Seinfeld was, in the pre-Internet dark ages, the mother lode of memes (including, but by no means limited to):
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, a video compiling roughly every meme that this show spawned. - SERENITY NOW! Explanation George's father adopts this mantra for an episode to use whenever he is annoyed. It doesn't work.
- NO TROPE FOR YOU! Explanation The Soup Nazi and his cry of "NO SOUP FOR YOU!" became a massive snowclone meme, recognisable even by those who had never even heard of Seinfeld.
- Yadda, yadda, yadda... Explanation A character starts to tell a story, and yadda, yadda, yadda, they skip over something either due to attempts at concealment or simple lack of interest. The show didn't actually invent the phrase, but it certainly raised its popularity.
- Shrinkage. Explanation The Unusual Euphemism for a penis shrinking in size when cold.
- I was in the pool!
- It shrinks?
- Like a frightened turtle!
- These examples are making me thirsty. Explanation Kramer once had a brief role in a Woody Allen film with the sole line "These pretzels are making me thirsty", which became a Running Gag throughout the episode.
- Not That There's Anything Wrong with That! Explanation Jerry and George are Mistaken for Gay, and spend the entire episode either denying the claims or stating this line. Jason Alexander named this as the most commonly heard of all the show's memes.
- BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE A PIRATE! Explanation Jerry unknowingly agrees to wear a pirate outfit (puffy shirt) on national television, with this being his reaction.
- BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE A COWBOY!
- I don't want to be Switzerland.
- But at least he's the master of his domain. ExplanationOne episode was spent on a contest between the main characters on who could go the longest without masturbating, and not once was the word "masturbation" used, prompting an enormous amount of Unusual Euphemisms, this being the most popular.
- But is he spongeworthy? Explanation The contraception device Elaine uses is no longer produced, prompting her to hoard them and have far higher standards as to whether she has sex with someone due to limited supply.
- Hello ... Newman! Explanation Jerry has this reaction whenever he encounters his Sitcom Arch-Nemesis.
- Vandelay Industries. ("And you want to be my latex salesman.") Explanation George invented Vandelay Industries whenever he wanted to impress someone. In fact he invented and researched an entire alternate persona, Art Vanderlay, who was an architect. Moe's, a Mexican restaurant chain, still has a meal named the Art Vanderlay.
- Man hands. Explanation Every relationship any of the four were in ended swiftly when they discovered some inconsequential detail they couldn't tolerate, with one of Jerry's partner's "man hands" being the most famous.
- Festivus... for the rest of us! Explanation The holiday George's father invented.
- Giddyup! Explanation One of Kramer's Catch Phrases.
- Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? Explanation George says this after he is fired from his job for having sex with his cleaning lady.
- Aww, that's a shame.ExplanationJerry's sarcastic comeback to Newman when he complains about something. Often used on the Simpsons forum No Homers.
- I seriously hope you guys don't do this. ExplanationA particular screenshot of George holding a baseball bat with a smug grin has become popular on 4chan, usually accompanied with greentext chastising readers for doing something.
- Well the Jerk Store called. They're running out of you! Explanation A late comeback George comes up with to a co-worker's joke at his expense, which he spends all episode building up to deliver, only for it to fall flat.
- The sea was angry that day, my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.ExplanationAt the end of "The Marine Biologist", George uses this line to begin a story about how he was forced to rescue a beached whale while posing as a marine biologist. Originally part of the payoff of that episode's Brick Joke, the line since caught on thanks to the absurd nature of the simile; since then it's often been invoked as an ironic reference to overblown anecdotes.
- It's not a lie if you believe it. Explanation George advising Jerry on how to pass a lie-detector test his cop girlfriend is making him take.
- Believe it or not, George isn't at home, please leave a message at the beep. I must be out, or I'd pick up the phone, wherree could I be? Believe it or not, I'm not home! Explanation An answering machine message George creates to annoy his callers away, as part of an overall process of avoiding speaking to a girlfriend who wants to break up with him right before a Yankee gala George is looking forward to. It's sung to the tune of the theme song for The Greatest American Hero.
- Who! Who doesn't want to wear the rrribbon!? Explanation The scene in "The Sponge" where Kramer is mobbed for not wearing a ribbon during an anti AIDS walk. The meme is about people refusing to partake in chain challenges (such as the Ice Bucket Challenge) or trends (like adding the LGBT filter on profile pictures on Facebook after the national legalization of gay marriage in the US).
- When you control the mail, you control... information! Explanation Newman's Badass Boast in "The Lip Reader". Popular given how true it is.
- The Seinfeld Theme.ExplanationLate 2016 saw a resurgence in the Seinfeld theme, generally indicating a bad punchline to a joke.
- "Maybe a dingo ate your baby!" ExplanationSaid by Elaine, complete with faux-Australian accent, in "The Stranded". Though the line itself was referencing an infamous real-life incident, it's more heavily associated with the show.
- "You very, very bad man!" ExplanationOne-time character Babu Bhatt's fiery condemnation of Jerry in "The Cafe."
- Assman ExplanationKramer accidentally gets a Vanity License Plate with this word printed on it in "The Fusilli Jerry." The word has become a common descriptor for men who prefer women with more, well...
- "You double-dipped a chip!" Explanation In "The Implant", George is eating chips and dip at a wake and dips a chip he already took a bite out of, only for some preppy-looking dude to chide him for his unsanitary action. "Double-dipping" has entered the public lexicon and has become more widely frowned upon as a result.
- There was even a period in The '90s where adults began referring to themselves in the third person, like the character of Jimmy.
- "Another game for Milos!" gained some traction as Milos Raonic became a more prominent tennis player.
- The "Do you ever yearn?" scene has gained prominence in 2019, especially on Tumblr.
- "YOU KNOW WE'RE LIVING IN A SOCIETY!"Explanation Clips of George angrily yelling the phrase have found popularity in recent years due to a mostly unrelated meme involving The Joker saying the same phrase.
- I gotta focus. I'm shifting into soup mode.ExplanationGeorge bracing himself for the precarious process of ordering from the Soup Nazi. "Soup" is often changed to something else.
- That's gold, Jerry! Gold! ExplanationA memorable exclamation of enthusiasm from Kenny Bania.
- "Kramer, what's going on in there?"ExplanationA scene in "The Chicken Roaster" where Jerry discovers that the neon sign for the newly-opened Kenny Rogers Roasters is so bright that it practically becomes a second sun in Kramer's apartment across the street. The bit became a popular exploitable at the start of 2022, depicting the light as actually coming from various events in other works (sometimes changing the color of the light to match).
- "This was supposed to be the summer of George..." ExplanationGeorge lamenting his injury in the episode of the same name used as a response to missing out on something one is looking forward to. It particularly became popular in The New '20s as Covid-19 and its variants led to worldwide shutdowns, disrupting people's social lives and plans.
- "The Ukraine is weak."/"UKRAINE IS GAME TO YOU?!" ExplanationA game of Risk between Newman and Kramer being interrupted by a random Ukranian's Patriotic Fervor on the subway. Tends to resurface whenever Russia starts acting belligerent towards Ukraine... again.
- In some circles, it's popular to refer to the show as "one of the greatest anime ever," similar to Cory in the House.
- "You're crying from Home Alone?" "The old man got to me"ExplanationA scene from "The Junior Mint" where Jerry finds George crying while watching Home Alone became a popular source of memes, with people editing the line with their movie or show of choice.
