One-Liner Echo

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
If you say "live together, die alone" to me, Jack, I'm gonna punch you in your face.
—Rose to Jack, Lost

A character delivers a One-Liner (sometimes a Catch Phrase), especially as the punch-line to a meaningful speech. The other characters repeat the One-Liner in turn, indicating their agreement.

Other characters may alter the One-Liner slightly in keeping with their personal quirks.

This is popular rhetorical device in the real world as well, especially at a public rally.

Often used with Stock Phrases, especially "It's not your fault," "You Did Everything You Could," and "It's the Only Way."

Especially common during a Rousing Speech. Not to be confused with One-Liner, Name. One-Liner., which is when the same character repeats the line.

Examples of One-Liner Echo include:

Advertising

  • A well-known commercial from financial firm J.G. Wentworth: "It's my money, and I need it now!"

Comic Books

  • Tintin's Thomson and Thompson do this constantly, with the added gag that the echo is always spoonerized or otherwise mangled (and often, unwittingly, more accurate):

Thomson: "Mum's the word," that's our motto.
Thompson: Precisely, "Dumb's the word," that's our motto.

Film

Literature

  • The Star Wars novel Starfighters of Adumar does this one better - at the end of the pre-battle speech, the assembled crowd of pilots begins chanting "Adumar".
  • One of the most well-known: the Three Musketeers' "One for all and all for one."

Live Action TV

  • "I serve at the pleasure of the President," in The West Wing, also "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet" and "God bless America".
  • "So say we all," in Battlestar Galactica (2005): "Pilot".
  • "Better dead than..." in Red Dwarf: "Out of Time", each character finishing the sentiment with something personal.
  • "We live for the one, we die for the one." in Babylon 5, where it is the last line of the Ranger motto.
  • "To life, immortal." in War of the Worlds season 1.
  • Gilmore Girls often have Rory and Lorelai echo each other's one liners for comic effect.
  • Life On Mars was typically British about this trope.

Sam: What now?
Gene: Pub.
Chris: Pub.
Ray: Pub.
Sam: ...Pub.

  • Lost has this with Jack's conclusion of a speech ("If we don't learn how to live together... we're gonna die alone"), used six times so far, the most memorable ones being the one used in the page quote, and Kate replying to Sawyer's "It's every man for himself!" (Jack's original speech included: "Every man for himself is not gonna work!").
    • Also from Lost, "Don't tell me what I can't do!" is Locke's catchphrase, but it's used many times during the series, sometimes by other characters and sometimes with little alterations.
  • A fairly Narm-y example comes from a Power Rangers SPD Reunion Show. The Dino Thunder and SPD Rangers are facing down an army of Mooks, and Doggie Kruger says "No one gets inside our circle!" All eleven of the other rangers repeat, "No one gets inside!" This gets parodied a lot on message boards...
    • Then, they instantly *break* the circle charging in to take on the bad guys. Uh... okay...
  • Power Rangers Wild Force has the "Never give up" thing, though: usually, Danny or Max would say it, and the other would repeat it.
  • The MythBusters tend to repeat "busted".

Video Games

  • The Brotherhood of Nod loves using both repeated phrases and call/response pairs in their speeches and rallies:

"Peace. Through. Power!"
"In the name of Kane!" "Kane lives in death!"

Western Animation

"If the movie stinks, just don't go!"

"Until all are one."
"Until all are one!"
"Until all are one... UNDER GRIMLOCK!!!"

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