Catchphrases

[AlexF]

Not sure it matters if one LIKES a catchphrase or not - the ability to have your lead character pulling a pose and yelling their phrase of choice makes any comic more likely to work. 'Get Whet' being a pretty clear example.

Not coincidence that one of the only 'successful' Alan McKenzie creations was Brigand 'Stand and be Delivered!' Doom (he got less good after he became zombified and stopped saying it in series 2)

My top fave most apt catchphrase would be Anderson's 'Don't even think it, creep!'
(Yes, yes, I know she never said it more than like once or twice)

[Richard]

How do people feel about Gene's catchphrase 'Get Whet'? I'm not a fan.

Your mouth is full of wrong.

[The Legendary Shark]

"Get Whet" never did it for me. It should've been something like, "Bark f*cking bark, a$$hole!" But not that. Something like that. For you, my mouth is full of growl, kind of thing (but not that, either). You know what I mean. "Get whet" is just a little too contrived for my tastes, sitting there saying "oh, look at what a clever line I am." And it is clever. Too clever. It'll never be a "flies too smart for Fergee," or even "hur, hur, hur," will it? It doesn't quite fit with the character, for me. But then, my catchphrase is "oops," so what do I know?

[Funt Solo]

My top fave most apt catchphrase would be Anderson's 'Don't even think it, creep!'

"Grud on a greenie!"

(I've never really liked that catchphrase, but there it is - being a catchphrase.)

[JohnW]

But then, my catchphrase is "oops," so what do I know?

That's a coincidence. My own catchphrase is 'nurgh', uttered whenever I lower myself into a chair, rise from a chair or – heroically – bend to pick up something I've dropped.
In a perfect world, of course, I'd want to be able to say things like, 'Seize him!' or, 'What is the meaning of this?'

[JayzusB.Christ]

I'm not a big fan of 'get whet' - like Canon Fodder's 'let us prey', it's a pun that doesn't quite work. I'm not mad about 'I'm too cool to kill' either, and felt a bit of schadenfreude-ish cheer when the Countessa responded to it with 'you're too old to be cool, Nikolai' (though that was soon replaced with existential despair as I thought of its more universal implications).

To be honest I don't think many characters need catchphrases- the people who use them in real life often tend to be utter gobshites: 'Strong and stable', 'get Brexit done', 'make America...' ...I can't even bring myself to finish that one.   Even John Wagner stopped the 'I am the law' thing for many years .

That said, Pat Mills in his heyday did it right. Sláine and Torquemada were just the kind of bombastic,bellicose, belligerent bastards who would shout the same thing over and over again.

[JohnW]

"Grud on a greenie!"

(I've never really liked that catchphrase, but there it is - being a catchphrase.)

I never liked it because it didn't make a lick of sense.

[JohnW]

bombastic,bellicose, belligerent bastards...

Beautiful

[The Legendary Shark]

bombastic,bellicose, belligerent bastards...

Beautiful

Brown-noser...

:-p

[JohnW]

bombastic,bellicose, belligerent bastards...

Beautiful

Brown-noser...

:-p

busted

[The Legendary Shark]

There's an ISIHaP game in there somewhere...

[Funt Solo]

But then, my catchphrase is "oops," so what do I know?

That's a coincidence. My own catchphrase is 'nurgh', uttered whenever I lower myself into a chair, rise from a chair or – heroically – bend to pick up something I've dropped.
In a perfect world, of course, I'd want to be able to say things like, 'Seize him!' or, 'What is the meaning of this?'

I *think* my catchphrase is "fuck trumpets" - which has the same meaning as Blackadder's "My path is strewn with cowpats from the devil's own herd", but doesn't take as long to say.

---

"Kiss my axe!" cropped up quite a lot. We could have had more use for "Nobody honks on an ABC Warrior and lives!"

[JohnW]

On One, I ain't very nice at all.
On Two I get mean...

[JohnW]

We could have had more use for "Nobody honks on an ABC Warrior and lives!"

Never thought of it as a catchphrase before, but yeah – it could work.
Let's say the Warriors have never been away, and thus can't claim to be back.
Instead:
'Nobody honks on an ABC Warrior and lives! Spread the Word!'

[The Legendary Shark]

Aargh!

Everybody says "aargh!" at some point. It's a law, or an old charter, or something.