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Best catchphrase from leave it to beaver


Best catchphrase from every one on leave it to beaver ...from Eddie to ward and the beaver

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That's an interesting question. I assume that by catchphrase you mean a recognizable, often repeated phrase that enters the popular language. I don't think LITB generated such phrases to the degree that other shows did, although the show did have great lines. I honestly can't think of anything from LITB that would qualify as a catchphrase except perhaps "Gee, Wally" or "Knock if off, Eddie." Maybe someone else can think of something?

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In almost every episode someone will say "You know how it is"

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Giving (you, me, her, him) the business.

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They didn't have catch phrases. The writers just used the everyday "speak" that was going around at the time. They were not out to create cartoon characters.




"You cannot boil a llama and expect it to taste like a grilled monkey".

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cleverestbunny is right, LITB doesn't use catchphrases.

But there are some things the characters happen to say a lot (albeit they are still not catchphrases), many of which have been mentioned already by other posters.

Some other ones are:

"Gee..." (Michael already pointed this out as "Gee Wally," which does happen a lot...but Wally himself says "Gee" a lot too, without adding his own name after).

"Gee whiz..." (this is a variation on "Gee" that is sometimes used and sometimes not).

"Golly..." (this also is another substitute for "Gee" and/or "Gee whiz").

"Heck," (this is another substitute for "Gee" and/or "Gee whiz," albeit it has a slight different context from "Gee whiz" but not necessarily from "Gee").

"Metzger's Field" (Mayfield's go-to place for playing ball or having fights).

"Oh, brother!" (I'm not sure if Wally actually says this many times or not, but in my memory it seems like he does because of how it sticks out in my mind).

"Beat it" and/or "get lost" and/or "scram" (any of which are usually used instead of "go away").

"Beats me" and/or "search me" (used as substitutes for "I don't know").

"Boys!" (Ward and June both holler this a lot).

"Sam" (Eddie calls other people this a lot).

Eddie's laugh (this is probably the closest thing LITB has to a catchphrase).

"Take a bath"/"wash up"/"change your socks"/"Put on clean clothes," etc. - June (and sometimes Ward too) is always saying something like this to Beaver.

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"Dad's gonna clobber you."

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Another thing Ward says several times is "WARSH," as in "Beaver, go warsh up for supper," and "Okay Wally, I will let you warsh my car." [Those are not exact quotations, but they reflect the gist of the things Ward says about warshing].

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Don't forget "hunk"
Wally often said hunk of _______ referring to food.

I think Gee would be the catchphrase for this show. A catch phrase does not have to be something that starts a cycle of lingo but something associated with the show like "how rude" is associated with Full House or "what you doin" with Joey from friends.





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I don't remember Eddie's laugh, but I do remember him constantly saying, with sickeningly fake politeness, "Well, hello, Mrs Cleaver." Thanks for reminding me he called people "Sam" a lot.

Scram is cute. I doubt anyone's said that for decades.

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The episode where Eddie tells Beaver to tell his Mexican friend “Usted turns una cara como puerco” is a fav.

That Eddie. What a creep :)

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Oh yeah, this is the one for sure if you use our household as a gauge. Most times my wife and I kid with each other one of us will say “Are you giving me the business?”

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"i didn't want you to yell at me" on why they didn't confide in their parents when they did something wrong, even though Ward rarely raised his voice.

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I've been rewatching the first two seasons recently and in them Ward screams at his sons all the time. It's pretty creepy to be honest.

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see? this is exactly what i'm talking about: Ward never "screamed"

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Unfortunately, that is incorrect, alisotom. Ward screamed a whole lot. Beaver & June even explicitly point this out in the dialogue in one episode, when Beaver tells Ward to stop yelling at him, Ward screams back that he is not yelling, then June also tells Ward to stop yelling at Beaver. And that's just one example of many.

Wally and Beaver do complain and worry about Ward yelling at them all the time...and that is because he actually does. They literally show it on-screen again and again and again.

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semantics - i will admit that he yelled at them, but he never screamed

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True, semantics. Ward hollered. He certainly didn't scream.

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Larry was always saying "get hollered at." I think the most common expression had to be "Givin' you the business." Also the worst you could call Wally was "rat rat rat." The boys often started a sentence with "well." Beaver had some funny ways of murdering the English language in the 1st season. "I told you afore." I was ascared." I believe the producer was copying his son's language. Honorable Mention "swift cheese, constellation prize and sponge off my record.

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"Hobo graveyard." It was heard in the suppressed pilot in which June tells Ward, "Honey, I caught Wally and the Beaver poking around behind the garage," and Ward. steamed, says, "I've told them to stay away from there! If they find my hobo graveyard, there'll be Heck to pay!"

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"I'll bring Lumpy, he won't attract any chicks, but at least he's ballast"

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Prior to the birth of cable, the dirtiest phrase from tv came from LITB when June said, "Ward, I think you were a little hard on the beaver"....

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Interesting how often June called him THE Beaver. Well, Ward did, too. Wally shortened it to the Beav quite a bit.

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"Aw gee Wally. Why'd ya hafta go and shove that metal spike through my skull? Pop's gonna be awful sore at all the mess."

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" Ward, you were a little hard on the Beaver last night."

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