back to article 'D'oh!' tops fave kids' TV catchphrase poll

Homer Simpson's "D'oh!" has topped a poll of kids' top TV catchphrases, with Fred Flintstone's "Yabba Dabba Doo!" and classic Dalek imperative "Exterminate" voted second and third in Brit viewers' affections. This isn't, however, necessarily what today's nippers actually favour, since The Baby Website quizzed 7,431 adults as …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Most irritating piece of misplaced grammar evar!

    "D'oh"

    What's the apostrophe for? Why is it in there? Why do otherwise seemingly intelligent people / organisations quote it verbatim?

    Have I been missing something all these years?

  2. Frank Bough
    Thumb Down

    Where's

    ...m'kay?

  3. Peter Hawkins
    Thumb Up

    D'oh! - Homer Simpson??

    If I remember rightly Peter Glaze of Crackerjack (...... CRACKERJACK!!!!!) fame used it long before Homer.

    "It's Friday.... it's five to five ... it's ....." If only it was!

  4. This post has been deleted by its author

  5. Richard Bedford
    Stop

    No. 19 is a misquote - another fine mess...

    No. 19 is a misquote:

    The catchphrase most associated with Laurel and Hardy is "Well, there's another fine mess you've gotten me into." The phrase has passed into common language usage and means to blame a partner for causing both people an avoidable problem. This phrase is a misquote and Ollie actually says "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." The phrase was first used in their 1930 film, The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case and Another Fine Mess was the title of one of their short films released later that year.

    From: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Laurel_and_Hardy

  6. Bill Gould
    Gates Halo

    #4 - Not real

    I find it interesting that #4 is on the list at all, considering it's never been said on the show. It shows how pop culture can occlude the memory and implant a falsehood as truth.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @AC 12:38

    when you make up a word, you can include whatever extraneous punctuation you feel necessary.

  8. fifi

    Children's telly?

    A-Team?

    Star Trek?

    South Park?

    hardly children's programs ;)

  9. Tom
    Jobs Horns

    Kids?

    How on earth is a South Park quote on a Kids' TV catchphrase poll - it's hardly kids TV....

  10. Cameron Colley

    RE: Most irritating piece of misplaced grammar evar!

    What would you prefer, D_Oh or the Yorkshire-like D't'Oh (where the t is actually a glottal stop)?

    While it's obviously not correct "written grammar" the apostrophe is used in an attempt to render the word phonetically -- otherwise it would be pronounced in the same way as dough.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I can't believe it!

    "Crush a grape" - "pensionable age"

    I'm only 42 and I remember it.

    Also from the same programme: "Maclean?"

  12. Brand Hilton

    Teenage Mutant HERO Turtles?

    Here in the states, it's Teenage Mutant NINJA Turtles. Is it different across the pond, or was "Hero" a misprint?

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    @AC 13:56

    As ably demonstrated by the (admittedly few) Star Wars / Star Trek novels I've read. More apostrophes than actual letters in the placenames in a few of them...

    AC as I really don't want to admit in public I've read some of that!

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @ Bill Gould

    Thanks for the scoop, Bill. I'm certain nobody here was aware of that, as nobody's ever pointed it out before. I knew it'd only be a few parsecs before someone objected.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yes! Homer Simpson rules

    While a lot of people remember his famous "D'oh!" this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are other pearls of wisdom like for example "Shut up, brain, or I'll stab you with a q-tip"

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Most irritating piece of misplaced grammar evar!

    > "D'oh"

    >What's the apostrophe for? Why is it in there?

    It's because the phrase actually originated with the medieval French curse, "D'eau", that is to say "De Eau" or "Of Water", a reference to the anger and hatred felt by the peasantry of that time for the tyrannous rule of their overlords in Ofwat, the water regulator's office.

    Or something like that.

  17. Sarah Bee's Love Slave

    @Brand Hilton 15:07

    The BBFC decided that Ninjas were definitely something that British children should aspire to be, so they had to be renamed as heroes. The theme tune was re-done to match and all accompanying merchandise, even the arcade and computer games, were branded differently.

    At the time it didn't stop my 8 year old nephew pretending he was a ninja, making his own nunchuks and beating up his little sister though.

    We also had Top Cat here in the UK and I think he's Boss Cat in the US. Something to do with a brand of cat food having the same name if I remember corrrectly.

  18. Oliver Mayes

    @Brand Hilton

    Here in the UK back in the 90's 'Ninja' was considered too violent an image for a kids show, so it was changed to 'Hero' for that particular cartoon series. It's back to Ninja in the more recent ones though.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    @ Number 19 misquotes

    I assume the quotes are from the Laurel and Hardy cartoon, not the original films. I'm pretty sure they had 'me', not 'us' (possibly both at different times)

    @Hero turtles

    Yes, 'Ninja' was considered too violent a word or something, so they were re-branded for the UK

  20. This post has been deleted by its author

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @AC 12:38

    Why not, it's a perfectly crumulent use of the apostrophe.

  22. Casper Orillian

    @Cameron Colley

    Im from yorkshire and the t isnt even a stop, its mearly emplied, its ignored alltogether in most parts, in some rural areas it might be a slight nod, but for the rest of us its just not bothered with

  23. Steve Spiller
    Happy

    @Peter Hawkins & Crackerjack

    Ahhh yes, Crackerjack. Used to drive me step-mum up the wall watching that program. She hated it with a passion!

    You should have seen her face when I answered her with a D'Oh! Mind you, I think that's how I developed such quick duck and cover reactions as a clip round the ear was considered normal back then...

    Fond memories of some great TV moments.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    @I can't believe it!

    > Also from the same programme: "Maclean?"

    "Yes. I had a bath this morning."

    Question from Peter Glaze, answer from Don Maclean. If I remember correctly, this was Peter Glaze's second stint on the show.

    "Crush a grape" etc. by Stu Francis.

    Before him I remember Michael Aspel and Leslie Crowther. I can't with any certainty remember the others.

    I'm 49, going on 50.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'd like to protest #9...

    It's "I pity the foo" not "I pity the fool"!

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Big, tatooed Fred

    I'd be impressed if you were 49, going on 62.

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @AC 17:23

    "crumulent" is not particularly cromulent.

  28. Neoc
    Stop

    Some incorrectness.

    ** D'oh! - The Simpsons

    Actually, that should be written as <annoyed grunt>, since that's how it appears on every Simpson scripts (and was left Hank Azaria to fill) and a couple of episode titles ("e-i-e-i-<annoyed grunt>" comes to mind).

    ** Beam me up Scotty - Star Trek

    Never said in TOS. But was actually added in later series to honour the Meme.

    ** I taught I taw a puddy tat - Tweety Pie

    Should be "tought", not "taught".

    ** That's another fine mess you got me into - Laurel and Hardy

    "Nice mess", not "fine mess". The later is a title from one of their movies.

    Yes, I have a life. I just have this nasty habit of picking up trivia as I go along.

  29. Jesthar
    Thumb Up

    @ AC 9th June 2009 16:10

    "It's because the phrase (D'oh) actually originated with the medieval French curse, "D'eau", that is to say "De Eau" or "Of Water", a reference to the anger and hatred felt by the peasantry of that time for the tyrannous rule of their overlords in Ofwat, the water regulator's office.

    Or something like that."

    Thank you, thank you, thank you! I work for a major company subject to regulation by Ofwat, and this just reduced the whole office to helpless laughter! :D

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    @Caspar Orillion

    In Sheffield it's definitely there - a slight but noticeable (to a language student from Dahn Sahf) glottal stop

    Kudos on the name, by the way!

    Anyway, back on topic, here's a comment I made earlier.

    Glottal, obviously

  31. Andy Bright
    Thumb Down

    You've got to be joking right?

    What dickheads thought it necessary to bring back memories of such abortions as The Krankies and Crackerjack or the See You Next Tuesday that thought renaming Ninja to Hero made a cartoon less violent.

    As you noted the adult input had to be key because no kids watching TV today would know what the fuck you were talking about if you mentioned at least 18 of them.

    If this had anything to do with kids, you'd have to ask where the catch phrases of Monsieur Squarepants, Timmy Turner's dad or any from the programs kids (and unfortunately myself as a parent of kids) actually watch these days. All I see is a bunch of shite canceled 2 decades before any of today's TV watching kids were born.

  32. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    #4 - Beam me up Scotty

    I think up Scotty is the last place I'd like to be beamed!

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