How I Met Your Mother: 10 Unforgettable Running Jokes
7. Barney's Catchphrases
First appeared in: 'Pilot' While this entry isn't strictly speaking a joke, Barney Stinson's backlog of mottos, mantras and verbal witticisms simply had to be here. In fact, he has so many memorable catchphrases that they could make up a list of their own. From How I Met Your Mother's very first episode, his cocksure approach to money, romance and laser tag earned Neil Patrick Harris' character a legion of fans that earmarked him as one of the most ahem awesome aspects of the show. Before long, viewers around the world were imitating his turn of phrase, referring to things as legendary and even throwing in the occasional wait for it for good measure (in the show, Barney even used this technique to bridge the gap between seasons two and three). Whether he was feeding his competitive streak with the declaration of challenge accepted or suffixing his ridiculous narratives with a curt true story, Barney undoubtedly provided one of the show's most consistent forms of comic relief over the years. It's refreshing that, even when Barney mellowed in later seasons, these lines kept popping up from time to time. It's part of what made his growth one of the most satisfying feats of character development in recent sitcom memory, toning down some of the his more juvenile playboy tendencies without dulling his sense of fun or his eternal willingness to suit up. Then, of course, there's the small matter of his fateful involvement in the plot of the pilot; after all, where would How I Met Your Mother be if Barney had never uttered have you met Ted? to Robin in MacLaren's pub?
History graduate, writer, and long-suffering Spurs fan interested in all things music and sports-related. Once briefly held the title of world's youngest person.
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