Sitcomdle

Character list

Famous Sitcom Catchphrases and Who Said Them

A great sitcom catchphrase works like a doorbell: the moment a character says it, the audience knows exactly who is in the room. Steve Urkel only had to ask "Did I do that?" for the studio to roar, and Sheldon Cooper turned a single made-up word into a punchline that needed no setup at all.

Here is every catchphrase from the character guides, grouped by show from the oldest premiere to the newest. Each line names the character who made it famous and the actor who delivered it, and every name links to a full guide with that character's first episode and the episodes worth rewatching.

77 catchphrases from 58 characters across 27 shows.

I Love Lucy(1)

CBS, 1951 to 1957

  • "Oh, for corn's sake."

    Fred Mertz, played by William Frawley

M*A*S*H(2)

CBS, 1972 to 1983

Happy Days(2)

ABC, 1974 to 1984

Cheers(2)

NBC, 1982 to 1993

  • "It's a little-known fact..."

    Cliff Clavin, played by John Ratzenberger

  • "Afternoon, everybody."

    Norm Peterson, played by George Wendt

The Golden Girls(3)

NBC, 1985 to 1992

Full House(7)

ABC, 1987 to 1995

Seinfeld(6)

NBC, 1989 to 1998

  • "Hello, Newman."

    Jerry Seinfeld, played by Jerry Seinfeld

  • "Serenity now!"

    Frank Costanza, played by John Randolph and Jerry Stiller

  • "A Festivus for the rest of us!"

    Frank Costanza, played by John Randolph and Jerry Stiller

  • "Hello, Jerry."

    Newman, played by Wayne Knight

  • "No soup for you!"

    The Soup Nazi, played by Larry Thomas

  • "Yeah, that's right."

    David Puddy, played by Patrick Warburton

Family Matters(1)

ABC, 1989 to 1998

Frasier(2)

NBC, 1993 to 2004

Friends(5)

NBC, 1994 to 2004

Everybody Loves Raymond(3)

CBS, 1996 to 2005

That '70s Show(4)

FOX, 1998 to 2006

  • "Good day!"

    Fez, played by Wilmer Valderrama

  • "Burn!"

    Michael Kelso, played by Ashton Kutcher

  • "Dumbass!"

    Red Forman, played by Kurtwood Smith

  • "I'll put my foot in your ass."

    Red Forman, played by Kurtwood Smith

Curb Your Enthusiasm(1)

HBO, 2000 to 2024

  • "Pretty, pretty, pretty good."

    Larry David, played by Larry David

Scrubs(1)

NBC, 2001 to 2010

Arrested Development(5)

FOX, 2003 to 2019

The Office(3)

NBC, 2005 to 2013

  • "That's what she said."

    Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell

  • "Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam."

    Pam Beesly, played by Jenna Fischer

  • "Did I stutter?"

    Stanley Hudson, played by Leslie David Baker

How I Met Your Mother(3)

CBS, 2005 to 2014

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia(2)

FX, 2005 to present

30 Rock(3)

NBC, 2006 to 2013

  • "Blerg!"

    Liz Lemon, played by Tina Fey

  • "What the what?"

    Liz Lemon, played by Tina Fey

  • "I want to go to there."

    Liz Lemon, played by Tina Fey

The Big Bang Theory(1)

CBS, 2007 to 2019

Parks and Recreation(4)

NBC, 2009 to 2015

Community(4)

NBC, 2009 to 2015

  • "Cool. Cool cool cool."

    Abed Nadir, played by Danny Pudi

  • "Six seasons and a movie!"

    Abed Nadir, played by Danny Pudi

  • "Streets ahead."

    Pierce Hawthorne, played by Chevy Chase

  • "Troy and Abed in the morning!"

    Troy Barnes, played by Donald Glover

Brooklyn Nine-Nine(4)

FOX, 2013 to 2021

Schitt's Creek(2)

CBC, 2015 to 2020

The Good Place(3)

NBC, 2016 to 2020

  • "Not a girl."

    Janet, played by D'Arcy Carden

  • "Not a robot."

    Janet, played by D'Arcy Carden

  • "Bortles!"

    Jason Mendoza, played by Manny Jacinto

Ted Lasso(2)

Apple TV+, 2020 to present

  • "Believe."

    Ted Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis

  • "Be curious, not judgmental."

    Ted Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis

Home Improvement(1)

ABC, 1991 to 1999

Love a good sitcom romance too? See the best sitcom couples, from Lucy and Ricky to Jim and Pam.

More character lists

Character lists

By debut decade

By original network

By show

Every sitcom character A to ZAll 34 shows