garfield yet again finding himself stuck up a tree.
  Garfield: Odie! Do something! (Odie walks towards the tree with a grin) No! No! Not that!
• Vaudeville Hook: Garfield has been hooked off the fence a few times. Once, during a Christmas week, an oversized candy cane was used as one.
• Vengeful Vending Machine: The Soda Pop machine from one strip. It works fine until Garfield tries putting more coins in to get more soda cans, after which a huge can crushes him.
• [Verb] This!: Jon had to free-float this and forget that.
• Versus Title: In this strip, Garfield is about to watch a movie titled "The Giant Bloodsucking Leech Versus a Personal Injury Attorney".
• Visual Pun: This strip featured Frank, a friend of Jon's, meeting Garfield for the first time and rubbing him. Garfield reacted violently and stated "Some people rub me the wrong way".
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Garfield with both Odie and Jon.
• Volumetric Mouth: The side-view variant is used quite often.
• Vomit Discretion Shot: Strongly implied in a 1979 strip when when Garfield is trying to alert Jon on a road trip.
  Jon: What is it, Garfield? What are you trying to tell me? Oh... You're carsick, you say.
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot:
  • Garfield's reaction to finding out that he had eaten octopus was to spit it all back out (on Jon, no less) and then remark that it wasn't half bad.
• Waiting Skeleton: The comic used this trope a few times.
  • The services on this airline are rather bad.
  • Cats don't always get rescued from trees.
  • The doctor is running very late.
  • Garfield can't wait for the pizza delivery man (though this one is a Daydream Surprise).
• Wanting Is Better Than Having: Garfield on the pursuit of mice: "It's not the having, it's the getting."
• Waxing Lyrical: Garfield once described his mood as as "I am down... Down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, dooby doo down, down, comma, comma, down, dooby doo down, down.
• Way Past the Expiration Date: In one strip, Jon claims that he looked danger right in the face and laughed. Garfield then lets the readers know that Jon drank milk that was past the expiration date.
• Weight Loss Horror: Garfield has had nightmares about these in July 1979, March 1987◊ and January 1989◊.
• Weight Loss Salad: Garfield and salads are pretty much mortal enemies. Whenever Garfield has to go on a diet, this is pretty much the most he gets - he’s been given a single leaf of lettuce and even carrots at one point. Garfield being Garfield, he will cheat on his diet by garnishing his salad with a loaf of Italian bread or even a ham.
• Went to the Great X in the Sky: A spider wants to take revenge for his grandfather whom, as he says, Garfield sent to "that big web in the sky".
• Wham Line: In a story arc, Jon catches Liz with another man at a restaurant. Liz's date asks, "So, wait a minute... you like this guy?" Liz replies with: "As a matter of fact, I do."
• What Are Records?:
  • A TV example.
  TV: Don't touch that dial.
  Garfield: Okay, I won't. And what's a dial?
  • Garfield has a birthday nightmare where he's old enough to remember what records are.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: One strip has a blind date of Jon's named Gwen, who dresses as absurdly as he does on dates and finds him cute. Garfield even says "God made two of them!" Although she would have been a good recurring character, perhaps as a Distaff Counterpart of Jon, she was never mentioned again.
• What's a Henway?:
  Jon: Garfield, do you know there's a mouse in the garbage?
  Garfield: I think so... (singing) Oh, there's a mouse in the garbage, and I don't care...
• What's an X Like You Doing in a Y Like This?: You could say that Garfield inverted this one.
  Garfield: What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?
  Arlene: But this is a nice place.
  Garfield: Like I said... What's a girl like YOU doing in a place like THIS?
• What the Fu Are You Doing?: Garfield shows what happens when an untrained person (well, cat, in his case) tries to karate-chop bricks in this strip.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In a 1984 strip, Garfield calls Jon out for getting a speeding ticket.
• When I Was Your Age...: When he was Jon's age, Jon's Dad was already married and had a kid. Jon's reply ("Yeh, me") prompted him to state it was a good argument but he still thought Jon should get married.
• When Props Attack: A late 2011 Garfield strip had Garfield eating cookies in the cookie jar, but when Jon catches him, Garfield pretends that the cookie jar is eating him. Of course, Jon isn't fooled one bit by it:
  Garfield: Help! I'm being eaten by a cookie jar!
  Jon: Get out of there!
• When the Clock Strikes Twelve: In this strip, Garfield is using Jon's butter as fast as he can because it expires at midnight.
• Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Garfield's town is never specified, except on animated special Garfield Goes Hollywood it's Muncie, Indiana (Jim Davis' residence since 1963 and Paws, Inc.'s HQ).
• Who Would Be Stupid Enough?: In one strip, Garfield is watching a commercial for a health supplement that promises to help men attract women, but then the ad mentions that Side Effects Include... uncontrollable knee slapping, foot stomping, and blinking, as well as abnormal hair growth all over the body.

  Garfield: What idiot would buy that product?

  Jon stands behind Garfield with hair growing all over his body, blinking wildly, stomping his foot, and slapping his knee over and over again

• William Telling: The protagonist being the glutton that he is misses intentionally so that he can eat the apple afterwards.
• Wire Dilemma: Parodied here:
  Woman on TV: Bob, we've only got 3 seconds before the bomb explodes! Cut the red wire, not the green one!
  Man on TV: Bernice, there's something I've always wanted to tell you...
  Woman on TV: Yes?
  Man on TV: I'm color-blind.
  Garfield: Bye-bye, Bob and Bernice.
• Wishing for More Wishes: An indirect example occurs in the October 24, 2020 strip, where Garfield watches a television program about a kid finding a genie. After the kid is told that they have three wishes, the kid's first wish is that the genie is bad at math, which results in the genie unwittingly deciding that the kid has nine wishes left. Garfield commends the kid for their resourcefulness in tricking the genie to giving them more wishes.
• Word, Schmord!: Labor Day, Shmabor Day◊, and Ming, Shming◊.
• World of Snark: Garfield's the most prominent snarker, but just about everyone gets plenty of turns.
• World of Pun: They are very, VERY, rare, but they◊ are◊ there◊. Davis stopped doing them because he wanted the strip to translate internationally.
• Worst. Whatever. Ever!:
  • Garfield once had a dream where a dog is elected Mayor. He calls it "worst nightmare ever".
  • In the next day, Garfield uses the same expression after having a nightmare where his only pizza options are kale and tofu.
  • Wednesday's nightmare features Garfield watching news about a dogdemic when everyone sitting next to him (even Pooky the teddy bear) starts acting like Odie. Garfield repeats the "worst nightmare" line.
  • Thursday's nightmare features Garfield's teddy bear about to reveal his secrets.
  • Friday's nightmare features a veterinarian about to take Garfield's temperature with a thermometer bigger than him.
  • Saturday's nightmare features Arlene wanting to talk about politics.
• Worth It:
  • Jon giving Garfield a rubber hamburger.
  • Garfield asked an alarm-o-clock what time it was and it said it couldn't know because it wasn't wearing a watch. Garfield broke it and it said "It was worth it".
• Would Hit a Girl:
  • Garfield once, knocked Arlene out by throwing Odie at her.
  • That's what happens when a cat girl tries to eat Garfield's food.
• Would Rather Suffer:
  • One girl rejects Jon saying she'd rather swim in piranha infested waters dressed as a meat loaf.
  • In another one, Jon says going out with him is better than a stick in the eye. The girl promptly picks up a stick to find out.
• Write What You Know:
  • In-universe example. Garfield wants to write a book and plans to call it "Nights of Indiscretion". He then decides against it, claiming "a writer must write something he knows about" and changes it to "Nights of Indigestion".
  • Another time, he picked a topic he wasn't already familiar with and then said he would experience it for himself so he could base his book on it. The topic? Running with the bulls of Pamplona. The title? The Stupidest Thing I've Ever Done.
• Written Sound Effect: "SPLUT!" is the sound that a pie makes when it hits Garfield's face, although some other foods go "SPLOT!" instead. "Dingle" is also used for Odie's toy balls with bells in them. Also, "GOOSH!" is quite commonly used for wet splats.
• Wrote the Book: April 21, 1990.
  TV: Viewers, are you lethargic? Then let us help you.
  Garfield: No thanks. I wrote the book on lethargy.

X - Z

• Yank the Dog's Chain: An alarm clock induced Garfield into dreaming he was locked inside a pasta factory. Then, as Garfield was seconds away from the greatest feast in history, the alarm clock rang.
• Yawn and Reach: Jon tries doing this with Liz at the movies, only for her to "ahem" him away. He then leans on Garfield, who also gives him an "ahem."
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: The Big Vicious Dog claims to have read William Shakespeare after quoting a line from Hamlet in the October 19, 2022 strip. Garfield is not impressed.
  Garfield: Methink'st thou art a general offence.
• You All Look Familiar: Non-video-game example; the Recurring Character Squeak looks just like any other mouse in the strip, and it's not often that he's explicitly named as such. Currently, the last strip in which he is named is on June 16, 1997◊.
  • He reappears on September 7, 2011.
• You and What Army?:
  • In this strip, Garfield asked that question when Jon said he'd give Garfield a bath.
  • Garfield is in the middle of asking this to a kid whose sandwich he stole when he notices the bear behind him.
• You Are Fat: Most often said by the scale or Jon to Garfield.
• You Can See That, Right?: Liz hallucinates Jon's face looking like a donut.
  Liz: Okay, did you see that?
  Garfield: He usually has sprinkles.
• You Didn't See That: Used a couple times.
• You Do NOT Want To Know:
  • Garfield takes a giant cone outside to fill it with snow.
  Liz: Where'd he get the bucket of cherry syrup?
  Jon: Somethings are better left unknown...
  • Liz wonders why it takes so long for Jon to organize his sock drawer and Garfield tells her she doesn't want to know. The next panel shows Jon using two socks as puppets.
    Jon: Hello, Mr. Red Sock! Have you met Mr. Blue Sock?
• You Just Had to Say It:
  • In one of the Garfield comic strip's rare strings of positive continuity, Garfield, Odie and Jon are on a camping trip which has been plagued with calamities.
    Jon: This camping trip's been a total disaster. The wind blew our food everywhere, the ants ate my cherry pie...
    Garfield: No, Jon! Don't say it!
    Jon: What else could go wrong?
    [It promptly starts raining]
    Garfield: You said it!
  • Or of course this alternative version:
    Garfield: He's gonna say it.
    Jon: (looks left)
    Garfield: I just know he's gonna say it.
    Jon: (looks right)
    Garfield: It wouldn't be Jon if he didn't say it.
    Jon: (looks left)
    Garfield: 4... 3... 2... 1...
    Jon: (looks right) What a long train.
    Garfield: ARRRRGH!
  • Or this one:
    Jon: Well, there's a blizzard outside...
    Garfield: Don't say it.
    Jon: We're snowed in...
    Garfield: Don't say it.
    Jon: The cable tv has gone out...
    Garfield: Don't say it.
    Jon: And we're out of hot chocolate.
    Garfield: Don't say it.
    Jon: What else can go wrong? [lights go out]
    Garfield: You said it.
• You Killed My Father: Played for laughs. A spider named Lorenzo Garbanzo wants to take revenge on Garfield for squishing his father and grandfater. Garfield promptly squishes Lorenzo too.
• You Must Be This Tall to Ride:
  • Garfield and Odie wore Jon's shirt to get past that.
  • This strip has three signs: "Beware of Dog"; "Thrills Galore!"; and "You must be this tall to be bitten". The minimum height requirement is very low.
• You Need a Breath Mint:
  • In one strip, a female cat told Nick (another cat) that he had foul breath.
  • Garfield once got called out for having awful breath.
  • In a 1988 comic, Garfield tells a dog they had bad breath.
• You Wouldn't Hit a Guy with Glasses: One strip has Garfield go out to do his entertainment routine on the fence wearing Nerd Glasses saying "you wouldn't throw tomatoes at a guy wearing glasses would you?". We see splat sound effects in the next panel.The last panel is a upset Garfield who is covered with tomato everywhere on his body except his head.
• Your Brain Won't Be Much of a Meal: In one strip, Garfield pretends to be The Igor, wandering around saying "A brain! I need a brain for my master!" He pauses to take a look at Odie, and then moves on, repeating "A brain! I need a brain for my master!"
  • Jon was afraid an insect was eating his brain and Garfield said it'd starve.
  • An Igor-like character shows up and claims he "must have human brain".
  Garfield: (to Jon) Notice how he walked right past you.
• Your Mom:
  • When Garfield stands on the talking scale:
    Scale: Let me put it this way... Have you ever considered a career as a river barge?
    Garfield: Your mother was a blender!
    Scale: That hurt.
  • In another strip, when he does his act on the fence, he tells his audience: "All your mothers wear army boots!"
  • Yet another strip, Jon tries to train Garfield to be an "attack cat", and makes a dummy from him to practice. When he orders "Attack!", Garfield tells the dummy: "Your mother wears combat boots!"
  • In another strip, when Garfield is a bad mood, he shouts to a bunch of dogs: "All your mothers wear flea collars!" which gets him beaten up.
  • A spider says this to Garfield in this strip.
  • Odie was chasing cars and Garfield tried to caution him against it because he could get clobbered. Realizing he said "clobbered", Garfield then told Odie a Buick said "unkind things" about Odie's mother.
  • Garfield, as "The Caped Avenger", felt he could get into all sorts of troubles and be protected by his sidekick Odie (a.k.a. Slurps). When Garfield smacked a dog and said the dog's mother chased garbage trucks, Slurps resigned his "comission".
  • Garfield's idea of "get" a mouse was saying the mouse's mother dressed it funny.
• You're Just Jealous: Arlene suggests she and Garfield should go dancing. Garfield says they already did it once and Arlene points out jumping around because he had a flea doesn't count as dancing. Garfield accuses her of being jealous of his "sweet moves".
• You Talk Too Much!: Said by an old lady here◊, even though no one else spoke while she was babbling. Garfield also said this to Jon once◊.
• Zipperiffic: Deconstructed, bizarrely enough. Jon wears a suit with an absurd amount of zippered pockets, then forgets which pocket he put his keys in. Cue Garfield giving an Oh, Crap! face and exclaiming, "This could take months!"