A highlights reel of my subconscious:

[apple_pathways]

Top 5 Things I Tend to Shout At Odd Intervals, Completely Out of Context:

1. Covered in BEES!
   
2. MINI MUFFIN MONDAYS!
   
3. Punch! Rockgroin! (Slab! Bulkhead!)
   
4. It's Scotchtoberfest!
   
5. HUZZAH!

(Honestly, I think if I had been born a few years later, I definitely would have been diagnosed with Tourette's...)



Where do my bizarre catchphrases come from? Well, many of them come from a little show that ruled my childhood called MST3k. But here's a full rundown:

(ETA: jobey_in_error asked if I had 'triggers' that provoked these utterances as a response, or if I truly just spout gibberish at random. The answer is: both! Very often, I'll get one of these phrases stuck in my head, and eventually the energy it requires to not verbalize gets to be too great, and...yeah. BUT, there are also 'triggers' that are likely to provoke each phrase as a response, and I have included those now in the description.)

1. Covered in BEES!
Triggers: Bees! Last summer, my mother and I picked our own raspberries at an orchard that kept bees. The bee hives were located in the raspberry patch. Growing up in the garden, I have no beef with bees, but I said (shouted) "covered in BEES!" about 5,000 times that day.

From Eddie Izzard: chat-up lines of beekeepers. "I like my women like I like my coffee: covered in BEES!"

2. MINI MUFFIN MONDAYS!
Triggers: If you ask me what day it is. It doesn't necessarily have to be Monday.

Maria Bamford is the most hilarious person alive. This is from her "Crazy office myth" routine:

3. Punch! Rockgroin! (Slab! Bulkhead!)
Triggers: If I do something physical that I'm particularly proud of, such as jump from the edge of the patio to the walkway. Punch! Rockgroin!

From one of the best episodes of MST3k EVER: "Space Mutiny". I could quote the entire episode at you, but instead enjoy The Many Names of David Ryder (our hero):

4. It's Scotchtoberfest!
Triggers: We have a Highland Games that actually takes place at Greenmead, the same place I have my garden plot. I refer to it as Scotchtoberfest. But really, any festival may warrant the title of Scotchtoberfest!

If Groundskeeper Willie is not the greatest character EVER INVENTED, then...man, I don't even know. (With apologies to all of Scotland...)

(I really wanted to post the full clip of this bit, where Willie describes "traditional Scottish dress", but this was all I could find! Paraphrasing: "The kilt was just for everyday. For battle, we donned a full-length ballgown, with sequins...")

5. Huzzah!
Triggers: This phrase is SO MULTI-PURPOSE (just ask sabriel75), no excuse is needed for its utterance. I do, however, use it as a semi-sarcastic expression of joy. ("Hey, I found a quarter on the men's room floor!" "Huzzah!")

I say this all the time, with the exact same intonation that Servo uses. (Yep, this is another MST3k quote.) The show has a long history of making fun of ren fairs. Whenever anyone is dressed vaguely medieval-y, there's a lot of 'Huzzah!' bandied about.

I'd be interested to see if anyone else has particular phrases they just cannot stop quoting! I don't mean when it's apropos, and all your friends get it, and everyone has a good laugh: but pernicious little phrases that just won't leave your head, and you bust out with regardless of what people are talking about.

Anyone else have that? :P

Comments

[sabriel75.livejournal.com]

English Majors say huzzah for a variety of other reasons, but I like this one best. Actually had to break myself of the habit of saying it when I worked for the Dean of English at my college. He taught Shakespeare and thought I was mocking him. Quite a sensitive temperment.

Mini Muffin Mondays rolls off the tongue. How can you not want to say it?!

Eddie Izzard must take sole responsible for my constant "I was on the moon with Steve." No one gets it, but I say it all the time if I think you're lying. We do the whole nod in denial/affirmation head thing too. :D

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

It makes me VERY HAPPY to know that other people walk around saying 'Huzzah' all the time! It sounds like that Dean of English you worked for would have hated me.

Mini Muffin Mondays rolls off the tongue. How can you not want to say it?!

I know, right??? And we already know from the Minnesota Mint Soda incident that I am particularly susceptible to alliteration; especially alliteration of 'Ms'!

I love "I was on the moon! With Steve!" I am now going to start saying it every time one of my students gives me an excuse!

ninja!comment

[tierfal.livejournal.com]

I'm going to think about this seriously (yes, really) and watch all of the epic vids later, but... EDDIE FTW!!!!

eltea and I use "Uh, je dois partir; ma grandmère est flambée" pretty much every time we make a list of excuses. Although "JE SUIS LE PRESIDENT DE BURUNDI!" is more fun to drop without context.

"Staircase of Satan -- POND OF DEATH!" is another of my favorites.

Although that's not quite the same, since we both always get it. XD

Re: ninja!comment

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

There are SO MANY Eddie Izzard quotes I love to work into my daily life! It's just that "covered in BEES!" has worked its way so deep into my subconscious, it comes out at the slightest provocation!

Yes, trading quotes with friends is lots of fun! I do that, too. ;)

[ladybracknell.livejournal.com]

Whenever anyone offers me cake, I do the whole cake or death routine.

I also randomly quote The Mighty Boosh - usually the arctic has no respect for fashion, or YOU HAVE FLIPPED MY SWITCH, BABY, or calm a llama down.

And I do lines from Withnail and I - we've gone on holiday by mistake, I DEMAND TO HAVE SOME BOOZE, and I have a heart condition - if you hit me, it's murder.

No-one ever gets them. I don't care, lol.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Cake or death is a classic! It's almost like a secret call sign for a special kind of nerd. (At least in the US--I imagine he might be more well-known/popular in the UK?)

"Cake or death?"

"Death. No, I mean cake!"

You're in! :P

No-one ever gets them. I don't care, lol.

As I tell my students, "You don't have to get it: some of these jokes are just for me!" :P

[wldcatsprstr-14.livejournal.com]

Most of mine involve tits...

"Fucking tits!" (when something frustrates me).

"Tits MacGee" (just randomly pops out)

"Tits or GTFO" (I really don't know where this came from lol)

"Cocktwat" (again, no clue...)

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

A large arsenal of curse words at your disposal will always come in handy! I'm particularly fond of "Tits or GTFO"... :P

[(Anonymous)]

What I am about to put forward is in rather poorer taste than the above and I don't know if this even qualifies because my friends and I (when we reunite between terms) lob such phrases about with abandon - while we all "get it", it is just so normal we don't even laugh at each other. It's pretty worrying as, taken out of context, it sounds rather (homo)sexual. I don't say it out loud in public, of course, but I replay the quote in my head then chuckle in front of complete strangers at the bus stop etc.

If anyone is familiar with mind of Karl Pilkington and his unique insights on practically every subject... his infamous quote: "I COULD EAT A NOB AT NIGHT."

I shan't embed the video to protect the standing of your LJ (it's not bad/rude at all but I didn't think you'd want "I could eat a nob at night" plastered all over your comments - Damn, said it again!) so just find it on youtube if you want.

Perhaps a better one would be "BECAUSE I BACK-TRACED IT" (based on the meme from last year - perfect whenever someone asks something to the effect of "how do you know that?")


This anonymous comment was brought to you by Stewart

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Dude, now LJ is screening my anon comments! WTF, LJ: WTF???

Anyway. My darling, much ruder things have been said on this journal than 'nob': you're talking to a girl who has a tag for both "porn" and "the F bomb"! :P

This is why I tell my students that I enjoy being a nerd: I never have to worry about what the 'cool' thing to say is. I get to just spout random gibberish that amuses me and call it a day!

[jesterjoker.livejournal.com]

I used to drag in "And they had to eat Sir Robin's minstrels." quite a lot.

Anything from 'Spaced Invaders' is readily available. "What the heck is that thing?" - "Ain't life a bust?"

"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb," from the 1960s Batman movie, is an extremely common one. It fits everything!

When I'm playing an online game, I usually name myself Shai-hulud so I gloat with "Hail Shai Hulud The Great Maker Worm!" horribly often.

"Stupid plastic piece of crap" from Angel TV.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

I used to drag in "And they had to eat Sir Robin's minstrels." quite a lot.

OMG, one of my other random phrases (that I didn't remember to add to the list) comes right after that quote!

And there was much rejoicing. 'Yaaay'! (I know this is said several times in the film, but I always imagine the one right after they ate Sir Robin's minstrels!)

Of course, I could quote that entire movie with very little provocation...

When I'm playing an online game, I usually name myself Shai-hulud so I gloat with "Hail Shai Hulud The Great Maker Worm!" horribly often.

This fact just made me love you a little bit more! (And made me want to use 'Shai-hulud' as an alias somewhere...)

[jesterjoker.livejournal.com]

I sometimes say the whole quote, but it turns into a mutter because it's too long to be snappy. XD

I used to use "SirNi" for my aliases in games. XD

You should do so! :D Shai Hulud rules. The worms are only the start of it - I bring out "get out of my MIIIIND!" and "Say hello to my brother, Baron" and "Pain upon pain upon pain" and the Litany Against Fear too. The Dune movie is a legend just as much as the book. :D

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

FEAR IS THE MIND-KILLER!

Shai-halud_82xoxo it is! Now, to find a video game I actually enjoy playing... (That's not based on a board game, that is. Boggle FTW!)

[jesterjoker.livejournal.com]

Yes! A new convert!

Action, adventure, RPGs, there's plenty. :D

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

I am not even going to attempt to get into gaming until I get a new computer! I can barely run Firefox and iTunes at the same time on this thing. Throw in Spider Solitaire? Forget it!

[jesterjoker.livejournal.com]

(Underdogs.org)...(independent games)...(cheap free games)...(Japanese manic space shooters)

Uff da, yeah, I comprehend that. Look at the exceptions above, bwahaha.

Damn thing are expensive, too. Otherwise I have a ton of them to buy. My cousin wants me to play Shogun II with him but I can't afford $50. O_O

[jobey-in-error.livejournal.com]

BEST POST EVER. It's got vids! And fun comments! And madness.

Also, #5 clarifies large portions of my college experience, no kidding. (Unless it's sabriel75 who could do the clarifying, crap, now IDEK again.)

In answer to your question, I know I do have phrases I drop compulsively every time I hear certain trigger words, but when I try to round them up I can't remember them for. The. Life of me. (Though do you also have the trigger words/situations or is it really random?)

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

(Though do you also have the trigger words/situations or is it really random?)

And the answer is: both! I will edit the post to include the situations where I'm most likely to issue forth with one of these gems, but in truth, I will just blurt out nonsense completely apropos of nothing. Usually, I've got it stuck in my head, and I've been fighting not to say it for most of the day, and then it just spills out like verbal diarrhea. :P

Huzzah! (And then I giggle uncontrollably. I'm one minor hygiene slip from being involuntarily committed, I swear!)

I know there's at least a dozen more of these phrases that just get stuck in my head: these are probably just the most common! (It was my constant utterance of the first two this morning that inspired my post.)

[jobey-in-error.livejournal.com]

(And then I giggle uncontrollably. I'm one minor hygiene slip from being involuntarily committed, I swear!)

At least there you would likely be surrounded by other recovering MST3K kids. Yeah, that's right, I said it!

Look, I'm just jealous, okay? The show sounds awesome and I refuse to get addicted until I'm actively unemployed.

SPEAKING OF TRIGGERS--YOUR ICON. U Pitt's prestigious Obscure Movie Group once showed some godawful movie where a character pleaded "Be rational!" and guess what I shouted back at the screen? The OMG (ahem) is pretty copacetic about such outbursts, but, since no one else's boyfriend apparently worse a shirt with that cartoon every other day, they didn't exactly appreciate the moment, either.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

At least there you would likely be surrounded by other recovering MST3K kids. Yeah, that's right, I said it!

Hey, I know that was an insult, but man: I'm excited! PLEASE tell me this is going to happen! ♥

The show sounds awesome and I refuse to get addicted until I'm actively unemployed.

All right, but DUDE: you are missing out!

That math joke seriously cracks me up! I've wanted to re-make that icon to make it a little prettier, but never got around to it. (I didn't make this one.) NOW I must find this t-shirt you speak of!

[jobey-in-error.livejournal.com]

I found it pretty quickly, but finding one that's a reasonable price will probably take longer!

(I'm just happy I can appreciate a math joke despite never quite mastering scientific notation!)

[jobey-in-error.livejournal.com]

*AT LEAST ONE math joke -- is what I meant to say

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

They're only $14.59 if I buy them in bulk!

[tourdefierce.livejournal.com]

I love muffins.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

All the more reason for MINI MUFFIN MONDAY!

(I have no muffin icons. Enjoy this cupcake instead!)

[jacknjill270.livejournal.com]

Wow, I had no idea other people did that too! I'm always going around repeating certain phrases and giggling, it drives my family/friends crazy. I say "Huzzah!" all the time. And Eddie Izzard! He is one of my absolute favorites, he just cracks me up. His bit about Jesus going down to talk to the dinosaurs is my go-to video for when I want to cheer myself up after a bad day.

Um, I know I have tons of annoying little phrases I repeat a lot, and I'm sure I'll think of them later when I actually find myself saying them, but all I can remember is the other day when I walked around saying "we demand....a shrubbery!" and laughing like a crazy person.

This is such a fun post! I love the first MST3K video, it made me lirl. I'll have to check that one out, it looks hilarious.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

I love finding other people who share the same weird habits I do! (And I feel like starting some sort of club for people who say 'huzzah' all the time. I never knew it was such a common quirk!)

Oh God..."We demand...a shrubbery!" just mind end up being my catchphrase for tomorrow... (Today was all about "MINI MUFFIN MONDAY!" with the occasional "covered in BEES!" thrown in for good measure.)

Space Mutiny is probably one of the best episodes of MST3k ever produced! It's a good introduction to the show, as the movie itself is surprisingly watchable, for how terrible it is: it actually has a plot that goes somewhere and faster-than-glacial pacing. (Some of the movies they do are so achingly bad, not even the hilarious commentary can make them watchable! You've got to cultivate a pretty deep love for the show before you should even consider subjecting yourself to Manos: the Hands of Fate. [And yes: 'manos' is Spanish for hands. The title is "Hands: the Hands of Fate!])

If you do watch it and enjoy it, let me know so I can flail all over you like the tragic fangirl I am!