Summary
Main characters in How I Met Your Mother have unique catchphrases, adding humor and depth to their personalities.
Barney’s iconic catchphrases, like “Wait for it” and “I Only Have One Rule,” reflect his outlandish and humorous personality.
Marshall’s legal catchphrases, like “I’ll allow it” and “Lawyered,” showcase his quirky yet lovable character as the group’s mediator.
Not many sitcoms boast the level of success and influence that How I Met Your Mother achieved during the 10 years it aired including iconic catchphrases that have become part of the pop culture lexicon. The sitcom follows a group of friends living in New York as they marry and have children. The framework for the show, however, surrounds the main character Ted (Josh Radnor) as he recounts a very long story to his kids of how he eventually met their mother during that time period.
One of the biggest reasons for How I Met Your Mother’s success is that its main characters all have something unique and brilliant to bring to the show. With such great chemistry among them and with them knowing each other inside out, the show is chock full of inside or recurring jokes as well as classic phrases. The majority of these catchphrases come from Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), something the gang touches on in “Spoiler Alert”. But that does not make them any less of an incredibly prominent and enjoyable part of the series.
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“I’ll Allow It.”
Marshall Eriksen
Marshall Eriksen’s career as a lawyer–and then, eventually, a judge–brings about many great recurring jokes and quotes in the show, from changing up Big Fudge to Judge Fudge to this catchphrase Marshall sparingly uses alongside, “Lawyered.” He enjoys bringing legal jargon into his everyday life, and surprisingly, the gang doesn’t often make fun of him for it as the audience might expect them to do because of the way they enjoy ribbing one another.
“I’ll allow it,” is basically oral permission from Marshall for something to happen, though it’s just another way for him to whip out his lawyer lingo since the group doesn’t often require the permission of one member. It only pops up occasionally, like when Barney asks the gang to let him be himself, not as prominent as some other catchphrases, but it is one of Marshall’s go-to’s.
“Please.”
Barney Stinson
Barney Stinson’s job is one of the best and most prominent running jokes in How I Met Your Mother, much like Chandler’s was in Friends, with nobody knowing what his job was for a long time. The only thing Barney’s friends knew about his work for the first eight seasons of the show was that he made a lot of money and wore suits in an office.
Anytime Barney was asked about his job by another character, Barney would reply with a simple and nonchalant, “Please.” Finally, in season 9, it was revealed that the word was actually an acronym for his job; “Provide Legal Exculpation And Sign Everything,” a risky career that was part of a master plan. The recurring phrase of “Please” always provided fans and characters with some funny, if not frustrating, moments.
“Just… OK?”
Barney Stinson
Barney definitely has a lot of the catchphrases the series is known for. Some of that might be because he’s the one so often riling up his friends and trying to get them to go along with him. It is rare for the gang to totally go along with Barney’s antics because his plans are typically too outlandish for them. His stories also stretch their sense of belief. Often, they either sit by, allowing him to ramble and go on, but they also call him out on lying, and when that happens, he has a reply ready to go.
His typical dejected and frustrated, “Just… OK” comes out whenever he is caught lying or whenever someone questions his plans and antics, such as when Ted does not let him talk through his Jor-El camera. Barney is a compulsive liar, so the “Just… OK?” pops up a lot throughout the show.
“I Only Have One Rule.”
Barney Stinson
On the subject of Barney and his unnecessary lies, he has many disgusting rules that usually relate to picking up women or avoiding a specific type of woman. His rules are often misogynistic and not ones the audience would like to see utilized in real life, but they are played for laughs in How I Met Your Mother.
What makes his rules so typically Barney, as well as making them funny, is the fact he always starts off revealing his rules with one of his How I Met Your Mother catchphrases, “I only have one rule.” In reality, Barney has hundreds of rules, as well as accompanying laws like the “hot/crazy scale.” Some examples of Barney’s ludicrous rules include: “Never spellcheck.” “Never meet a girl’s parents.” and “You can tell how old a girl is by her elbows.”
“Major…” “General…” “Corporal…” “Colonel…”
Robin Scherbatzky And Ted Mosby
Ted and Robin do not have many catchphrases, most of them fall to Barney, but one they share together is an inside joke that takes many forms and infuriates the gang. When the five friends discover that some members of the group have inside jokes that the others aren’t privy to, they tend to get a little prickly about it.
Using any form of military officer title that fits, whether it be Major or General, the two perform mock salutes whenever someone uses any of the words in conversation. Examples that Ted and Robin mock throughout the show include “General Knowledge,” “Private things,” and “Major pleasure.” After someone in the group utters any of those phrases, they descend into their salutes and exchanges of military rankings. It’s a nice touch that shows their connection, but one that the others don’t find as funny.
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“Lawyered!”
Marshall Eriksen
It’s only fitting that Marshall, who worked so hard to become a lawyer and then to have a legal job that would provide for his family, even if he didn’t like the type of law he was practicing, would find some enjoyment of his skills in his everyday life. In the spirit of his profession, Marshall Eriksen coined the term “lawyered” to use whenever he successfully disputes someone’s argument with his epic law school knowledge.
It serves as a harsh and hilarious verbal “finisher” to anyone foolish enough to enter an argument with the show’s “Big Fudge.” Most of the time Marshall uses this catchphrase, Barney is at the other side of “lawyered.” Barney often believes he is right, and Marshall isn’t afraid to take him on, such as their debate over the oldest profession with Marshall proving it not to be prostitution like Barney claims.
“But… Um.”
Robin Scherbatsky
It’s no secret that humans have what is called “filler language” when they’re speaking. These are phrases that someone says while gathering their thoughts or trying to pause in their speech, and they manifest in works like “like,” “erm,” “so,” and “um” in reality. Those learning public speaking often have to train themselves not to use them. That often goes for fictional characters as well.
The quirky Robin Scherbatsky has a few specific habits, one of them being the repeating of “but…um,” especially during her pre-morning broadcast in Come On, Get Up, New York! Robin’s unfortunate habit came to the gang’s attention in the episode “Jenkins” after Ted finds out that his students made a whole drinking game of it – one that inevitably leads to a debilitating hangover that arguably should have gotten Robin fired. Things are made worse by the fact that Robin believed her show to be “entertaining” for said students, not knowing it was merely an awesome drinking game.
“Wait for it…”
Barney Stinson
Barney Stinson has a tendency to over-dramatize and emphasize his statements to get maximum impact and reaction from his friends. He is famous for using the phrase “wait for it.” And though the phrase was first used to make his characteristic “legen-wait-for-it-DARY!” sound more potent, it gradually became used as part of other phrases in the show as well.
It eventually found its way into daily conversations and even the name of Marshall and Lily’s firstborn son, Marvin Waitforit Eriksen. Naturally, the show has had a lot of fun with this phrase; notably, the longest period between “wait for it” during the four months leading up to the premiere of season 3, given that the phrase was Barney’s last line in season 2. This is one phrase that has become a huge part of pop culture as people use it in memes and in real life conversations to make an impact.
“Legendary!”
Barney Stinson
It will be legen—wait for it… and I hope you’re not lactose intolerant because the second half of that word is—DAIRY!
Though often accompanied by the aforementioned “wait for it” phrase in the show, the tendency of describing things as “legendary” in daily conversations now partly owes its popularity to Barney Stinson. While the word was certainly used before How I Met Your Mother aired, it’s certainly become more popular since Barney first uttered it.
However, Ted does have a point when he says that Barney is a bit too liberal with the phrase. He believes the phrase should only be used to describe the most incredible life moments, and it’s hard to argue with that. In any case, as one of the show’s most prevalent catchphrases, it has had many variations – one of the very best being: “It will be legen—wait for it… and I hope you’re not lactose intolerant because the second half of that word is—DAIRY!”
“Awesome!”
Barney Stinson
Barney Stinson is definitely not the first person to use this word. “Awesome” has been in use since the late 16th century and its popularity has only increased over time. Though the word has been popular for quite a while now, Barney from How I Met Your Mother really wore it out, not just by repeating it to describe everyone and everything (unless they’re legendary) but by his pronunciation of it.
Harris as Barney makes many of his lines memorable thanks to his delivery of them, and this is one of those instances. Looking back to the beginning of season two, fans might remember one of Barney’s most memorable quotes that use this word: “When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead.” Needless to say, this is something everyone should always keep in mind.
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“Suit Up.”
Barney Stinson
In a different context, this phrase might be used for a superhero donning his costume before going out to fight crime. The phrase is indicative of armor being put on. That’s not far off for Barney. Barney’s iconic “suit up” advice is one of the few How I Met Your Mother phrases with an origin story; it was the slogan of the suit store where the once-depressed Barney bought his first suit shortly after breaking up with Shannon.
With the help of this slogan, the hippie Stinson had the courage to “suit up” for the first time in his life, becoming the awesome Barney the audience knows and loves. In all 9 seasons, there are only a couple of episodes where Barney doesn’t “suit up,” such as when attending a funeral. This is because he believes suits should be worn only to celebrate happy events.
“What Up?”
Barney Stinson
Barney Stinson is behind most of the phrases that are most remembered from How I Met Your Mother, and this one is no exception. The frequent “What up,” would be exclaimed by Barney after one of his frequent sexual remarks, often followed by a demand for a high five. It’s a phrase used to indicate that Barney expects acknowledgment for whatever he said before, whether it’s innuendo or a joke.
Over the course of the series, the phrase has been used in a variety of scenarios, and Barney never refrained from it if he saw the opportunity, regardless of appropriateness. In fact, that’s what made it so hilarious in the first place since outside of the show, this particular phrase is often just used to see how someone is doing, not to confirm someone is on top of the conversation.
“True Story.”
Barney Stinson
“True story” is not just one of the most famous and frequent of Barney’s catchphrases on How I Met Your Mother but one that also went on to become a viral Internet meme. The meme features a sketch of Barney toasting a glass with the phrase written below him, always following an outlandish story or set of gifs, which is absolutely something Barney would approve of.
The humor element lies in the fact that Barney most often uses the phrase, with a completely straight face, when he states something which he’d like the gang to believe, even though it’s not true. An example of this is Barney’s frequent fake history lessons. Perhaps the best of the lot is his story about the origin of the rule to wait three days before calling a girl back, where he explains that Jesus waited the perfect number of days (three) to come back to life, inventing the high-five in the process.
“Challenge Accepted!”
Barney Stinson
It’s no secret that Barney Stinson is the How I Met Your Mother character who loves a good challenge. After all, it’s made clear to the audience very quickly that he’s an incredibly competitive guy. The challenges he “accepts” are most often in some way connected to picking up women, one of his favorite pastimes.
No matter how impossible it is, he always puts a great emphasis on completing his challenge, despite the fact that none of his friends really care if he succeeds or not. Still, there are a few exceptions where he didn’t quite pull it off, such as the girl with diapers and samosas. But probably the most impressive challenge Barney ever completed was the one where he gets Robin Scherbatsky to fall in love with him, even if fans have some unpopular opinions on their romance.
“Have You Met Ted?”
Barney Stinson
Every successful wingman has to have an authentic technique for introducing their single friends to potential partners, and Barney’s go-to phrase, in this case, is the simple “Have you met (the person’s name)?” It’s most often used to introduce Ted to a woman at a bar, whether Ted wants Barney to do it or not.
He even adds his little twist to the phrase by elongating the first word and then promptly leaving after putting his best friend on the spot. Yet, the famous “Haaave you met Ted?” has worked countless times, in spite of how evil it might seem to leave his friend facing a potentially awkward encounter. The phrase is extra important being the one that brought Ted and Robin together for the first time in season 1 of How I Met Your Mother.
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is a sitcom created initially for CBS by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. Five friends living in New York City navigate their twenties and thirties as they try to find love, success, and purpose. The show is framed through one friend’s eyes, Ted Mosby, as he retells the story of how he met his wife to his children.
Release Date September 19, 2005
Seasons 9
Writers Carter Bays , Craig Thomas
Directors Carter Bays
Showrunner Craig Thomas
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