This trope is under discussion
in the Trope Repair Shop.
Batgirl: You just had to say that.
An expression used by a character numerous times in a work. Merely uttering this phrase in the office will clue others in to the character you're referring to.
To be a Character Catchphrase, the phrase must be repeated multiple times in an identifiable way — what is simply the most memorable line of a movie is not a Character Catchphrase unless it is repeated by the same in-universe character. When it's the audience that adopts a character's line as a Catchphrase, it's a Memetic Mutation. Conversely, when several different characters utter the same phrase at (or about) one particular character, that character becomes a Phrase Catcher.
If the character has a Badass Creed, it will probably double as a Catchphrase. Beam Me Up, Scotty! is a false or oft-misquoted Catchphrase. Compare Arc Words, One-Liner, Other Stock Phrases, Word Power. Contrast with Author Catchphrase, which is when a phrase is recycled across unrelated works by the same author/actor/creator.
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- Real Life
