History Main / TheCatchPhraseCatchesOn

* The word "robot" was created by Czech playwright Karel Čapek for his play ''Theatre/RUR'', based on the Czech word ''robota'' "drudgery, servitude." It promptly became the standard word in English and most other languages for computer-controlled work-performing automata, one of our few borrowings from Czech.

* Believe it or not, the current use of "nimrod" to mean a stupid, silly, or foolish person derives from WesternAnimation/BugsBunny using it sarcastically to taunt Elmer Fudd. (Nimrod is a Bible character described as a "mighty hunter before the Lord.")

* ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh''[='s=] Kimura-Sensei character spawned the usage of the word "[[GratuitousEnglish waifu]]" to mean a DatingSim character that someone actually falls in love with and [[CargoShip may or may not try to marry]], something that has become [[MemeticMutation memetically common]] in Japan in recent years.

* Ladies and gentlemen, I give you [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_words_first_attested_in_Chaucer a list of words invented by Chaucer]].

** A more complete definition is "to understand something so completely that it becomes a part of yourself", as your body does with water. In modern casual language, it's mostly been simplified down as "to understand a subject intuitively". A common example is that when learning a new language, you haven't "grokked" it until incorrect grammar (or syntax, in the case of programming languages) sounds 'off' to you.
* Creator/JRRTolkien; he was a linguist, after all, and many of the words that today have clear meanings only do because he found or made them do.
** For example, Goblins being distinct from Kobolds, Hobbits, Elves separate from fairies, the like. Words like Eucatastrophe (NearVillainVictory) are from his brain. He's also partly responsible for the use of "elves and dwarves" rather than "elfs and dwarfs" in fantasy fiction.
** Considering he was not just "a linguist" but an associate editor of the Oxford English Dictionary (he also wrote a substantial portion of the "W" volume, including the entry on "walrus", on which, Wiki/TheOtherWiki says, "he struggled mightily"), it makes a lot of sense. (And appropriately enough, "hobbit" is now in the OED.)

** And, needless to say, any of Creator/JossWhedon's other teevee ventures.
*** Or any of Creator/JossWhedon's comics.
*** Or any of [[TruthInTelevision Joss Whedon]].

** [[MemeticMutation SHE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE!]]

* A lot of the fans/'phans' of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' pick up insults from the show. Most notably 'cheese head' or 'you are one seriously crazed-up fruit loop'. Coincidentally, both were originally describing Vlad.
** Actually "Cheese Head" is a reference to Vlad being a massive Green Bay Packers fan, as it is the term used to describe one. Vlad was such a huge fan that one of his big hang-ups was his failed attempts to purchase the team, and his mansion was filled with Packer memorabilia.

* You don't need to have seen ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap'' to know what someone means when they say that something has been TurnedUpToEleven.

** A variation of this is "flagship of my heart", a term which which originated in Manga/ArpeggioOfBlueSteel that Maya used as a term of endearment, and is now used to show affection to a particular character of a series. VideoGame/KanColle is particularly affected due to a collaboration between the two series, as well as a "marriage system" (temporary name) having been announced to be implemented for the game (said system has now been implemented, and it's called ''kekkon kakkokari'' (ケッコンカッコカリ), which literally means "marriage(temporary)").

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Fanfic/ATrekkiesTale'' gave us the term MarySue, based on the main protagonist name who was already a parody of SelfInsertFic, and has become part of everyday's lexicon, although the term has been disputed on its meaning.

** "Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey" (a shortened version of a phrase used by the Tenth Doctor in "Blink") is often used to describe plotlines rendered confusing by multiple layers of time travel.

** A variation of this is "flagship of my heart", a term which which originated in Manga/ArpeggioOfBlueSteel that Maya used as a term of endearment, and is now used to show affection to a particular character of a series. VideoGame/KantaiCollection is particularly affected due to a collaboration between the two series, as well as a "marriage system" (temporary name) having been announced to be implemented for the game (said system has now been implemented, and it's called ''kekkon kakkokari'' (ケッコンカッコカリ), which literally means "marriage(temporary)").

[[folder:Fan works]]

** Refering to Captain Holt, Kevin and/or Terry as ‘Dad’

* The ''Film/AustinPowers'' movies brought statements such as, "Yeah, baby, yeah!" and "Oh, be-have, baby!", "[[FrickinLaserBeams frickin' laser beams"]] as well as making "shag" a more popular term in the USA.

->''"'Soup Nazi?' You people have a little pet name for everybody."''
-->-- '''Jackie Chiles''', ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' Finale

* Creator/AAPessimal wondered about [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Lancre witches]] post-Granny Weatherwax after her death (and the death of Terry Pratchett) with ''Discworld/TheShepherdsCrown''. How would she be remembered? In the years after her passing, all witches now reverently intone the blessing ''mayhersoulhavemercyonthegods'' whenever her name is mentioned. This convention has so far only appeared in one tale. However. Looking around the Internet in late 2019, the author noted this is spreading and has popped up on quite a few forums and websites when Granny (''mayhersoulhavemercyonthegods'') is invoked. It's popping up in some surprising and not directly Discworld-related places, in fact. [[WordOfGod the author is pleased with this and wonders how far this is going to travel]].

** A "Theatre/Tartuffe" came to designate any religious hypocrite.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Manga/AzumangaDaioh's Kimura-Sensei character spawned the usage of the word "[[GratuitousEnglish waifu]]" to mean a DatingSim character that someone actually falls in love with and [[CargoShip may or may not try to marry]], something that has become [[MemeticMutation memetically common]] in Japan in recent years.
** As of 2018 the word "Waifu" has been in the western animefans, or at least western otakus, lexicon for several years. Meaning seems to vary from "the absolute best girl ever in any anime", to "i actually want to marry this fictional character", to "another synonym for best girl". Some say you can only have one waifu, others say you can have multiple.

* "[Example A] [exhibits trait X], [example B] not so much." suddenly became a pretty popular way to make a comparison after ''Film/{{Borat}}'' came out.
** Of course, some people were already saying that, since Paul said it so often on ''Series/MadAboutYou'' years earlier.

* You know the phrase "You're toast!"? It comes from ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'', believe it or not. The screenplay had Venkman say "I'm gonna turn this guy into toast", but Creator/BillMurray shortened it to "This chick is toast!". (And in case you're wondering, yes, the "chick" was a "guy" in the original screenplay.)

--->'''Larry:''' I didn't want to do a stop-and-chat.
--->'''Larry's Agent:''' "Stop-and-chat?" Where do you come up with these things?

* ''Series/DoctorWho''- the acronym TARDIS is in the Oxford American Dictionary, as "a time machine" or "a building or container that is larger inside than it appears to be from the outside."

* Israeli satire show ''EretzNehederet'' is particularly known for bringing a few neologisms every season, some of them sticking for quite a while.

* ‘’Series/BrooklynNineNine’’

* The phrase "Everything's Coming Up Roses" was coined by Music/StephenSondheim for the musical {{Theatre/Gypsy}}. He said in an interview "The point was to [coin] a phrase that sounded as if it had been in the language for years but was in fact invented for the show." It has since become common parlance.

* [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} A wild something appeared!]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* ''TheSimpsons''

** ''TheSimpsons'' popularized '[[PerfectlyCromulentWord cromulent]]' to the extent it can now be found in many scientific papers online.

[[folder:TV Tropes Wiki]]
* JustForFun/TVTropesWillRuinYourVocabulary. Give it time and it will ruin that of your peers as well.
** Warning: may cause BeigeProse and short, choppy sentences.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]
* Spending too much time on the {{Internet}} will eventually lead to this, only in comparatively horrendous ways.
** These include the regression of grammar into something no language would accept, use of one-word sentences-explicatives, development of a pronounced-misspelling based accent, and the adoption of slang to such an extent that inner-city gangsters sound like Creator/StephenFry compared to you.
[[/folder]]