History Main / ShaveAndAHaircut

* The first five notes appear at about 55 seconds into [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kyv_pc8y7QU&feature=related the stage 2 theme]] from ''Mr. Gimmick!''.
* One of the bosses in Rocket Knight Adventures (whom you face in a few smaller battles before the end of the stage) has this accompany each of his defeats at your hands.

* Used in "Clapping Trio 2" from RhythmTengoku, at the end of the song.
* In ''VideoGame/Jazzpunk'', this is the secret knock to get into the hotel in the Soviet Embassy level.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode The Doctor's Wife this is what the white message box uses to knock on the TARDIS' door.
** In fact, the closed captions for the episode actually read "Knocking 'shave and a haircut'".

'''Two bits!'''

* Mexican viewers are usually amused by its use on American TV, because the Shave and a Haircut in Mexico is usually rhymed with the frase "¡Chinga tu madre, cabrón!", which roughly means "Go fuck your mother, asshole!".

* Barry Manilow at the end of his "A Very Strange Medley" on one of his live albums.

* Barry Manilow at the end of his "Commercial Medley" on one of his live albums.

* A '50s Swedish ad jingle for a cough drop. "Hälsan för halsen, Bronsol." "Health for the throat, Bronsol."

* In Sweden there are two 'lyrics' to this tune. The oldest is "Kvart över elva, halv tolv." "A quarter past eleven, half an hour to twelve." The second is from a 50's commercial for a cough drop. "Hälsan för halsen, Bronsol." "Health for the troath, Bronsol."

* TheMovie of ''Theatre/OnTheTown'' has the main characters hiding under a street vendor's stand while being chased by police. One of them sticks out a sign saying, "Shave and a Haircut--75¢," and the familiar snippet is heard.

* The end of the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qixMnBDaw4 Cabbage Rolls and Coffee Polka]]" by Yosh and Stan Schmenge of ''Series/{{SCTV}}'' fame contains multiple variations on the theme... which goes on for half a minute.

* The end of the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qixMnBDaw4 Cabbage Rolls and Coffee Polka]]" by Yosh and Stan Schmenge of ''Series/{{SCTV}}'' fame contains multiple variations on the theme.

* Mexican viewers are usually amused by its use on American TV, because the Shave and a Haircut in Mexico means "fuck your mother, asshole".

* ''The Captain and Tennille Show'' show had a recurring sketch called Masterjoke Theatre which opened with the very regal theme music from the real ''MasterpieceTheatre'' (from “Symphonies and Fanfares for the King’s Supper” by Jean-Joseph Mouret), except the song ended with an equally regal version of this sting.

** It's not so much that they were incapable, but that they were unfamiliar with the Western ditty. One POW would tape "shave and a haircut", and the other would answer with "two bits". If the answer was "shave and a haircut" repeated back to him, the POW would know it was actually his captor trying to get information.

* Too many ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoons to name. ''Show Biz Bugs'' is an excellent example of this.

Two bits!

Probably the most infamous seven beats of music in the modern world, or at least high on the list, this lick appears everywhere. In music, it's a sting to end a piece; in other media, it appears in a joke and/or as a recognition signature, usually a knock--the first person taps out "shave-and-a-hair-cut," and waits for the "two bits" response[[note]]"Two bits" is old American slang for 25 cents, dating from the time of the Spanish Milled Dollar, which was worth 8 Spanish Reals -- one Real, or "bit", was an eighth of a dollar. This was why pirates called them Pieces of Eight. Incidentally, [[SarcasmMode good luck]] finding a barber that gives a shave and a haircut for 25 cents these days, but its close to impossible to incorporate inflation into a two-knock beat[[/note]].

* Too many ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoons to name right now.

* In RenAndStimpy, a synthesised version is used right after Mr. Horse delivers his famous "No sir, i didn't like it." line from "Fire Dogs".

** The end of the theme song to PinkyAndTheBrain. "Narf!"

* [[LittleMissBadass Toph]] of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' knocked on a steel door this way in the GrandFinale, but instead of ''knocking'' the "bits" part she [[spoiler:knocked the door down. She then [[ExtraOreDinary turned it into armor]], and [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome used it to defeat multiple superpowered firebenders in a couple seconds]]]].

* In ''HalfLife 2'', Alyx plays this on the buttons of a vending machine, and bangs on it twice for the "two bits" part. It's her way of signaling to Dr. Kleiner that it's her, and opens the door to the secret lab behind the vending machine.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' did this a lot, particularly with Yakko's songs.

* Several ''TheThreeStooges'' short subject films have them. Usually a stooge (usually [[TooDumbToLive Curly]]) would tap something (usually a wall) and get a response from whatever is on the other side ([[RuleOfThree usually some kind of monster]]). They would mirror it perfectly until the "shave and a haircut" part was tapped out. A delay, a "nyuk nyuk", a "two bits" response, and you know the rest.

* This tune shows up in YouveGotMail at the end of the scene where Joe and Kathleen meet (physically) for the first time.

* American POWs in Vietnam communicated by tapping Morse code on their cell walls. One would initiate a conversation by tapping the familiar "shave and a haircut" pattern, and the other would finish with "two bits". If the respondent instead repeated "shave and a haircut", it meant he was a Vietnamese agent.