10 Popular Words And Phrases Invented By The Simpsons

Published Oct 11, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock. You know you’ve made an indelible mark on pop culture when entirely made-up words and expressions have made their way into the common lexicon. Scooby-Doo gave us “zoinks” and “jeepers.” Friends gave us “the friend zone.” Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gave us “Cowabunga!” Seinfeld gave us everything from “regifting” to “double-dipping” to “sponge-worthy” to “a Festivus for the rest of us.” Very few TV shows have coined or popularized as many terms and phrases as The Simpsons. From “D’oh!” to “Okily-dokily!” to “Eat my shorts,” The Simpsons has created a ton of perfectly cromulent words and expressions over the years. D'oh! The most obvious coinage from The Simpsons is Homer’s iconic catchphrase, “D’oh!” The script called for an “annoyed grunt” — a detail to which The Simpsons tips its hat every time an episode title uses a “D’oh”-based pun — but, inspired by actor James Finlayson’s reactions in the Laurel and Hardy shorts, Dan Castellaneta turned that vague direction into a tangible three-letter word that has since become a commonly accepted word for a statement of annoyance: “D’oh!” Whether or not we actually say it out loud, we can all relate to Homer’s “D’oh!” moments. He lets out an annoyed grunt any time he realizes he’s made a grievous error. It has the same effect as Gob Bluth’s catchphrase: “I’ve made a huge mistake.” It’s self-reflection and self-flagellation in the face of failure. Okily-dokily! Ned Flanders is one of the funniest characters on The Simpsons, and he’s also one of the most lovable. Aside from constantly trying to push his religious beliefs on people who don’t want to hear them, Ned is a pure force of good and innocence in a world filled with Mr. Burnses and Fat Tonys and Sideshow Bobs. Flanders doesn’t necessarily have a single most iconic quote, but rather a very specific way of talking. He doesn’t say, “Hello”; he says, “Hi-diddly-ho!” He doesn’t call the Simpsons his neighbors; he calls them his “neighborinos.” He intersperses “diddly” into every other word. Out of all the tongue-twisting Flanderisms on the show, only one has been co-opted by the world at large; we’ve all been inspired by Flanders to use “Okily-dokily!” as a more cheerful and sincere form of “Okay.” Embiggen The Simpsons managed to coin two popular terms in one scene in season 7, episode 16, “Lisa the Iconoclast.” The episode sees Lisa uncovering an ugly truth about Springfield’s founder and hometown hero, Jebediah Springfield, and the town rejecting her shocking findings as slander and heresy. Jebediah Springfield’s first of many lies rears its head when we hear the town motto he came up with: “A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.” The sentiment is pretty nice, but “embiggen” isn’t a real word. Cromulent Mrs. Krabappel wonders if “embiggen” is a real word, because she never heard it before she moved to Springfield, but Miss Hoover insists it’s a “perfectly cromulent word.” This is one of The Simpsons’ greatest linguistic gags; Miss Hoover is just using another made-up word to justify the last one. The genius of it is that, in context, we know what both of these words mean. That’s all a word needs to become real: meaning. “Embiggen” clearly means to make something bigger, and “cromulent” clearly means correct and acceptable. So, after hearing these two random words cooked up by the Simpsons writers’ room in just one sentence each, you’d be able to use both of them in a sentence yourself. Kwyjibo In the early classic episode “Bart the Genius,” Bart plays the word K-W-Y-J-I-B-O in a game of Scrabble, scoring 22 points, plus a triple word bonus, plus an additional 50 points for using all seven letters. For the purpose of the story, this Scrabble play establishes how clever Bart has become, outsmarting the rest of the family. But for the purpose of comedy, it’s just the setup to a great throwaway gag. When Bart is asked to define “kwyjibo,” he offers up a not-so-subtle derogatory description of his dad — “a big, dumb, balding North American ape with no chin” (to which Marge adds, “...and a short temper”) — and, to really drive the nail in, we cut to Homer, munching on a banana. Sacrilicious “Sacrilicious” is a portmanteau of “sacrilegious” and “delicious.” It’s a hybrid word that Homer Simpson invented for the very, very specific circumstance of an act of sacrilege that also happens to taste really good. After Homer mistakes a waffle on the ceiling for a sign from God, and then God Himself, he feels conflicted about eating it — not because it was stuck to the ceiling and that’s nasty, but because he believes it’s God’s Earthly form. What makes “sacrilicious” such a hilarious made-up word is that there are almost zero applications for it. Even if you ate unconsecrated communion wafers, it would be sacrilegious, but it wouldn’t be delicious — they’re basically just flavorless discs of bread product. Eat My Shorts The term “Eat my shorts” technically already existed before The Simpsons started using it, but the phrase was made exponentially more iconic by Bart Simpson. Bart was the breakout star of The Simpsons in its early days. When we think of The Simpsons now, Homer jumps out as the main character. But back in the first couple of seasons, Bart became the face of the Fox network (and the bane of every overcautious parent’s existence). It sounds tame now, but “Eat my shorts” was once a brazen show of disrespect to authority, hence why Bart used to say it all the time. Meh Again, this one already existed, but it was popularized by The Simpsons. It was even given a spelling by The Simpsons; when Homer pushes back against Bart and Lisa’s expression of “meh,” Lisa spells it out for him: “M-E-H, meh.” “Meh” has become the go-to expression of apathy and derision. It’s the ultimate rebuttal to a mediocre movie or an uninspired meal. Yoink! Whenever someone yanks a candy bar out of their friend’s hand or grabs the last slice of pizza as somebody else is reaching for it, they’ll shout out, “Yoink!” It’s a funny way to verbalize the action of yanking it away. This silly little sound effect originated on The Simpsons, where it’s been used whenever one character (usually Homer) snatches something from another character. The writers, animators, and voice actors of The Simpsons are at the tippy-top of their game. They pay intense attention to detail, and if there’s ever an opportunity to enhance a gag or throw in an extra laugh, they won’t miss it. When they’ve got a sight gag of Homer grabbing a hot ticket away from somebody or hoarding the last scrap of dinner, it’s not enough to get a chuckle from the visual; they need to audio element of Dan Castellaneta’s “yoink,” too. Don't Have A Cow, Man! Custom Image by Yeider Chacon This one is a gray area, because The Simpsons technically didn’t invent the expression “have a cow” — that had been around for a while — but it did subvert it with Bart’s more negative, sardonic version of it. Much like “Eat my shorts,” “Don’t have a cow” has been mostly fazed out of The Simpsons’ lexicon over the years. This is partly because catchphrase-based comedy starts to feel stretched thin in its fourth decade, and partly because the original expressions were already retro when The Simpsons premiered in 1989, so they’re extremely retro now. Release Date December 17, 1989 Network FOX Showrunner Al Jean Cast Homer Simpson / Abe Simpson / Barney Gumble / Krusty (voice) Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier (voice) The Simpsons is an animated series set in the fictional town of Springfield, following the daily lives of the Simpson family—Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Premiering in 1989, the show is renowned for its satirical commentary on politics, media, and American culture, featuring numerous celebrity guest appearances.