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Some say white people can't dance and that's debatable. But they sure do know how to spit a good phrase and claim it for life. Whether it's a clever quip about the weather, a sarcastic remark about a lazy coworker, or a well-placed "buddy," many of our pale-skinned friends have a special way with words that we can't help but laugh at.
If you really want the stereotypical white words to come flying at you, try pushing Karen's buttons. Their arsenal is filled with gems like, "For Pete's sake," "I've had it up to HERE," and, "You're cruising for a bruising." But be warned: take it too far and you might just get a "knuckle sandwich."
Someone shared their unfiltered thoughts on Threads the other day when they casually stated, “White people ate when they said ‘you and what army.’" And Jeez Louise, the crowd went wild. The cat dragged in more than 5,000 comments and Bored Panda has put together the best of them. So sit back and keep scrolling, pal. Don't forget to upvote your favorites.
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#1
My grandma used to say "they ain't worth the powder it'd take to blow em up."
Stereotypes are just that: an oversimplified, generalized belief or idea about a particular group of people or things. So it goes without saying that not all white people use the phrases featured here, and not only white people use them, either.
In fact, where I come from, many of the gems featured on this list are used by people of color, too. But we can't deny that each culture or race often does have its own sayings, catchphrases, and colloquialisms that have been passed down through generations. Many are so good that they end up getting adopted by other cultures, too.
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This list got me wondering who the heck Pete ("for Pete's sake") and Louise ("Geez, Louise") are...
It led me to a Mental Floss article, which aimed to answer the question, "Who is Pete?" According to that piece, "for Pete’s sake" first appeared around 1903, more or less the same time as "for the love of Pete." Some argue that Pete may actually be St. Peter, while others say Pete isn't/wasn't a person at all.
#4
When the check comes “what’s the damage?”
#5
"Well, look what the cat dragged in" was definitely a banger.
lordsantana_:
I love that “Look what the cat dragged in” can be used interchangeably for excitement or irritation when someone walks into a room.
#6
Also when they say “You can’t just WALTZ in here!”
As the Mental Floss article explains, "for pity’s sake" has been around since the 17th century; and its predecessor, "for pity," dates all the way back to the 15th century. It goes on to reference Michael Quinion, who wrote that people who wanted to curse without really cursing could have played a part in "pity" becoming "Pete." The two words can sound a little similar, depending on who is uttering them.
"Pete’s sake sounds even more like 'peace sake'—a phrase that popped up at various times over the centuries," adds Mental Floss.
#9
"Oh for cryin out loud."
nottheactualphoto 1 day ago
Like a lot of these, it's a minced oath. The first syllables of "for crying out loud" sound like those of "for Christ's sake."
What about Louise? Jeez, who is she, even? Well, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest known use of the interjection "Jeez Louise" is in the 1950s. It seems to have come about because certain people were poets but they even didn't know it.
"At least as early as the late 1900s, English speakers started inserting words into their speech that sounded like a blasphemous cuss word that 'took the lord’s name in vein,' but skirted it by rhyming or sounding similar to the forbidden profanity," explains Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. "In the 1930s, when rhyming slang became briefly popular, somebody paired “geez” with “Louise” and that relic of the era lived on as an expression of exasperation."
#11
When I hand off a grocery cart to someone after checking out, so they don’t have to go grab one, I say “left a little gas in the tank for ya” it’s a hit every time.
#12
“You’re cruisin’ for a bruisin.”
"Knuckle sandwich" is a sort of obvious one: a rather special way to say "punch in the face."
It's often used more as a joke than an actual threat. "The humor hides in the metaphor," explains the Emma Brooke from englishgrammerpro.com. "A sandwich is something you serve, share, or hand someone. Swapping out bread and filling for a fist gives the phrase a silly twist. You get a mix of toughness and comedy wrapped into one short expression."
#13
I give you my Dad’s most famous line of all time, to use when you’ve stayed up too late and have to wake up early: “You can’t cluck with the chickens if you’re hootin with the owls!!”
#14
Whenever I said i'm thirsty my Dad said "Nice to meet you Thirsty, I'm Friday."
#15
The person who first said “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it” was on different timing.
Whiskey Tango Delicious 1 day ago
I think I say this once a day. So much that, I really don't know!
#17
A white woman got mad at me on a flight for getting off before her and yelled “Well who made you the Queen?!”
#18
my dad kept us in line with a stern “I beg your pardon?!”
Phantom Phoenix 1 day ago (edited)
I've responded, "Begging's not necessary. I pardon you." While making a cross sign like I'm the pope blessing them
#19
Last week I told my son, "You're skating on thin ice, buddy" and I finally understood how serious it was.
#20
My favorite is when a middle-aged white guy’s friend comes into the restaurant/bar, and they’re like “Watch out! The terminator is here!” “Uh oh, here comes trouble!” And it’s just a guy who looks like an extra from King of the Hill.
#21
“I may have been born in the ‘mornin, but I wasn’t born this ‘morning!” -my Dad any time I lied.
#22
“No more Mr. Nice Guy.”
#24
"I'm THIS CLOSE to losing it 🤏" whilst their fingers are almost touching.
Rick Murray 23 hours ago
Not like the photo. She isn't close to losing it, that is practically a Playmobil hand. It needs to be more like 🤏.
#25
Few days ago seen a lady say an ugly [dude] "would make a train take a dirt road" and I couldn't wait for one of these threads to share it lmao!
#26
Or when someone gossips to them and they pull the
“not my circus - not my monkeys.”
#27
Omggggg. You guys. I’m hanging out with my Spaniard husband watching the game.
Something happens and he replies “that’s why they get paid the big bucks.”
I am CACKLING.
“Babe, that is the most white man thing you’ve ever said.”
#28
My white mom: “well excuuuuuse me for livin’ but the graveyards are full!” Plot twist: I had her cremated cause the graveyards are full.
nottheactualphoto 1 day ago
"Excuuuuuse me" was a Steve Martin gag, back when he was doing stand-up.
#29
My favorite is “get a load of this guy.”
#30
“Selling like hotcakes”. When was there a run on hotcakes??
#31
One of my favorites from my dad.. “you need to cool your jets.”
Okay, Chris.
#32
Our greatest achievement is still the “knuckle sandwich”.
#33
“You bet your bottom dollar” is real player.
#34
Don’t forget to add “living the dream” after someone asks how you are.
#36
You can’t forget that any time it rains: “we needed this.”
Or when a line is getting incredibly long: “good thing we got here when we did.”
#37
Working as a cashier and hearing the “it must be free!” Or the classic “free 99” whenever something wouldn’t scan, used to send me out..
AtMostAFabulist 16 hours ago
I always said i was going to charge them twice as much because they were causing so much trouble.
#38
When my brother and I were bouncing off the walls my mom used to say “stop running around like a chicken with its head cut off.”
#41
Honorable mention: “Hold My Beer” & “You’re Pushing it Pal”
AtMostAFabulist 16 hours ago
Everyone seems to be saying a variation of "hold my beer" these days.
#42
I used to work with the prime example of a mid-west white guy who would ask "Are you smart feller or a fart smeller?" Anytime someone messed up.
#43
Every white person that has to come back for their car keys...."not gonna get far without these!"
#45
“Whenever you’re feeling froggy, you just go ahead and leap.”
“That (insert person) fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down!”
In my family in particular, there’s the long suffering, emphatic, “*Must* you?” You have to round that off with a disgusted look when you say it.
#47
White guy coming out of the restaurant bathroom: “Who’s ready to rock and roll?”
Laszlo Larthlanc 1 day ago
Those pants...I cannot think of a suitable cliché to use as a comment about those pants. I'm absolutely up a creek without a paddle.
#48
My personal favorites:
“Jeez Louise!!” & “ For Pete’s Sake”
#50
“What am I? Chopped liver?!”
poiplescales 16 hours ago
I always say Im just liver because getting chopped would require attention.
#51
I started transitioning to male and immediately adopted the white guy “just gonna squeeze right past ya.”
#55
We always say “he ain’t coloring with all his crayons.”
#56
Horse aphorisms:
“You can only lead a horse to water….”
“Hey, don’t look a gifted horse in the mouth”
“Hold your horses”
“You’re putting the cart before the horse”
“Well, that’s a horse of a different color!”
Nothing quite like the inclusion of horses to get a point across.
#57
Whenever a cashier tells my husband a total that is a real date, he says “ah, that was a good year.”
#58
Older white guy was about to fight at the bar and right before he got laid out…… “ I will rock your world buddy.”
#59
White child: “hey”
White parent: “hay is for horses”
#63
My mom threatening the teacher who cracked me with a ruler, going “Lady, I will SNATCH YOU BALD.”
#64
That’s a bunch of hoopla / malarkey / baloney.
#66
"Now I've had just about enough of this."
#72
I just heard this yt woman on the phone venting and she said “she’s gonna wish she didn’t rattle my cage.” I was finna holler in the back of her head.
#73
“Mama where you goin?”
“ too see a dog about a cat”
Then as i got older it finally hit me.
Laszlo Larthlanc 1 day ago
Or "see a man about a horse" when you don't want to say that you need to go pee.
#74
“WHY I OUGHTA” still takes the cake for me.
#76
My Irish mother loves to say “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.”
nottheactualphoto 1 day ago
One of the characters in Shake the Clown amplified it to "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, hangin' off the cross, for Christ's sake, god damn it, shit!" I don't recall the character's name, but she was played by Downtown Julie Brown.
#79
My mom when I came in too late as a college boy - “You wouldn’t be so tired if you weren’t up all night galavanting all over creation doing 90 to nothing.”
#80
“If you ain’t a big dog best you just stay on the porch.”
#81
I don’t think this is common but when I’d get really angsty as a teen my white dad would say “Ratchet down!”
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What do you think ?
Kiki Likes Sweets 1 day ago
Why are these " white"? These all just seem to be Americanisms, if anything.
SM 1 day ago (edited)
Yeah, it seems like someone has something against white people which is strange give the author is white. Maybe she feels that if she tags it "white" it will be more popular. I wonder if the "black" thread is next, then I guess we can move on to all the races. And yes, I would be just as disturbed with this kind thing if this was a "black" or any other race thread.
Load More Replies...
TroubleMarkOne 1 day ago
These are stereotypes not race related sayings. Anyone is free to use them! Language changes and spreads through usage irrespective of colour.
Kiki Likes Sweets 1 day ago
Why are these " white"? These all just seem to be Americanisms, if anything.
SM 1 day ago (edited)
Yeah, it seems like someone has something against white people which is strange give the author is white. Maybe she feels that if she tags it "white" it will be more popular. I wonder if the "black" thread is next, then I guess we can move on to all the races. And yes, I would be just as disturbed with this kind thing if this was a "black" or any other race thread.
Load More Replies... TroubleMarkOne 1 day ago
These are stereotypes not race related sayings. Anyone is free to use them! Language changes and spreads through usage irrespective of colour.
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