1980s Catchphrases

Can you fill the blanks in these catchphrases from American popular culture in the eighties?

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Last updated: December 2, 2025

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First submitted	June 3, 2010
Times taken	193,231
Average score	75.0%
Rating	3.96

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Where it comes from	Catchphrase
Mr. T	I pity the fool
Wendy's commercial	Where's the beef?
D.A.R.E.	This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?
Dirty Harry	Go ahead - make my day
Cyndi Lauper	Girls just want to have fun
Valley girls	Gag me with a spoon
Bobby McFerrin	Don't worry, be happy
Field of Dreams	If you build it, he will come
G.I. Joe	Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.
Pop culture	Take a chill pill
Pantene commercial	Don't hate me because I'm beautiful
Wall Street	Greed is good
Ronald Reagan	Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall
The Bangles	Walk like an Egyptian
Diff'rent Strokes	What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?
Lifecall commercial	I've fallen and I can't get up

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57 Comments

Level 65

Jun 21, 2011

I am truly a child of the 80's

Level 79

Jul 15, 2011

Born in 92 and I somehow got 14/16. I blame the internet.

Level 41

Oct 25, 2011

Only 60% for 'If you BUILD it, he will come'? Sadness. I literally got goosebumps when I first heard that line...

Level 70

Nov 24, 2020

Remarkably, it has stayed a similar percentage

Level 9

Feb 16, 2012

born in 1998 - 100% with 3:18 left

Level 37

May 22, 2012

@layniebug I did better on the '90s, and I'm the same age.

Just to tell you all, for the one with "what you talkin' 'bout, ____" I would have said Willie, only because of the awesomeness of Dark Shadows. Johnny Depp shares my fascination.

Level 25

Jun 11, 2012

I got them all and I'm 14...my parents are soooo 80s

Level 15

Oct 19, 2012

I was born in '94 and got them all on my first try with 3:14 left on the clock.

Level 71

Dec 5, 2012

Hah - I tried both fork and knife for "Gag me with a ___" Apparently I have a more violent subconscious.

Level 34

Jan 5, 2013

10!

Level 22

Jan 21, 2013

4/16. I guess cos I aint in the right country or right time.

Level 22

Apr 8, 2013

Wew, 5/16 XD!

Level 44

Apr 8, 2013

It's pathetic that the only quote made by the President is the one that's least known.

Level 36

Apr 17, 2017

Maybe that's because despite the current hype to the contrary, his tenure as president was, in fact, forgettable

Level 92

Sep 2, 2018

And because it was first a much more famous quote by a much more famous actor.

Level 92

Sep 2, 2018

Or did you mean "grody to the max" right before George Bush barfed all over the Japanese Prime Minister?

Level 36

Oct 7, 2018

^ Absolutely right, Someone2018!

Level 16

Apr 9, 2013

10/16, and I wasn't even born in the 80's!

Level 35

Aug 13, 2013

16 out of 16...Yeah baby !! Good quiz...like the nostalgia.

Level 14

Jan 29, 2014

Born in 1987, and I got more 80s phrases than 90s phrases. Guess I'm stuck in the past. :)

Level 54

Aug 14, 2014

Go ahead, make my day was from the 70s, not the 80s, FYI

Level 80

Oct 29, 2015

The quote is from Sudden Impact (1983), not the the first Dirty Harry movie (1971).

Level 18

Feb 1, 2015

You would think i grew up in the 80s...

Level 67

Oct 29, 2015

fastest quiz ever (I think)...28 seconds to finish.

Although, ginsu should also work with gag me with a...

Level 23

Nov 25, 2015

I grew up saying "growdy to the max" in the late 90's/00's

I heard "What you talkin bout Willis" on Hannah Montana

And I know "don't hate me cuz I'm beautiful" from that Pretty Girl Rock song.

I kept thinking, how is this an 80's quiz if I remember these things.

Level 80

Apr 13, 2026

They weren't suddenly outlawed on January 1, 1990.

Level 62

Jan 11, 2016

100% in 43 seconds. Dang, I did grow up in the 80s!

Level 80

Jun 6, 2016

100% in 35 seconds. The 80's never leaves you. :-)

Level 68

Aug 28, 2016

Grouse!

Level 59

Oct 6, 2016

got 14/16 and i was born in 2000...

Level 60

Dec 5, 2016

100% with 3:26 left... I had no life as a kid.. And apparently still don't...

Level 36

Aug 24, 2017

I must have only hit my stride in the '80s, though by then, I should have outgrown this nonsense.

Level 80

Oct 24, 2017

That's not a quiz. THAT's a quiz.

Level 5

Oct 30, 2017

Thanks for the fun quiz!

Level 42

Nov 10, 2017

Missed six. Born in 2002. What did you expect?

Level 68

Feb 15, 2018

Ah, the memories

Level 26

Jul 5, 2018

Bad to the bone, DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN! B-b-b-bad..

Level 28

Jul 15, 2018

2 of these are from the 70's.

Level 83

Aug 16, 2018

I think I know the two that you are talking about, but they were being said all through the 80's, as were all these phrases. Took me about 15 seconds to do this quiz, growing up in the 80's.

Level 10

Sep 2, 2018

Only missed 3, born in 2000 <3

Level 46

Jan 23, 2019

Got them all in a few seconds. Gen X stereotype here.

Level 76

Jun 10, 2019

Dont know the 5 least guessed ones. but definitely never heard of the grody one.

Level 70

Oct 25, 2019

Are song lyrics really catchphrases, though?

Level 68

Dec 10, 2020

I was thinking the same thing.Not really

Level 86

Dec 3, 2025

They can become catchphrases

Level 69

Mar 10, 2020

Got the "brain on drugs" one only because Bill Hicks did a piece on it in on of his shows; and "Gag me with a spoon" because of Valley Girl by Frank Zappa. Also, it's "Girls just wanna have fun" not "want to". And Good Times, I thought that was in the 70's?

Level 56

Apr 20, 2021

Anybody else think of "Gag me with a DeLorean"?

Level 79

Feb 8, 2023

I only thought of Willis from a Migos line on Pure Water

Level 43

Jan 16, 2024

I feel even older. Aced the 90's and the 80's.

Level 87

Dec 2, 2025

Need a question mark after Willis.

Level ∞

Dec 2, 2025

FixedF

Level 93

Dec 2, 2025

Finished in 30 seconds. I remember these phrases better than I can remember my own birthday.

Level 47

Dec 12, 2025

nothing from bttf?

Level 57

Dec 29, 2025

"This is your brain on drugs" is from Partnership for a Drug-Free America, not from D.A.R.E.

Level 69

Dec 29, 2025

I tried a lot of rude words before guessing 'spoon'.

Level 49

Dec 30, 2025

I'm ashamed. I got 100% and didn't look at the clues. Being born in 1971 didn't hurt. There were so many that didn't make the list and some lesser known alternatives. Good quiz though.

Level 60

Jan 2, 2026

Isn't Dirty Harry from the 70s?

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