9 Common English Expressions from Pop Culture

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What's considered popular changes very quickly, and people often forget things that used to be cool. But sometimes, things are so popular that they create new words and expressions that people continue to say, even many years later.

This article will look at some common English terms that were born in popular media like films, music, literature and internet memes. How many of them do you know?

Bling

Two expensive-looking diamond rings on someone's finger

“Bling” is an onomatopoeic word for something that shines or sparkles. It's common slang today, but it gained popularity thanks to a song called “Bling Bling” by an American rapper named B.G.

Bling bling

Every time I come around your city

Bling Bling

Pinky ring worth about fifty

Bling bling

Here, the word represents the "sound" of things like jewelry and expensive accessories shining.

Check out my new diamond ring. Bling bling!

It can also be used as a noun to refer to shiny items.

Shawn pulled up his sleeve so everyone could see the bling on his wrist.

“You had me at ‘Hello.’”

Warning: This section contains spoilers!

Jerry Maguire is a 1996 film starring Tom Cruise. During the film’s climax, the main character attempts to confess his love to a woman named Dorothy. Before he can finish, however, Dorothy tells him to stop, then says, “You had me at ‘Hello.’”

This means “I fell in love with you the very first time we met.” It’s a very dramatic and romantic moment that movie lovers haven't forgotten.

These days, this quote is used in funny ways to express excitement and enthusiasm. The “Hello” is changed to something related to the situation, and it means "You only had to say ___."

I'm having a party tonight. There'll be free food and drinks. Wanna come?

You had me at "free food." I'll be there!

This isn't the only time Jerry Maguire will appear on this list …

Down the rabbit hole

This expression comes from the book Alice in Wonderland by British author Lewis Carrol. The story is about a girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a strange, fantastical world.

We use this expression to talk about things like hobbies or activities that are much deeper or more complicated than we first realized. It can sometimes have a slightly negative nuance.

Later, this expression became more common because of its use in the 1999 science-fiction film The Matrix.

After watching one funny clip, I fell down the rabbit hole of meme videos on TikTok. I spent hours watching them!

Bring a knife to a gunfight

This expression is believed to have come from The Untouchables, a 1987 film about gangsters in Chicago in the 1930s. In one scene, a criminal who only has a knife meets a police officer with a much stronger weapon.

Just like in the film, this expression is used today when someone is very unprepared for a challenge.

We can't compete against the company's expensive lawyers. It would be like bringing a knife to a gunfight.

“Show me the money.”

This line — another from Jerry Maguire — is spoken by a football player named Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Gooding Jr). When a sports agent tries to convince Rod to sign a contract with him, Rod replies with this very famous quote. In fact, he says it many times!

"Show me the money" is another way of saying "Pay me!" This quote has been ranked #25 on the list of top 100 quotes by the American Film Institute. It also became the name of a rap competition show in Korea.

You can hear it in casual conversations when people are talking about being paid — or in many cases, being paid more.

If they're serious about hiring you, tell them to show you the money.

Ride off into the sunset

Many American films have "happy endings" in which it seems like the main characters will have perfect lives when the movie is over. These endings often have dramatic scenes, such as beautiful sunsets.

These scenes are so common that we have an expression referring to them. "Ride off into the sunset" is usually said with a sarcastic nuance, however.

Even if you meet a great partner, don't assume you'll ride off into the sunset and have a perfect life. Relationships take a lot of work.

Fairy tale

This is closely related to the previous expression. It's a reference to popular stories like Cinderella and Snow White, in which a prince and princess fall in love and live an ideal life.

Their island vacation wasn't the fairy tale they hoped for.

It can also be used as an adjective.

Grace spent a lot of money to have her fairy tale wedding.

“We’re not in Kansas anymore.”

The classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz tells the story of Dorothy, a girl who wakes up in a strange land far from her home in Kansas. When she doesn't recognize where she is, she says this famous line to her pet dog, Toto.

People say this today when they are in unfamiliar places or situations.

New technology has revolutionized our industry, so we have to think differently. We're not in Kansas anymore, everyone.

(If you didn't know, Wicked, a musical and 2024 movie, tells the story of what happened before the events of The Wizard of Oz.)

Break the internet

We say that something "breaks the internet" when it gets an extreme amount of attention online. The idea is that a website or service gets so many views or visitors that it "breaks."

News of the celebrity scandal broke the internet.
When we release the trailer for our next film, it's going to break the internet!

Wrap-Up

Big pop culture moments can continue to have an effect even many years later; even people who've never listened to B.G. or who weren't born when Jerry Maguire was released will know the terms we've introduced here. So if you want to be a fluent English speaker, make sure you know them too!

Why not book a lesson with an Engoo tutor and try using them in a real conversation?