THE “I LOVE LUCY” CATCHPHRASE THAT RICKY NEVER SAID: “Lucy! You got some ‘splainin’ to do!”
Catchphrase associated with the TV show I Love Lucy (1951-1957)
This famous line is commonly assumed to have been said to Lucille Ball by Desi Arnaz, as the character Ricky Ricardo, on the I Love Lucy show. Most people think he said it regularly, with a Cuban accent that turned explaining into ‘splainin,’ when he confronted Lucy about some wacky thing she’d done.
However, as noted on many websites, including posts by I Love Lucy fans who have watched every episode, Arnaz never actually said the line in any episode of the show. (He did say a few similar lines, such as “OK, Lucy, ‘splain” and “All right, start ‘splainin.’”) At some point in the 1950s, some comedian or journalist must have used the familiar catchphrase and it caught on, becoming part of our language.
Today, saying a person or entity “has some ‘splainin’ to do” is a humorous way of suggesting that they have done (or may have done) something stupid, hypocritical, illegal or otherwise embarrassing. |
THE “GERALDO LOVES GERALDO” VERSION: “Hmm, looks like a meltdown. Ok, maybe that’s not entirely accurate. Maybe it’s a lapse in judgment. Whatever it is, Geraldo’s got some serious ‘splainin’ to do.”
A July 21, 2013 post on EurWeb.com’s “Electric Urban Report”
This was one of the more moderate observations made about the half-nude “selfie” photo tweeted by FOX News “On Air Personality” Geraldo Rivera, with the comment “70 is the new 50.” Geraldo later blamed it on a few too many tequilas.
This was followed by another stunning revelation when a prominent news magazine released a copy of the original photo, showing what Geraldo actually looked like before he Photoshopped the selfie.
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THE “MATT NO LONGER LOVES OBAMA” VERSION: “There are a lot of things that I really question. The legality of those drone strikes and these NSA revelations...He’s got some explaining to do, particularly for a constitutional law professor.”
Actor Matt Damon
His widely-reported remarks about President Barack Obama, in an August 2013 interview on the BET channel.
Damon was a prominent supporter of Obama during the 2008 election, but now says he feels disappointed in the President and his policies, especially with respect to the continuing use of drones to kill people in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the the NSA's monitoring of phone calls and emails. “He broke up with me,” Damon said. |
ABOUT THAT END OF THE WORLD THING: “To paraphrase Ricky Ricardo, Harold Camping has got some ‘splaining to do...The Judgment Day has come. And it has gone. And we’re all still here.”
Matt Butts
Freelance writer and blogger
In a post on his blog, The Mind of Matt, May 22, 2011. Camping had generated worldwide news for predicting that the second coming of Jesus Christ and the end of the world would occur on May 21, 2011, and for plugging the prediction on billboards and his Christian radio show. When the world survived, he changed the date to October 21, 2011. As I write this, Harold is 92 years old and still alive. I predict that we’ll hear another prediction from him again, from beyond the grave, on May 21, 3011. |
 ABOUT OSAMA HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT IN PAKISTAN: “It seems to me that Pakistan's leaders, including former President Musharraf, have some ‘splainin’ to do.”
Jon Stewart
Comedian and host of The Daily Show
Commenting on the revelation that Osama Bin Laden had been “hiding” for years in Pakistan, in a segment on the May 2, 2011 edition of The Daily Show. |
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THE DONALD TRUMP STFU VARIATION: “Yup, now we know the real reason he dropped out! He would have had a lot of ‘splainin to do.”
Post on the Donald Trump Will You Please Just STFU Facebook page, May 20, 2011
This comment, posted after Trump dropped out of the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, was linked to news about allegations that “Trump University” uses deceptive trade practices, misrepresents its ability to place students in jobs and has poor quality of instruction. |
THE SPERMINATOR VARIATION: “The Terminator turned Governator now Impregnator has some splaining to do!!!”
A Facebook comment on the People magazine report that Arnold Schwarzenegger had a secret affair and love child with a household staff member . |
This post is dedicated to my sister-in-law and fellow Lucy fan, Marcy Lynn Simon.
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