"Come out to the coast. We'll get together, have a few laughs." Now I know what a TV dinner feels like...
— John McClane, recalling his wife's invitation while crawling through a cramped air vent, Die Hard
Have you ever been in a situation where you've followed the advice of your peers, something goes wrong to some degree, and you end up in a significantly worse position? Even though that advice was well-intentioned, you didn't expect it to be that catastrophic a failure. You may bemoan your situation, and, recalling what your peers said, you may mutter something along the lines of "'X' they said, 'Y' they said." In short, you regret following the advice of your peers, as it was that advice that got you here in the first place.
Typically, the setup is the aforementioned "'X' they said, 'Y' they said," although in some cases it may be followed up with a bitter recounting of the true details of what is going on, or some other expression of disbelief or disgust.
Compare Recruiters Always Lie (a.k.a. "Join the Army," They Said) and Deadpan Snarker. In some instances where the advice-giver is present alongside the snarker, they might claim that they didn't follow the Exact Words.
Examples:
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Comic Books
- Asterix: A common complaint among legionaries when beaten by the Gauls, usually adding a Recruiters Always Lie comment. In one case, one of them mentions the camaraderie that was supposed to be a major draw when they're serving as sparring partners (read: punching bags) for Gluteus Maximus to train for the Olympics.
- Super Agent Jon Le Bon!: In Super Agent Jon Le Bon!: Time Travel Fridge, the titular character destroys a government helicopter using a squirt gun: it catches fire and explodes.
Pilot: "Buy cheaper helicopters," they said. "You won't notice the difference," they said.
Comic Strips
- Crabgrass: In the October 01, 2025 strip, which is part of a Halloween story arc, Kevin and some neighborhood kids get into an argument when they don't believe Kevin's claim that he actually saw Candy Cain (a local Urban Legend). Mr. B., a goblin now living as a regular human kid, watches the whole thing and remarks "Come out with us for Halloween they said. It'll be fun they said".
- The Far Side:
- One strip has two bears being forced to perform in a circus, one angrily berating the other.
"Looks like a trap," I said. "Nonsense," you said. "No one would build a trap way out here in the woods," you said.
- One strip has two guys on a "Far Side" Island:
You idiot! "You're getting too close to the rocks!," I said. "Turn the boat!" I said. "I'll do the steering," you said. "Quit worrying," you said... You stupid pinhead![Beat Panel, both men glaring in opposite directions]Sorry, Bob... Once a year, I just have to say that.
- One strip has two bears being forced to perform in a circus, one angrily berating the other.
Fan Works
- White Sheep (RWBY): Arthur Watts has a sarcastic rant to himself when he's carrying a drunk and unconscious Pyrrha back to her "guestroom" in Salem's tower and musing that the last 25 years of being Salem's general have basically consisted of being a butler-babysitter to her family:
"Be evil, they said. Become a supervillain, they said. It'll be fun, they said."
Films — Live-Action
- In Die Hard, after losing his MP5 in an elevator shaft and having to crawl through a cramped Air-Vent Passageway with a terrorist gunning for him, John McClane sarcastically recalls the invitation by his wife that got him into the mess at Nakatomi Plaza to begin with.
- In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry and Ron barely escape the Forbidden Forest after Aragog the Acromantula and his offspring attempt to feed on them. Ron, who has arachnophobia, vents the minute that they reach the Hogwarts grounds:
Ron: "Follow the Spiders. Follow the Spiders!" If Hagrid ever gets out of Azkaban, I'll kill him!
- In Mortal Kombat: The Movie, after watching Sub-Zero freeze and shatter a hapless mook as a "taste of things to come," Johnny Cage is less than thrilled about what he signed up for.
Johnny Cage: "Come to a little tournament," he said. "Be good for the career," he said. Yeah, right...
- Muppet Treasure Island: Statler and Waldorf, acting as the figurehead of the Hispanola, have an exchange when they're first seen:
Statler: "Take a cruise," you said! "See the world," you said! Now, here we are stuck on the front of this stupid ship!Waldorf: It could be worse — we could be stuck in the audience!Both: Doh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!
- In Problem Child 2, Junior is getting frustrated by having to wait in the waiting room for his father Ben Healy to get done talking to Annie Young, which drives him to try to draw a mustache on Annie's picture (which gets him a run-in with Annie's daughter Trixie, who is just as bad as he is).
Junior: "Give me a few minutes, Junior." "Give me a few minutes, Junior." I've been here for an hour! Who does that nurse think she is?
- The Producers: After Springtime for Hitler becomes a surprise hit instead of a flop, Leo decides to turn himself in for their attempted fraud, starting a fight with Max. While they're tussling over the firm's accounting books, Leo snarls, "I never should have listened to you!"—since the fraud was mostly Max's idea. Max retorts, "I never should have listened to you!"—since he got the idea from a random notion Leo had while doing his books.
Literature
- In his autobiography Going Solo, Roald Dahl recalls waiting for a revolutionary new instant anaesthetic to work just before a delicate operation on his face, and the surgeon and anaesthetist becoming irritable when it does not appear to work.
Surgeon: "Tell the patient to count to ten, and he's out before he gets to eight," the report said.Anaesthetist: This patient could have counted to a hundred.
Live-Action TV
- Babylon 5: At the end of the second episode of season 3, Convictions, when Londo and G'Kar are rescued from the damaged and stalled elevator car, the two of them have this exchange:
Londo: Go and be the ambassador to Babylon 5, they say, it will be an easy assignment. Oh, I hate my life.
G'Kar: So do I.
Londo: SHUT UP! - Keeping Up Appearances: In "Sea Fever", when Hyacinth and Richard take their cruise on the QE2 ship, Emmet is glad that Hyacinth is away, and Elizabeth and Emmet go to see them off.
Elizabeth: "It will be a lovely day for a drive," you said.Emmet: I just wanted to make sure she went.
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996): One episode has Sabrina babysitting her niece Amanda, who ends up using her magic to wreck as much havoc as she can. Halfway through the episode, Sabrina bemoans that $100, the amount she was paid for the job, sounded like so much money.
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: In "Terrarium", Lt. Erica Ortegas crashes a shuttle on a moon situated beyond a wormhole beneath a gas giant. As she tries to assess her situation, finding it to be inhospitable and barren, she mutters to herself, "'Take a shuttle,' they said, 'Fly through a gravity field; it will be fun,' they said."
Video Games
- Bravely Second: A short scene occurs when encountering the Anchorite of Light, where before the party shows up they're seen grumbling about how they were convinced to stand around waiting for challengers in the middle of nowhere on a blizzard-swept island.
- Deep Rock Galactic: One possible thing Dwarves can mutter to themselves while working is "'Become a miner,' they said! 'It'll be easy,' they said! Ughh!" There is a variation on the complaint they sometimes make when you're constructing pipes for an On-side Refinery "'Put up a few pipes they said.' they said, 'It'll be easy.' they said! Ughh!"
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: One of the many lines a Bandit can mutter to themselves has them giving an anecdote about their father suggesting they join the College of Winterhold:
"...'Go to the college,' da said... 'use your smarts,' he said... like I'm supposed to figure out which college he meant..."
- Shadow Complex: Jason frequently talks to himself as he explores new areas of the complex. One of these remarks involves mocking the hiking date that inadvertantly started the date, saying "Let's go the mountains, Jason. It'll be fun, Jason."
- Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!: Fracture Hills has an Escort Mission in which Hunter the Cheetah's feet have been trapped in a block of stone and Spyro must help an alchemist transport a potion that will free him. If Spyro finds Hunter before the alchemist, Hunter hints at how he got into this predicament:
Hunter: "Just stand still," he says! "I'll turn your boots to gold," he says!
- Warcraft II: One of the Footman's Stop Poking Me! quotes, which is a Shout-Out to Asterix.
"Join the army," they said."See the world," they said.I'd rather be sailing.
Web Animation
- Dungeon Soup: In A Most Juiciest Apple, the episode opens with a lost traveler muttering to themselves:
Traveler: "Cut through the enchanted woods," they said... "It's the quickest route," they said... Ugh *stomach rumbles* I'm gonna starve out here, aren't I?
Webcomics
- 8-Bit Theater:
- Shortly after the Light Warriors (consisting of Fake Ultimate Heroes) take on their role assigned by the king, the real Light Warriors (consisting of advanced-class characters) show up outside of Corneria
, late to their assignment. Knight, the leader of the group, makes this comment upon seeing a sign calling them on having a "position filled" notice pasted on.
"'Let's level up first,' you said. 'It'll only take a minute,' you said." - The Real Light Warriors get their boat stolen by the main cast later on in the comic, with Barry the Red Wizard getting berated for it:
- Shortly after the Light Warriors (consisting of Fake Ultimate Heroes) take on their role assigned by the king, the real Light Warriors (consisting of advanced-class characters) show up outside of Corneria
- The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: When Minion the Footman starts becoming frustrated with George Boole's strange speech patterns in "Mr. Boole Comes to Tea", he grumbles "'Be a footman,' they said. 'You have the legs for it!' they said. 'There's no thinking at all!' they said," while preparing the tea.
Western Animation
- The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo: In the episode "Coast-to-Ghost", Weerd talks Bogel into pretending to turn good in hopes of getting their hands on the Chest of Demons so they can join the Spook and Poultergeist Society. Unfortunately, the head of SAPS thinks they've turned good for real and intervenes right after they'd finally managed to nab the chest, causing them to lose it and ruin the Monster of the Week's attempt to get rid of Vincent Van Ghoul in the process. Trekking away empty-handed, Bogel gets a little bitter.
Bogel: "Listen to me," he says. "We'll get into SAPS, for sure," he says.
- Animaniacs (2020): "Slappy's Return" reveals that Slappy Squirrel has moved to Pensacola to escape her fans begging for her to make a big comeback, which didn't work because they found her new location anyway.
Slappy: "Move to Pensacola," they said. "It'll be quiet in Pensacola," they said.
- The Batman (2004): In "The End of the Batman", the villains, Wrath and Scorn, learn Batman and Robin’s secret identities, so they break into Wayne Manor, and find the Batcave by sneaking up on Alfred when he uses the cave’s secret entrance. Batman and Robin, who were in the Batcave, fight the villains, and Batman gets Alfred out of the way and tells him to hide somewhere safe. When Wrath starts firing exploding projectiles, Alfred (who’s hiding around a corner) snarks "Somewhere safe, he says."
- Danny Phantom: In "What You Want", someone convinces Danny to fill in for the school mascot at a football game, and he gets trampled by his school’s football team. He then has this to say.
Danny: Fill in for the mascot. It’ll be fun. You’ll meet cheerleaders.
- Hailey's On It!: In the episode "It's All Gonna Be OK-Pop", Beta had this to say:
Beta: "Help her save the world," they said. "It'll be rewarding," they said.
- Rick and Morty: In the episode "Rick: A Mort Well Lived": A variation: When Summer is caught in a hostage situation involving a group of alien terrorists reenacting Die Hard, she mutters to herself what Rick told her to do in a snarky, mocking tone: "Sneak around, crawl in some vents. Do a Die Hard."
- The Simpsons:
- In "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish", Marge and Lisa convince Homer that they should go to a new sushi restaurant on Friday instead of having pork chops. Homer orders fugu, but after he eats it he finds out that it was improperly prepared and he may be poisoned. He's taken to the hospital where he complains:
Homer: "Try something new, Homer! What'll it hurt you, Homer?" I never heard of a poisoned pork chop!
- In "The Girl Who Slept Too Little", the Simpsons pull a series of pranks on construction workers to protest a stamp museum that's to be built on their street. One incident has Marge flipping a dump truck with only a bobby pin, and the driver inside walks out from the wreck complaining about it (completely ignoring the fact that he's on fire).
Driver: "Come home from Iraq," my wife says! "Fallujah's too dangerous," my wife says!
- In "Old Yeller Belly", a postal worker is attacked by Santa's Little Helper who mistakes him for Adolf Hitler due to his toothbrush mustache and gripes to himself.
Postal Worker: "Grow a mustache," says my wife. "You'll look handsome," says my wife.
- In the "Treehouse Of Horror XVI" segment "I've Grown A Costume On Your Face", Dr. Hibbert dresses as Dracula for the Halloween contest, but everybody assumes he dressed as Blacula.
Mayor Quimby: And now the finalists for Best Costume. First, we have Blacula.Hibbert: Oh, because I'm Black and I'm Dracula, that makes me Blacula? [muttering] My wife said "Don't go as Dracula," but I said, "Bernice, we live in the 21st century..."Quimby: [to guard] Send him the standard racist remark apology. They're in the middle drawer.
- In "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish", Marge and Lisa convince Homer that they should go to a new sushi restaurant on Friday instead of having pork chops. Homer orders fugu, but after he eats it he finds out that it was improperly prepared and he may be poisoned. He's taken to the hospital where he complains:
- SpongeBob SquarePants: Said by Mr. Krabs in "Selling Out", after Pearl kicks him out of the house.
Mr. Krabs: "Get some friends," she says. "Find a hobby," she says. "Get a job," she says.
- Steven Universe: In "Jail Break", Steven overhears Peridot, frustrated that Jasper is overriding their original mission's purpose in order to bring the imprisoned main characters back to Gem Homeworld, bitterly mutters:
Peridot: "Go to Earth," they said. "It'll be easy," they said.
- Transformers: Animated: In "Nature Calls", Sari is none too happy that her, Bumblebee, and the nature-loving Prowl's little camping excursion into the deep woods at night has turned into a fight for their lives against a horde of machine-zombifying Space Barnacles, and she vents a little once both the Autobots with her have gotten infected and have her cornered:
"'Unplug yourselves.' 'Commune with nature.' 'Think of it as character-building.' Thanks a lot, guys!"
- In the VeggieTales episode "Lord of the Beans", dwarf Grumpy (played by Pa Grape) does this as the Fellowship of the Bean is climbing the Mountains of Much-Snowia.
Grumpy: "It'll be fun," he says. "Fresh air," he says. "You'll get out of the mines," he says. Oy, and for this, I'm missing Taco Night?
Real Life
- A common TikTok trend involves parents posting the phrase "'Have kids,' they said. 'It'll be fun,' they said," while looking wearily at the camera whenever their children are misbehaving or generally acting out.
"Write a Tropes page," they said. "It'll be fun!" they said. Pfeh!
