Fandom School (8th period): Catchphrases

It's time again for Fandom School! Today, we're going to talk about catchphrases.

What is a catchphrase? It's a phrase, line (or pattern thereof) that is repeated often enough that the audience associates it with a particular character or book/movie/TV show. I'd like to take this post to share a few of my favorite catchphrases.

Get Smart (TV show) [go to www.wouldyoubelieve.com for a complete list of catchphrases]

• "Would you believe..." - Maxwell Smart

Smart: At the moment, seven Coast Guard cutters are converging on us. Would you believe it?
Mr Big: I find that hard to believe.
Smart: Hmmm . . . Would you believe six?
Mr Big: I don't think so.
Smart: How about two cops in a rowboat?

• "Missed it by that much!" - Maxwell Smart
• "Zis is KAOS, we don't ________ here!" - Siegfried, usually to Shtarker

Shtarker: Let me let them have it. Dudududududu (making a machine gun noise).
Siegfried: Shtarker, zis is KAOS, we don't Dududu here.

Doctor Who (TV show)

• "Fantastic!" - Ninth Doctor
• "[insert things] are cool" - Eleventh Doctor
• bow ties, fezzes, stetsons, bunk beds... the list goes on
• "Allons-y!" - Tenth Doctor
• "Spoilers" - River Song
• "Hello, Sweetie" - River Song
• "It's bigger on the inside!" - (almost*) every companion, upon entering the TARDIS
• "Oi! Watch it, spaceman!" - Donna Noble to the Tenth Doctor

The Princess Bride (book/movie)

• "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." - Inigo Montoya
• "As you wish" - Westley
• "Inconceivable!" - Vizzini

Star Trek (TV show and several movies)

• "Live long and prosper" - Vulcan greeting/farewell, usually said by Spock
• "Highly illogical" - Spock
• "I'm a doctor, not a..." - Dr. Leonard McCoy
• bricklayer, psychiatrist, mechanic, coal miner, engineer, physicist... [see this website for a list of all occurrences]
• "He's dead, Jim" - Dr. Leonard McCoy

Star Wars (movie series)

• "May the Force be with you" - Jedi blessing/good luck, said by almost everyone on the good side
• "I got a bad feeling about this" - Han Solo is known for this phrase, but many other characters say variations of it as well

Harry Potter (books/movies)

• "My father will hear about this!" - Draco Malfoy
• "Bloody hell!" - Ronald Weasley
• "Wicked!" - Fred & George Weasley
• "I shouldn't have said that" - Hagrid

Sherlock (TV show)

• "Not my division!" - Greg Lestrade
• "I'm not gay!" - John Watson, said when anyone tries to ship him with Sherlock
• "I'm your landlady, not your housekeeper!" - Mrs. Hudson

I know I'm missing lots of fandoms and catchphrases, but I only included the fandoms I'm in that have multiple catchphrases. If you have any catchphrases you'd like to add, feel free to do so in the comments.

*Notable exceptions include Clara Oswald, who said "It's smaller on the outside!", and Rory Williams, who said nothing, prompting this exchange:

The Doctor [after entering the TARDIS]: It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Tiny box, huge room inside; what's that about? Let me explain...
Rory: It's another dimension.
The Doctor: It's basically another dimen — what?
Rory: After what happened with Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel universes.
The Doctor: I like the bit when someone says "It's bigger on the inside!" I always look forward to that.

Fandom School (8th period): Fandom Abbreviations

Welcome to Fandom School! Before we dive into today's lesson, I'd like to point out that it's easy to catch up on previous Fandom School posts. Either go to the page labeled "Fandom School" (look on the top right) or click on the labels to the right. You can choose a specific subject, or you can just view all Fandom School posts. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, today's subject is fangirl language, and the topic is fandom abbreviations.

Do you see an abbreviation online and have no idea what it means? Some fandoms have shorter versions of their names so they are easy to refer to. Here are a few examples:

• AHS - American Horror Story
• DW - Doctor Who
• HIMYM - How I Met Your Mother
• LoTR - The Lord of the Rings trilogy (may include the Hobbit)
• OUAT - Once Upon A Time
• SPN - Supernatural

There are also general fandom abbreviations:

• AO3 - Archive of Our Own
• AU - Alternate Universe
• FF.net - fanfiction.net

This list was a lot shorter than I thought it would be... anyone have any suggestions to add?

Fandom School (8th period): The Fandom Way To Say "I Love You"

So earlier I wrote a post about various terms fangirls/fanboys use, and now I'd like to show the various fandom ways to say I love you. I know I'm missing a lot (I seem to recall a tumblr post listing all of them, but I can't find it now), so feel free to add to this list in the comments.

Doctor Who: [insert name here], I...

Hello, sweetie

You've stopped both my hearts

The Fault In Our Stars: Okay

Frozen: Some people are worth melting for

Harry Potter: Always

Merlin: With all my heart

Idiot/prat/ass/dollophead/cabbagehead/[insert insult here]

My Fair Lady: I've grown accustomed to your face

The Princess Bride: As you wish

Fandom School (8th period): Fangirl language

Fandom School is back, and this time we're going to talk about the language of fangirls. Just to be clear, let's define the term "fangirl".

According to dictionary.com, a fangirl is "an obsessive female fan, especially of something technological or from popular culture". A fanboy is the same thing, except male. These words do have different connotations: fangirls tend to be more obsessive, and fanboys tend to be more defensive. (Fangirls and fanboys often get a bad reputation as being too obsessive or mean, but not all of them are like this. I like to consider myself an exception to the rule.) Fangirls and fanboys may both use the other terms I'll define here, but fans (a fan is defined as "an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, or celebrity") typically have their own fandom-specific terms.

Here are a few terms related to fandoms and fangirls that I have already defined in my blog:
Canon: the accepted storyline (see here)
Fandom: a collection of fans (see this post defining the term and this post about fandoms uniting)
Fanfiction: stories set in the world of and/or using the characters in the fandom(s) they are written for. Click here or here to see my fanfiction.
Feels: short for "feelings", typically the sort of feelings that will make a fangirl or fanboy cry. (See this post about feels)
Ships: romantic pairings of fictional characters (see here)
A whole list of terms Whovians (Doctor Who fans) use.

Here are some abbreviations that are often used:
AU: fanfiction term, short for "alternate universe". An AU describes a story that is not canon. For example, an AU in which the Tenth Doctor didn't regenerate before series 5.
OTP: stands for "one true pairing". An OTP is a fangirl/fanboy's ultimate ship. Do not insult anyone's OTP. Ever.

There are lots more terms that I could try to define here, but I don't know everything, nor is there room to list everything. If you want to find out more, you can check out this post (not my post), which defines terms used on tumblr, many of which are fangirl/fanboy terms.