How I Met Your Father Introduces Its First Barney-Like Catchphrase

Warning: Spoilers ahead for HIMYF episode 4!

Keeping up with the How I Met Your Mother Easter eggs and in-universe comparisons, How I Met Your Father episode 4 introduces the show’s first catchphrase like those of Barney Stinson. How I Met Your Father’s catchphrase is just one of many continuations of the original series seen in the first season. The most significant connection is Sid and Jesse living in Ted and Marshall’s iconic HIMYM apartment. From Glen McKenna scotch to adapting the “have you met Ted” pickup line, How I Met Your Father is proving itself to worthily be cut from the same cloth as How I Met Your Mother.

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One of How I Met Your Mother’s greatest running gags was the many catchphrases of Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris). From “Suit Up” to “legendary” and “wait for it” – or even better, “legen-wait for it-dary” – Barney was just as notable for his repeated phrases as was for his incessant womanizing. Barney also wasn’t the only HIMYM character with an iconic catchphrase, as Marshall would frequently say “lawyered,” Lily’s angry phrase was “you sonuvab*tch,” Robin angrily yelled her coworker’s name Patrice, and Ted loved to tell people he’s “vomit free since ‘93” (even if it was not true).

Thankfully, How I Met Your Father isn’t simply copying one of HIMYM’s iconic catchphrases, but instead, making their first repeated word “trademark.” Whenever one of the guys in How I Met Your Father’s main group has an odd made-up idea or name for something, one of them says “trademark,” thus jokingly claiming it for their own. The first instance that this is said is when Jesse and Ellen decide they’re “wing-siblings,” AKA each other’s sibling wingmen, so Sid cuts in and says “trademark” to claim the phrase. Only a few moments after Jesse and Ellen’s sibling phrase steal, Jesse and Sid get into another situation in which one takes the other’s made-up idea. After carrying a keg into Sophie’s apartment, Jesse yells “trademark” after Sid says there should be a keg-lifting workout called “keg fit.”

Considering it was already uttered multiple times in episode 4, this likely won’t be the last time “trademark” is said in How I Met Your Father. Jesse and Sid’s “trademark” catchphrase is also interesting in that it’s a group saying, similar to HIMYM’s Robin and Ted bit where they give a military-style salute when words or phrases are preceded with titles like “major,” “private,” or “general.” The closest How I Met Your Mother got to the “trademark” gag was when Barney and Ted made up their fake bar, Puzzles, which they wanted to claim because the name would be so puzzling. How I Met Your Father‘s catchphrase is also reminiscent of Barney’s HIMYMone rule” phrase, where he would repeatedly make up outrageous rules to follow and try to teach them to others.

How I Met Your Father is also beginning its own running gags similar to those of How I Met Your Mother outside of catchphrases. Valentina has so far worn multiple t-shirts of famous female singers from the 1990s, suggesting a HIMYM Robin Sparkles tee could eventually be in order. As the characters of How I Met Your Father grow into a more cohesive group with numerous recurring in-jokes like those of How I Met Your Mother, it will be interesting to see which catchphrase takes on the legacy of Barney’s iconic “wait for it.”

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