The Greatest TV Catchphrases Of All Time

#1 "YADDA YADDA YADDA"

"The Yada Yada," a 1997 episode of NBCs Seinfeld show, popularized this phrase, which was meant to signify that you can cut out parts of your story and go straight to the final result by "yaddaing" it. The problem was that Elaine and George always seemed to leave out very important details and specifics of their stories, making 'yadda, yadda, yadda' one of the best catchphrases ever. So yadda, yadda, yadda, the phrase had been in use since Lenny Bruce's days, and had turned up years earlier on Magnum P.I. and Cheers.

#2 “HOW YOU DOIN’?”

Just about every character from NBCs mega-hit comedy Friends had a phrase that was often used and very memorable, like Chandler's main catch phrase of starting sentences with "Could that BE any more..." in his own characteristic way. But probably the most memorable line from the show was said, often, by Joey Tribbiani who nailed it with his "How you doin?" after meeting a sexy new girl. The greeting was Joey's never-fail pickup line and seemed to actually work for him. It was used in almost every episode in the show's 10 season run.

#3 “GIGGITY GIGGITY”

Seth MacFarlane took his Family Guy character Quagmire to a whole different level when he began muttering the words "Giggity, Giggity" to make something normal and everyday sound a little sexual in nature. The fairly innocent sounding line took on a whole different meaning when the cartoon character, who seems to have a very big sexual appetite, began injecting it into conversations.

Lois: "Hey Peter, go get something from the concession stand, I need something to suck on."

Quagmire: "GIGGITY GIGGITY?"

#4 “GOOD NIGHT, JOHN BOY”

Back when TV was much more family oriented, The Waltons came along and gave us one of the most beloved series of all time. The Waltons was told through the eyes of the oldest son, John-Boy, and originally aired on CBS from 1972 to 1981. At the end of every episode, when night had fallen, the last scene was the lights going off in various bedrooms of their depression era home, and different members of the cast saying "goodnight" to another family member, eventually winding down to "goodnight, John-boy".

#5 "BAZINGA!”

Dr. Sheldon Cooper played by Jim Parsons on the hit show, The Big Bang Theory, has no grasp of the concept of irony or a sense of humor. The nerdy theoretical physicist is so involved in himself and his work that he forgot how to be a human, which is why it is hysterical when he thinks he has pulled a fast one on somebody or come up with a clever line that is usually out of step and falls flat. But that's okay because he immediately shouts, "Bazinga!" to show that he was just joking.

#6 “MARCIA, MARCIA, MARCIA”

Annoying middle child Jan Brady constantly whined about her older, more vivacious sister on ABCs The Brady Bunch. Jan complained about Marcia always getting the attention with her unforgettable whine "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!"

Fun fact, this line also works with any name if you put on your best whiny voice, almost. Just don't try it saying Beetlejuice!

#7 "HOMEY DON'T PLAY DAT"

The catchphrase of one of the FOX's In Living Colors more popular characters, Homey D. Clown (played by Damon Wayans) is unforgettable. Homey was a clown, but not by choice. He was in a work release program and had to take the job. When someone would ask him to do something out of his sphere he would say "I don't think so, Homey don't play dat!"

#8 “NANU-NANU”

Mork was from the planet Ork in the hit ABC series Mork & Mindy. He was played by over-the-top comedian Robin Williams, who first made his appearance as the oddball alien on Happy Days before teaming up with Pam Dawber for Mork & Mindy. His famous greeting 'Na-nu, Na-nu" was used as a type of 'hello' when he met someone new, and became a very popular saying while the show was aired and is still associated with the comedian today.

#9 “DID I DO THAT?”

Steve Urkel wasn't supposed to be a regular on the show Family Matters, but after he made an appearance as the blundering nerd, the audience wanted more. And the show milked the character for more laughs than it probably should have as by the end of it's run, the character had simply become annoying instead of funny. His clumsiness and irritating presence made him a very memorable character in television history, and no list of catchphrases would be complete without listing his "Did I do that?" line, which he muttered at least every episode after causing some sort of havoc.

#10 "MMMKAY?"

the creators of the show Southpark, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have written some memorable things that no doubt will remain part of pop-culture for a very long time. For a time people were screaming the phrase "Oh my God they killed Kenny" after it became a signature line from Stan in a running gag that would off Kenny in every single episode for the first few seasons. But the show has new life and one of the newer and most popular catchphrases is Mr. McKays "Mmmmkay boys and girls?" If you find yourself reading the saying in his voice, it's okay, Mmmkay?

#11 “D’OH!”

Writers for The Simpsons claim they just scribbled the word 'doh' down in place of something they would think of later on to demonstrate what Homer was feeling at the time of one of his disastrous blunders. The word was left in by mistake and animated, becoming one of the most memorable TV catchphrases ever. Of course, son Bart Simpson has his own phrase as well in the once popular "eat my shorts!"

#12 “LIVE LONG AND PROSPER”

Star Trek had several catchphrases, including the very popular saying 'Beam me up Scotty", but if Star Trek had a single best catchphrase, "Live long and prosper" is it. It's accompanied by the Vulcan salute of spread fingers which is used as a greeting. The phrase is technically a blessing, which in Vulcan is read as "dif-tor heh smusma."

#13 “LUCY, YOU GOT SOME SPLAINING TO DO!”

One of television's very first catchphrases came from the I Love Lucy show on CBS. Ricky Ricardo, played by Desi Arnaz, would say it when his crazy red-headed wife Lucy, played by Lucille Ball, would make a mess of things with one of her cockamamie schemes. Even those born way after Lucy first aired on TV will have heard this saying at one point or another since the show airs in repeats daily all over the world.

#14 “KISS MY GRITS!”

Spunky waitress Flo, played by Polly Holliday, used to say this southern-inspired one-liner to her diner boss Mel when he pissed her off, which was pretty much every episode of the 70s sitcom, Alice. The phrase actually came from Holliday herself after she improvised a line and they left it in the final cut. After that, it was so overused that people actually got sick of hearing it when Holliday got her own show called 'Flo' on CBS.

#15 “WHATCHOO TALKIN’ ’BOUT, WILLIS?”

When diminutive actor Gary Coleman, playing Arnold, first asked his older brother Willis, played by Todd Bridges, "whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" the line got a ton of laughs and was written into every single episode thereafter. Fans just loved seeing the little chipmunk faced Arnold show his sassy side, and the phrase is still popular today.

#16 “DYN-O-MITE!”

One of the most overused phrases in TV history, producer Norman Lear actually demanded that the writers cut the saying down to once every 2 episodes near the last season of the CBS comedy Good Times. It was first uttered by Jimmy, JJ Walker on the show and soon became so popular that everyone in the country was buying all sorts of items with the phrase stamped on it including shirts, hats, mugs, and lunch boxes. Walker still uses the catchphrase today as his signature line.

#17 “AAAY!”

Fonzie from the ABC comedy Happy Days had a few little phrases that became popular on the show, including "Sit on it!" But the most memorable thing he said wasn't even a phrase, it was just "aaay/eyyy/ayyy/heyyy" (depending on how you like to spell it) generally to demonstrate that he was keeping his cool. He would then give his signature thumbs up gesture, hoping to signal to the swinging 1950s chicks that he was ready and available.

#18 “WHO LOVES YA, BABY?”

Who could ever forget the lollipop sucking Kojak, played by Telly Savalas? He was suave, sophisticated, but still had his witty street sense as he solved crimes each week on the popular series. Of course his famous line from the show, "Who loves ya, baby?" is what people remember most about the egghead detective.

#19 "I PITY THE FOOL"

The NBC Series The A-Team featured a slew of misfits fighting crime, and one of those was iconic strongman Mr. T. When a criminal was up to no good, and he had to pursue the culprit, he would flex his bulging biceps and point then say "I pity the fool..." The phrase became very popular and is still one of television's most memorable phrases by a character.

#20 "TO THE MOON.."

The Honeymooners on CBS was another early pioneer of the catchphrase. The show had several including "one of these days, pow! Straight in the kisser" which Ralph Kramden would say as he made a fist to someone who wouldn't stop arguing with him, usually his wife Alice. When he was besieged by his wife he used some sort of variant of the phrase like "Bang, zoomstraight to the moon! Straight to the moon!" Of course, he never followed through with his threats and by the end, he used another of his popular sayings, 'Baby, you're the greatest."

#21 "STIFLE IT!"

Bigoted Archie Bunker, played by Carroll O'Connor, had some pretty memorable lines and phrases on the CBS series All In The Family from 1971-79, but the most copied and repeated was the one he used to shut up his 'dingbat' wife Edith. Every time she fell out of line, which was every episode, he would yell "Oh geez, would you stifle it!?" He sometimes used the line on others as well including George Jefferson and his son-in-law, the 'meathead'.