Top 10 Sitcom Lines We Use All the Time

Sheldon Cooper has given us many a quotable moment throughout his time on “The Big Bang Theory.” His rendition of “Soft Kitty,” his three knocks on Penny’s door, and his insistence on his spot are just a few. But it’s his catchphrase that we can’t help but constantly repeat. Any time Sheldon pulls a prank, eggs someone on, or needs to punctuate a joke, we’re sure to hear this line on the show, and when we’re doing any of those things in real life, sometimes we can’t help but say it as well. Considering Sheldon isn’t normally good at jokes, and sometimes barely even understands the concept of them, it’s pretty funny that he has a punchline, and we think “Bazinga” suits him perfectly.

Don Knotts was a hilarious comedic actor in his time with multiple memorable lines, but his utterance of this particular phrase is definitely one of the things he’s best known for. On “The Andy Griffith Show,” he plays sheriff Barney Fife and he utters this phrase as a way to keep the Mayberry residents in line. Encouraging people to cut something out before it gets too out of hand, this phrase is something that we definitely hear in everyday life, even over half a century after it was first heard on this show. Its literal meaning comes from the concept of clipping a plant before it blossoms, but it applies to so much more in life, and no one delivers the line quite like Sheriff Fife.

There are very few lines from a child sitcom character that are more famous than this one, spoken by adult actor Gary Coleman portraying the adorable Arnold Jackson. Whenever Arnold is confused, taken aback, or appalled by anything his older brother says or does, he utters this line, and it’s just as hilarious as it is adorable. This show is generally full of funny, emotional, and relatable moments, and this iconic catchphrase is certainly no exception. Always said with a cocked eyebrow and a sassy tone, Arnold’s line never fails to make us laugh, and we love emulating it every chance we get.

A classic show from the ‘60’s, “Get Smart” certainly has a lot of quotable moments, most of them from the star of the show, himself, Mr. Maxwell Smart. From “Sorry about that, chief” to “Would you believe?” all the way to even more meme-able phrases, our favorite bumbling spy has had us in stitches more times than Hymie has hopped to it. But it’s Smart’s most famous line that we find ourselves repeating in our own lives, time and again. The line is self-explanatory, and even though Max uses it when he narrowly escapes disaster or even death, we use “Missed it by that much” when we’re on the cusp of something and fall just short.

Steve Urkel is a classic character who may have started on the sidelines, but he became arguably the most memorable aspect of “Family Matters,” and particularly known for uttering this immortal phrase. Urkel is an over-the-top nerd with impeccable physical comedy, and the antics in which he finds himself are almost as laughable as the sentence he utters when his hijinks ensue. This is a line we’ve said many times, particularly whenever something is out of whack or goes wrong and it’s clearly our fault. Try as we might, we can’t do the line justice the way Urkel can, but our disasters aren’t normally quite as dire as the ones he causes.

The youngest Tanner sister has amazing comedic timing, and when she combines that with being cute as a button, she proves herself as an iconic sitcom character. Even from the early seasons of “Full House '' when she was a literal baby, she’s hilarious, and everytime she says her catchphrase we laugh and “aww…” all at once. She’s confident and full of attitude in her delivery, and she normally utters her phrase to her father, uncle, or Joey, who, along with us, can’t help but melt. We love to say this when anyone asks us to complete a task and of course, you’ve got to chuck a thumbs up in the air as you say it, just the way Michelle does.

Is there a show out there that spawned more classic phrases than Seinfeld? Lines like “double-dipping,” “spongeworthy,” and “Hello, Newman” have entered the zeitgeist, but it’s the “yada yada yada” that we can’t help but use pretty much on a daily basis. It’s a way of breezing over unimportant parts of a story, and we love using it when we just want to get to our point. The way “yada yada yada” is used in the episode in which it’s primarily featured is totally hilarious. If you haven’t seen it, there’s a dentist, a shoplifter, Elaine had the bisque, and yada yada yada, you’ve simply got to check it out.

Barney Stinson practically speaks only in catchphrases, which is pointed out by his friends as one of his annoying habits, so it makes sense that his most famous one would make the list. Barney tries to make every day “legendary” and he has a catchphrase to go along with that sentiment. He also “wait for it” sometimes partially interrupts himself in the middle of normal speech to draw out the suspense, which is legendary in and of itself. We just love saying “legendary” with the same enthusiasm and optimism as he does. We also love telling people to “suit up” when it’s time to don our best attire, but finding a better line than Legendary? Challenge accepted.

There are few shows with as many memorable moments, characters, and phrases as this one, but there is one line that stands out above the rest. This phrase has roots in ‘Saturday Night Live,’ as it’s used frequently in “Wayne’s World” sketches, but it gained serious popularity after becoming a signature phrase of Michael Scott. He uses it as a laughable double entendre after any of his employees say something that could be interpreted as sexual, and even though this might not be the most workplace appropriate phrase, we crack up every time. We use it in the same types of scenarios in our lives, and we’re grateful “The Office” brought this line back into the mainstream.

It only makes sense that the most memorable and easily reusable sitcom line comes from one of the greatest sitcoms, and sitcom characters, of all time. Joey Tribbiani is one of the more well-known ladies’ man on any TV series, and it’s only fitting that he has a pick-up line to go along with this persona. It’s his opening line when he’s talking to women, and most of the time, the ladies melt. Is it really so simple, asking someone how they’re doing but in a sultry, even suggestive tone? No wonder we jokingly recreate this every chance we get, we just wonder if anyone would actually fall for this as a pick-up line decades after it was originally heard on “Friends.”

Which of these lines do you find yourself using on the daily? Let us know in the comments!