Stock phrase
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A stock phrase is a spoken phrase which has little or no actual meaning of its own; it carries meaning only through custom or context.
Typical stock phrases are:
- "Have a nice day" - which may be spoken by a convenience store clerk in the middle of the night
- "Have a good one"
- "Take it easy"
- "No problem" - which may be used as a reply to "thank you" (Meaning, "my labor was not significant")
- "No sweat"
- "Chill out"
- "Whatever" - which may be used to indicate that the speaker doesn't wish to continue the conversation.
- "You know?" or "You know what I'm saying?"
Certain stock phrases originate from TV, films, video games, and computer worms, and soon become a part of popular culture. Examples include:
- Where's the Beef?
- Don't have a cow - from The Simpsons
- Everybody wang chung tonight
- All your base are belong to us
- Me love you long time
- Hacked By Chinese!
- Can't sleep, clown will eat me
- fhqwhgads (perhaps more of a stock word or metasyntactic variable)
- I thought you were dead! (a line typically heard in B-movies)
To learn the meaning of a given stock phrase, consult a dictionary, such as the Wiktionary (http://www.wiktionary.org).
Similar to a stock phrase are catch phrase, slang, idiom, and jargon.