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'Debbie Downer, Mother of All and Catfish': 22 Phrases That Originated From Surprising Places

Believe all these like you believe anything from Twitter—barely!


Over the weekend, a Twitter user claimed that the phrase “Debbie Downer” was coined by the Saturday Night Live sketch starring Rachel Dratch. Many (*cough* old) people replied disputing that fact, turning the post into the starting point for a brand new Mandela effect. Outside of the generation feuds going on in the comments, other users added more phrases that came from surprising origins.


We all know Seinfeld is a benchmark for brilliant comedy writing. It also is a benchmark for creating names for things people hate like “double dipping.” Only a show created by Larry David could bring more hate to the world. The thread also brought light to certain internet sayings that have stan origins. Most “stan” language comes from AAVE but the phrase “that so sad. Alexa play ‘Despacito’” is a KPOP stan invention of their own. Also, “catfish” started as a documentary about a sad loser.


Scroll down and get educated (or incredibly misinformed) on the origins of these common phrases. Quickly before the community notes start to pile up!

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