No, not Mainstream Obscurity / Quotes, but oft-quoted snippets of text that have become so pervasive that no-one knows what their original context was, or even their source, in most cases. For example, when was the last time you heard a character say, "The iceman cometh"? Prettey recently, right? But what does that phrase actually mean? What work is being quoted? Nobody knows. note
These phrases have entered the public consciousness mainly through Popcultural Osmosis. For example, most people who today use the phrase "Moveable feast" aren't referencing the Ernest Hemingway memoir, they're quoting the guy in The Lost World: Jurassic Park who said it.
Since the inclusion of this trope on a works page would most likely be a zero-content example ("So-and-so said this!), don't bother listing it unless the quote is discussed, analyzed, or abused. Feel free to add it below, however.
Examples of these phrases, and their [mis]use:
- "The Iceman Cometh" note
- Said by Mr. Freeze (of course) in Batman & Robin.
- A variation, "The Iceman Hummeth", was used as the title of an independent short film made by Michael J. Fox.
- "A Moveable Feast" note
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park: "Let's get this moveable feast underway." — {character name}
