My soul is getting a much-need refueling these days from the cheery optimism of Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso. For those unfamiliar with the series, it’s a dramedy in which Jason Sudeikis’s Ted is an American football coach hired to head up a losing English football (that is, soccer) team, despite having absolutely no experience with or knowledge about the sport (he doesn’t even understand the rules at first). But even as things go wrong, as of course they do, he remains unflaggingly upbeat. His own personal motto — “Believe” — becomes something for the team to rally around. While some of the other characters might occasionally find Ted annoyingly chipper, Sudeikis makes him genuinely delightful, and the show is never sentimental or cloying.
“Believe” has me wondering:
What are the greatest one-word catchphrases in pop-culture history?
Two that come to mind immediately are Homer Simpson’s “Doh!” (from The Simpsons, of course) and the Fonz’s “Ayyyyy!” (from Happy Days).
What else?
(You can also discuss this at Substack or Patreon, if you prefer. You don’t need to be a paying subscriber to comment, but you will need to register with either site to do so.)
Does “Plastics” count?
Why not?
Bill and Ted’s “Excellent!” is what came first to my mind—could be considered shorthand for their motto, “Be excellent to each other,” which is an excellent one.
There’s also Charlie’s catchphrase when she catches someone lying in Poker Face: “Bullshit.” (Muttered to herself, darkly, wheels spinning furiously, as opposed to Penn’s bombastic “Bullshit!” Who wore it better?)
I’ll be back…
Ummm… your suggestions are all more than one word.
Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.
Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.
T’was Beauty killed the Beast.
Nobody’s perfect.
Oops! Sorry… 😕
Howzabout “the Wilhelm scream”?
“… Superman.”
“Rosebud”
Five months after I first viewed it, I still can’t get “The Quiet Girl” out of my mind, so even though it’s not really part of pop-culture history, I’ll say, “Daddy”.
💔