In television,especiallysitcoms, there have been some iconic catchphrases over the years. With every quirky catchphrase, there are some that have been extremely cheesy, whether they originated that way or became that way over time. Some characters have catchphrases that match who they are, and it adds to their charming or goofy behavior, and some others are endearing but still groan-worthy — and some only make you cringe.
With maximum cheese in mind, here are the best cheesy catchphrases in TV of all time.
10"What’chu talkin' ‘bout, Willis?" — Diff’rent Strokes
Diff’rent Strokes
“What’chu talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?“ is a catchphrase made famous by Gary Coleman’s character Arnold onDiff’rent Strokes. Paired with a condemning side eye, especially from a child, this catchphrase is still iconic nearly 40 years after the final episode aired.
Why It’s Cheesy
This hilarious quote was made cheesy because of the delivery, context, and pop culture use. Arnold was a very opinionated character and delivered this line with conviction. This catchphrase also became a universal piece of slang as a reaction for anything that happened in the 80s and even sometimes now.
9“Woah.” — Blossom
InBlossom, the character Joey was a stereotypical dumb jock with a big heart underneath many layers of idiocy. Joey’s catchphrase was simply “Woah.” Said with many different inflections and in a variety of situations, it was a catch-all for every not-so-woah-worthy moment of the series.
Inthis ’90s TV show, this quote grew cheesy with overuse. Despite its simplicity and often out-of-context use, the real catalyst for it becoming an infamous cheesy catchphrase is its repetitiveness.
8"Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!" — Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman
InAdventures of Superman,“Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!” was an essential piece of the show’s intro. Interrupting the narrator’s description of Superman, men and women on the street called out different parts of this quote as Superman flew overhead.
In the 1950s when this show aired, this was probably agoosebumps-worthy introduction, but today it feels campy, the way a lot of things from that era have aged. It’s cheesy in a nostalgic way, but cheesy, nonetheless.
7“Bazinga.” — The Big Bang Theory
Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theoryis a show about socially inept but brilliant science students, so the scale of cheesiness is already skewed, but Sheldon takes it to a new level. He is a very serious, dry, and arrogant character, but naive to most things that don’t revolve around science, superheroes, and other things he deems important. When he does make a joke, or says something that he thinks is witty, he generally follows it up with “Bazinga.”
This catchphrase was a great punchline for the first few seasons because it broke down the wall his intelligence put up and showed him being silly. Like in the showBlossom,after a while, it became pretty cheesy and overdone. This character had so many great quotes, and probably could’ve transitioned between many catchphrases, but this one stayed persistent and became annoying the longer it went on.
The Big Bang Theory: Bernadette Rostenkowski’s 10 Best Quotes
Melissa Rauch’s shrill voice as Bernadette in The Big Bang Theory made the character unforgettable. Here are some of her best quotes from the show.
6“Did I do that?” — Family Matters
Family Matters
Steve Urkel inFamily Mattersis an inherently cheesy character to his core. He is socially awkward, very smart, and wears too-short pants with suspenders and oversized glasses held on by a strap.
His appearance and persona paired with the rhetorical nature of him nasally saying “Did I do that?” create an overdone cheesy catchphrase. The show’s self-awareness of Urkel being a goofy, weird, andultimately good-hearted charactermakes this quote endearing, despite how dripping with cheese it really is.
5“That’s what she said.” — The Office
The Office (U.S.)
Similar to Urkel inFamily Matters, Michael Scott inThe Officeisn’t a very serious character, so a cheesy catchphrase is forgivable. Of the many zany things Michael says, his most memorable quote is “That’s what she said.” While this catchphrase was popular in the show, its infamy is closely tied to how popular it became in everyday use.
The quote isn’t original to the show, but anyone around in the 2000s knows the effectThe Officehad on reactions to anything even remotely sexual. Michael Scott is an embarrassing character, so it only makes sense thathis most memorable catchphraseis one of the cheesiest and most awkward.
4“Legen…wait for it…dary.” — How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is a sitcom created initially for CBS by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. Five friends living in New York City navigate their twenties and thirties as they try to find love, success, and purpose. The show is framed through one friend’s eyes, Ted Mosby, as he retells the story of how he met his wife to his children.
Barney Stinson inHow I Met Your Mothertakes himself very seriously, but those around him, and viewers, do not. He is brazen and full of opinions. He also is a self-proclaimed womanizer, making sure everyone knows it — but without his literal playbook full of manipulation tactics, he might not have gotten as far. Because at his core, he isdorky like the rest of his friends.
His most famous catchphrase from the show is “Legen…wait for it…dary.” The show used this catchphrase most notably when one season ended on “wait for it,” only to start the next season, months later, with the ending of “dary.” Even the smoothest of smooth talkers couldn’t pull off that catchphrase without getting a giggle and a bit of a groan in reaction.
3“Cut it out!” — Full House
full house
Pretty much every character onFull Househas a catchphrase, but the cheesiest on the show is Joey’s “Cut it out!” It feels like Joey wanted a catchphrase and latched onto one hoping it would get popular in the world of the showbiz. Joey is full of impersonations, songs, and silly moments usually to make the Tanner girls laugh, so his catchphrase being so goofy is only fitting.
It’s not necessarily the quote itself that’s cheesy, but the ever-present hand gesturing that goes with it. When he says cut it out, he makes finger scissors, points across him, over his shoulder, and then does a shrugging swipe gesture.
Full House: Where the Cast Is Today
Full House is a wholesome, feel-good ‘90s sitcom classic that ran from 1987 to 1995 and introduced the world to the kooky Tanner clan.
2“D’oh!" — The Simpsons
The Simpsons
Homer Simpson inThe Simpsonshas a few cheesy but iconic catchphrases during its reign as thelongest running sitcom of all time. But the most notable of these is the iconic “D’oh!" Paired with “Ay Caramba,” it makes you wonder if the golden color of the characters is because they are made of cheese. “D’oh!" is Homer’s catchphrase used to comment on a stupid choice he made, or something said when he hurts himself, and it became so popular it was added to the dictionary. It’s one of the most famous catchphrases ever, but the context in which he uses it, makes it also one of the corniest.
Homer can be heard saying this as he stands up into a doorframe, after getting attacked by bees with honey in his mouth, after getting electrocuted, and many other idiotic situations. If someone in real life exclaimed “D’oh!" every time they did something stupid, it would not only be hilarious and bizarre, but it would also become extremely evident that they do stupid things very often and are somehow still surprised that their odd choices have consequences.
1“Howyoudoin’?” — Friends
Friends is the popular sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, released back in 1994 and ran for ten seasons. The show follows a group of six twentysomethings through their lives in New York City and their time spent between their two apartments and their local coffee shop. The show features the group navigating tricky relationships with one another and comical misadventures.
An iconic quote often heard and anticipated byFriendscharacter Joey Tribbiani, “Howyoudoin’?” is the cheesiest catchphrase on TV of all time. The character Joey is a womanizer, and isn’t the smartest in his friend group. He is well-intentioned but also pretty childish, and is the kind of guy who thinks he is really hot stuff, when he’s actually as dorky as his friends, if not more so.
For fans of the show or of the character, they may swoon at this misguided pick-up line, but if anyone used this in real life, it would be an automatic rejection. The way it is delivered is also usually with Joey’s exaggerated tone, emphasis on the “you” and accompanied by an eyebrow raise or chin-lift in Joey’s attempt to be extra cool. This combination makes the delivery of his pick-up attempt both off-putting and funny, making this memorable quote the cheesiest of all.
