”Oh, will you look at that. What a comfy chair! It's like I always say, start with a good piece and replace the rest when you can afford it.”
— Daphne, Frasier
A character is talking. They say a phrase, and before or after it say, "It's like I always say".
However, the character rarely if ever is heard saying this phrase other than in the current conversation. If it really is something they always say, then it's probably their Character Catchphrase.
Compare Appeal to Familial Wisdom ("My mama always said...").
Examples:
open/close all folders
Advertising
- An ad for a hotel and flight bundling website features an employee telling his boss about the service. His boss replies "I always say a penny saved is a penny earned." The employee is confused, so the boss pages his secretary.
Boss: Michelle, what is it I always say?Michelle: "Michelle! What's the wee-fee password?"Boss: Not that.Michelle: Oh, "Ain't no party like a company par-tay!"Boss: I think we're done here.
- An alternate version has her say "Two words: I'm the boss" and "How do I delete my browser history?!"
Fan Works
- The Bolt Chronicles: Mittens humorously subverts the phrase in "The Funkmeister" regarding exercise procrastination.
Mittens: Never put off tomorrow what you can put off today, like I always say sometimes.
Films — Animated
- Lampshaded in The Little Mermaid (1989). At the beginning of the story, Sebastian tells Triton something along the lines of "It's like I always say, sire: You have to be firm with children, or they'll swim all over you." At the Happy Ending, he says "It's like I always say: You've got to let children grow up and make their own decisions". Triton immediately calls him on his inconsistency.
- Lady and the Tramp:
Trusty: It's like my old gran-pappy—Ol' Reliable—used to say... Eh, don't recollect I ever mentioned Ol' Reliable before..."
- Shrek: "Better out than in, I always say."
Films — Live-Action
- In Back to the Future, Marty claims that Doc always says "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything", and it becomes an important adage of the movie's story and for Marty's father, George. Trouble is, Doc is never heard saying it in the film or any of its sequels!
- Big Trouble in Little China: "Like old Jack Burton always says..."
- Played with in Fun with Dick and Jane where Jack McCallister would occasionally say "Like my granddaddy always used to say" and leave it hanging at that.
Literature
- Discworld:
- Used and parodied in the novels with Sam Vimes, who is fond of using the phrase. This led to an incident in Jingo of Captain Carrot trying to guess from a list of the things that he does always say, like "How come Nobby ever got a job as a watchman?". Upon learning what Vimes meant, he resolved to remember from then on that he had always said that.
- A later book had the line "One of the things Vimes always said, or at least one of the things Vimes said he always said, and you don't argue with the boss..."
- Played with in Unseen Academicals, where Glenda says "Being busy takes your mind off things, that's what I always say", and is then slightly disturbed when Juliet replies "Yes, Glenda, that's what you always say."
Live-Action TV
- Frasier: The page quote is said by Daphne in the pilot episode. She never says the phrase again.
- Martin also says "like I always say" in a couple of episodes.
- On Parks and Recreation, after Ben notes that Idaho cut its park budget, Leslie replies, "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Pawnee is better than Idaho."
- Maverick frequently used the phrase, "Like my Pappy always said..." Lampshaded in the movie when Maverick (Mel Gibson) said the phrase in a conversation with his father (James Garner, the original Maverick), who then groused that his son was always misquoting him.
- The Muppet Show episode where Bob Hope was the special guest, and he kept cancelling.
Waldorf: Doesn't surprise me. I always said this show has no hope.
Statler: Have you really always said that?
Waldorf: Of course not. I'm sorry I said it just then.
Music
- They Might Be Giants' "First Album Live" has a stage banter section between the Avatars of They, who are basically sock-puppet versions of the lead singers.
Blue Avatar (John Flansburgh) As the Green Avatar likes to say, every day six feet under's a good day.
Green Avatar (John Linnell): Yes. I did say that.
Blue Avatar: Yes you did. You said that right before we went on stage.
Video Games
- Played with in Baldur's Gate:
Drasus: Draw your daggers and spells and let's have at 'er! You've crossed our employers and this is as far as you're going to go, my friend. Should've known that lazy bounty hunting rabble wouldn't get the job done. Never settle for second best, I always say!"Charname": You want to know what I always say? "Always kill the mouthy one." That's what I always say.Drasus: HAW! A good saying! I will use your head for a puppet and make it say it over and over while we drink large amounts of mead! Life is pretty good, you know?
Webcomics
- Penny Arcade: Subverted/lampshaded/parodied here
as part of a Seinfeldian Conversation. Played straight elsewhere.
Western Animation
- Futurama, "The Farnsworth Parabox": The crew (from our universe, "Universe A") are trapped in a parallel universe ("Universe 1"). The two Benders have the following exchange:
Bender 1: It's like I always say, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver—"
Bender A: "And the other's gold." - Done at least Once an Episode by Miss Frizzle in The Magic School Bus.
- And it wasn't just her who always said something. She had endless relatives, usually aunts, whose sayings she quoted on a regular basis as well.
- The Smurfs: Brainy Smurf always would say this.
- Beast Wars: "It's like I always say: We're all gonna die."
- Played Straight in Adventure Time:
Finn: It's like you always say... "Work and fun don't mix..."
Jake: "...Unless you're a clown". I do say that a lot. - Tooter Turtle (from King Leonardo and His Short Subjects) ended his segment downtrodden, telling Mr. Wizard how he made a mess of things again.
Mr. Wizard: Tooter, my boy, it's like I am always telling you:Be just what you is, not what you is not.Folks what do this are the happiest lot.
- Velma in the Scooby-Doo episode "Hassle In The Castle," when Scooby takes on a John Wayne persona as he tracks down the castle's phantom.
Velma: Like I said before...what a ham!
- Yosemite Sam in the Bugs Bunny cartoon Ballot Box Bunny:
Sam: No one'll vote for a blown up rabbit, I always say!
- Lampshaded in DuckTales (2017):
Launchpad: I always say, better safe than..... whatever the opposite of safe is. [Pause] Yeah, I do say that.Scrooge: When have you ever said that?
- Shimmer and Shine: Shine usually starts phrases with "It's like I always say..." and most of the time it's followed by something her twin sister Shimmer never heard her say before, which Shine explains by saying she's "just made it up".
- In some occasions, instead of saying she's "just made it up", Shine explains that the phrases never made sense before.
- In "Welcome to Zahramay Falls", it's Shimmer who starts a phrase with "It's like I always say...". Shine never heard Shimmer say the rest of the phrase before but she agrees with Shimmer. Shimmer returns the favor in "Pet Games".
- In "Treehouse Retreat", Shimmer doesn't respond to Shine's comment, suggesting that this time it's really something she always says.
- In "Whatever Floats Your Boat", Shine's comment is something Shimmer acknowledges that she always says.
- Arthur: Parodied in "Through the Looking Glasses". Arthur gets a modern pair of glasses, which lead him to start speaking more intellectually. He gains a temporary catchphrase of "as I always say", and then a proverb. Buster points out that he has never said any of these things before.
Arthur: Well, I always say, teaching is a great way to learn.
Buster: You have never said that in your entire life!
