Repeated for Emphasis

"I repeat things for emphasis. Emphasis!"

— Josh, Drake & Josh

During a dialogue or monologue, one speaker's line has a single word or phrase repeated for dramatic effect, either by the same person (to emphasize his point) or by the other (to undermine said point).

A variation will have a character make a remark to someone, followed by that person's name, then repeat said remark.

Compare Department of Redundancy Department, where an item is listed repeatedly for comic effect; Parrot Exposition, where multiple characters utter the same word or phrase for similar reasons; Ironic Echo, for the entire sentence; Repeat to Confirm, where a character repeats an order to ensure that it's properly understood; Anaphora and Epiphora for the repetition of the start or end of a sentence / phrase; Symploce which is the repetition of more than one word; Worrisome "Mostly-ish", for when a word is added to hedge concerns; and Again with Feeling, where the repetition underlines a realization instead of emphasizing a point.

Super-Trope of Hive-Mind Testimonial (several people repeat the same opinion about the advertised product). Not to be confused with Punctuated! For! Emphasis!, although it can occasionally overlap.

Examples:

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Advertising

Used by Avery Brooks in an IBM Business Software commercial, which uses Epiphora first:
It's the year 2000. But where are the flying cars? I was promised flying cars! I don't see any flying cars! Why? Why? Why?
Enterprise Car Rentals has a narrator that does this at the end of their commercials. The driver of a car says something along the lines of "I can get used to this." The narrator replies, "Indeed you can, business person. Indeed you can."

Audio Dramas

In the Big Finish Doctor Who drama Bang-Bang-a-Boom!, Dr. Fassbender — the science officer on Dark Space Eight — responds to every problem presented to him with "I don't know... I just don't know." It turns out that he never knows because he's The Alcoholic, and whatever scientific expertise he started with is long forgotten.

Comic Books

Empowered used this for The Reveal of Ninjette's real name: "You're welcome, Kozue Kaburagi!... you're welcome."
The ending lines in Watchmen are "Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends."
From Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men:
Jean Grey: What makes you such a bitch, Emma?
Emma Frost: Breeding, darling. Top-class breeding.

Fan Works

Adventures of a Line Hopper: In One Word, the Doctor makes it clear that he is serious about telling Seo to go away by making three of his four demands to be "leave".
The Doctor: First off — leave. Second off — what are you doing here and how did you possibly manage to work out where I was? Third off — leave. And fourth off — leave.
In Chapter 24 of A Different Lesson, Vachir while under Demonic Possession listens in to a character speaking about the murder spree the Big Bad is committing to lay a siege of terror to the Valley (and make all those at the Jade Palace feel helpless and frustrated). The emphasis in his thoughts, in this case, is meant to underscore the tragic and unsettling reason for his personal knowledge of what she's talking about:
"All those deaths…so many innocent people, so brutally torn apart. I don't understand how anyone sane and with a soul could do such a thing!" Oh, you have no idea, girl. You have no idea…
Elementals of Harmony: In "Odd Ends": When Trixie is being questioned out of the blue:
The blue unicorn almost missed a step at this. Almost.
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality: In Chapter 15, Professor McGonagall says "Transfiguration is not permanent!" three times in a row because she wants to make sure her students remember.
From Spots Off, after Adrien and Alya see Marinette's identity being reported on the morning news:
Adrien: Alya, I'm gonna go visit her. Do... do you think that would help?
Alya: I don't know Adrien, I just don't know. I don't know how to help her anymore...
From chapter 21 of This Bites!:
Cross: A homicidal otter with dual shell-blades and a vulture armed with high-caliber machineguns stole my talking snail and then tried to kill me when I jumped off a building to catch up to them! (Beat) What the hell has my life become?
Nami: Madness and insanity, Cross, madness and insanity.

Films — Animation

In Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Bruce has yet to become Batman, and is torn between fulfilling his promise to his parents and his new love Andrea Beaumont. He knows that he can't risk his life if someone is waiting at home for him. Alfred walks in and suggests that he tell her so, as she's on the phone.
Bruce: Alfred, I can't. Not now.
Alfred: What shall I say, sir?
Bruce: I... don't know. I just don't know! [punches the wall]
Cars 1: When Chick Hicks' pit crew teases Guido:
Luigi: No no no, you will have your chance, Guido, you will have your chance.
Cinderella has one where the stepmother tells Cinderella that she can go to the ball if she finishes the housework. The stepsisters are furious until she says "I said if".
The Incredibles 1
Mr. Huph: I'm not happy, Bob. Not. Happy.
In Kung Fu Panda 1, after Shifu is finally persuaded to train the (by now thoroughly demoralized) Po:
Po: How are you gonna turn THIS into the Dragon Warrior? How? How?!
Shifu: I DON'T KNOW! [Beat] ...I don't know.
Monsters, Inc.
Roz: I'm watching you, Wazowski, always watching...
Shrek 1 references the Babe example below: "That'll do, donkey, that'll do."
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Mr Krabs sees that none other than King Neptune is on his way to the Krusty Krab and quickly adjusts the menu accordingly:
Squidward: $101 for a Krabby Patty?
Mr Krabs: With cheese, Mr Squidward, with cheese...
Winnie the Pooh (2011):
Rabbit: The jump rope, Piglet! The jump rope!

Films — Live-Action

Aliens
Pvt. Hudson: Game Over, man! Game Over!
Annie (2014)
Hannigan: Exactly, girlfriend, exactly!
Babe
Farmer Hoggett: That'll do, pig... that'll do. ^note
In Barbarians At The Gate, a fictionalized account of a real event, Henry Kravitz is explaining to his wife Caroline about his attempt to buy the RJR Nabisco conglomerate in a leveraged buy out in competitiion with F. Ross Johnson, RJR's CEO. Kravitz thinks Johnson is stalling and is not complying with legal requirements.
Henry: They're absolutely stonewalling us... There's no way for George and me can come up with a realistic bid for the company without knowing its true value. And the law says Johnson's people have to cooperate with would-be buyers. They have to tell us all they know about the company's assets, their liabilities, where it's healthy, where it's not. Now, out of fear, or loyalty, or acting on Johnson's orders, I don't know, but not one of them will tell us a thing. We've got less than a week to make an offer, we're flying totally blind.
Caroline: Do you honestly need Nabisco, Henry? Aren't there other companies that'd make you just as happy?
Henry: It's not the company... it's the credibility. My credibilty. I can't just sit on the bench and let other people play the game. Not My game. Not with their rules.
Caroline: So coach, what are you going to do?
Henry: I don't know. I just... don't... know.
Central Station: Dora and Josue are stuck in some dumpy town, flat broke and hungry after Josue left their bag with their money on the train. After Josue asks what they're going to do, Dora flips out and says "I don't know! I don't know! Your parents should never have had you!" She regrets it instantly but that doesn't stop Josue from running away.
Children of the Corn (1984)
Resurrected!Isaac: He wants you too, Malachi. He wants you too.
Don't Look Now: When Laura Baxter repeatedly tries to tell her husband, John, that their deceased daughter's spirit is trying to contact them and warn them of impending danger, he finally gets sick of it and repeatedly insists that she is dead:
John: My daughter is dead, Laura. She does not come peeping with messages back from the fucking grave! Christine is dead. She is dead! Dead, dead, dead, dead, DEAD!
Dr. Strangelove
Gen. Turgidson: Do you realize what kind of breach of security this poses? He'll see everything! He'll see the big board!
President Muffley: That is precisely the idea, General Turgidson. That is precisely the idea.
In The Enforcer, one of the terrorists wants to know something, prompting a triple repeat:
Bobby: Did Wanda deliver the [ransom note] tape to the cops?
Lalo: I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. I wasn't with her.
In Escape from the Planet of the Apes, a presidential advisor has discovered from them that one day apes will become sentient, and the world will be destroyed in the year 3955, so he tells the President of the United States that to prevent a Stable Time Loop, he should have the two chimpanzees from the future (Cornelius and Zira) killed.
President: Convince me.
Dr. Hasslein: By their own testimony, we know that one day, apes will acquire the power of intelligent speech. By Zira's testimony, we know she's pregnant with a child. By my own testimony, we know it's possible for this child — provided, of course, that we permit its birth — to bear or beget a talking ape with a dumb one... in a present-day jungle or a present-day zoo.
President: But do you believe, by deliberate present-day action, we can neutralize that possibility, that we can alter the future?
Dr. Hasslein: Yes, Mr. President, I do.
President: Do you also believe that we should? Given the power to alter the future, have we the right to use it?
Dr. Hasslein: I don't know. I've wrestled with this, Mr. President, I just don't know.
"First rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club. Second rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club."
First Blood: Colonel Trautman to his former soldier Rambo at the end as he's convincing him to lay down his arms: "It's over, Johnny. It's over!"
Forrest Gump: "Run, Forrest, run!"
Fun with Dick and Jane (the 2005 remake): In the midst of Dick's bank heist, another pair came in to rob the bank themselves. Meanwhile, Jane was waiting in the car as the police arrive.
Jane: Oh, Dick, oh, Dick, oh, Dick. Run, Dick, run!
In Ghostbusters (1984), after being fired from the University:
Ray: This ecto-containment unit that Spengler and I talked about is going to take a load of bread to capitalize. Where are we going to get the money?
Peter: [takes a swig from a bottle] I don't know, Ray. I don't know...
Brand uses this in The Goonies.
Mikey: How long have you guys been standing there?
Brand: Long enough, Mikey. Long enough.
In Hellfighters, Chance tells Madeline that Greg, who took over the company, is in trouble and Chance is going to have to go help him. He admits this was bound to happen, and if it happens again, he'll go. Chance's work putting out oil fires is what broke up their first marriage; how does she feel this will affect things?
Madeline: I don't know. I honestly don't know.
Indiana Jones
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones: I hate snakes, Jock! I hate 'em!
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones: Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory.
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones: Eleven o'clock! Dad, eleven o'clock!
In JFK, after the team views David Ferrie's body. Garrison begins walking away, dejected at losing the prosecution's best witness to the conspiracy. "Where you goin', Boss?" Bill calls after him. Garrison replies, "I don't know, Bill. I just... don't... know." (In the two-tape set of the Director's Cut on VHS, Tape 1 ended immediately after this line. Thus, it actually served as the Act Break while the viewer switched tapes.)
A Running Gag with Danny Vermin's character in Johnny Dangerously. (also subverted by not letting him get out the final word.)
Vermin: You shouldn't grab me, Johnny. My mother grabbed me once... Once.
Vermin: You shouldn't hang me on a hook, Johnny. My father hung me on a hook once. Once.
Vermin: You shouldn't kick me in the balls, Mrs. Kelly. My sister kicked me in the balls once... (pained noise)
Vermin: You shouldn't have shot me, Johnny. My grandmother shot me once... (gets pulled away by the cops before he can finish)
Little Shop of Horrors
Audrey II: Feed me, Seymour! Feed Me!
In Lord of War, a triple version:
Yuri: I need a partner.
Vitaly: I don't know. I don't know, Yuri. I don't know.
Major League, after manager Lou Brown sees his Ragtag Bunch of Misfits arrive at spring training and is amused in contrast to his dispirited general manager, Charlie (who knows the owner is tanking on purpose):
Lou Brown: "My kind of team, Charlie, my kind of team."
Now You See Me: Uttered by Bradley, when mocking Dylan over the phone: "Keep up, Agent Rhodes. Keep up."
Old School: "Y-You're crazy, man! You're crazy!" Something of a Memetic Mutation with someone's name substituted for "man".
Pacific Rim has Hannibal Chau say "I went into a public shelter once." He then takes off his shades, revealing a very nasty scar. "Once."
The Shining: Jack, whenever speaking to Lloyd, is particularly prone to this.
Jack Torrance: Words of wisdom, Lloyd. Words of wisdom.
Jack Torrance: White man's burden, Lloyd. White man's burden.
Jack Torrance: Things could be better, Lloyd. Things could be a whole lot better.
The Skulls with William Petersen's "impossibly corny final line", "delivered so overearnestly it would make his perpetually sunglassed CSI counterpart David Caruso blush";
"Well done, son... Well done."
This happens in the film version of The Sound of Music. When the Von Trapp family sits down to dinner, Captain Von Trapp announces that he's going away on yet another trip, to groans from his children. Gretl asks "How long will you be gone this time, Father?" and Captain Von Trapp says "I'm not sure, Gretl, not sure."
Star Trek: The Motion Picture, when Spock boards the Enterprise:
Spock: Permission to come aboard.
Chekov: Granted, sir, granted!
In The Sum of All Fears, the US President was whisked out of the Baltimore football stadium before a nuclear bomb goes off. His aide asks:
Gene: Mr. President, are you all right?
President: Jesus, Gene, how do you think I am? How many casualties?
Gene: We don't know.
President: Cabot said it was Russian. How the hell did it get in there?
Gene: We don't know. Radar didn't pick it up, so we know it wasn't a missile.
President: How is Cabot? Where is he?
Gene: I don't know.
President: Well what do you know?
Gene: I don't know, all right, I don't know.
President: All right,all right.
Gene: I don't know, for Christ's sake!
The Terminator: When Kyle and Sarah are on the run from the Terminator, she asks him if he can stop it.
Sarah: Can you stop it?
Reese: I dunno. With these weapons... I dunno.
Things to Come ends with Oswald Cabal asking Raymond Passworthy "All the universe, or nothingness? Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?"
Top Gun, as the classic '80s Cliché Storm, features the repetition of "I don't know", though in a slightly different way than might be expected.
Viper: Would you wanna fly with him?
Jester: I dunno. I just don't know.
Undercover Brother. While the title character and Sista Girl are talking, he uses one of these while trying to seduce her.
Undercover Brother: Nothing relaxes a brother after a hard day of going undercover like a little piece of the cookie.
Sista Girl: My cookie would break you in half.
Undercover Brother: May be, but that would be some long division. [Aside Glance] Long.

Literature

"The Adventure of the Lost World", a Sherlock Holmes parody in which Holmes disguises himself as a one-legged man, much to Watson's confusion:
"Ah, Watson", said Holmes in a voice of immensely pleased conceit, "you have been making the assumption all the time that I had two legs to begin with."
"But Holmes", I protested. "I have seen you run, and jump!"
"Have you, Watson? Have you really?"
Adaptations of Emma tend to include the phrase "It was badly done, Emma. Badly done." In the original book, it's just "It was badly done, indeed!"
From the Earth to the Moon: "White all, Barbicane, white all!"^note
Harry Potter:
- In Prisoner of Azkaban Fudge says "we shall see, Snape, we shall see..."
- In Goblet of Fire, Mad-Eye Moody (actually Barty Crouch Jr. using polyjuice potion) makes a point of repeating "CONSTANT VIGILANCE" in class, even long after he's stated once how important it is.
- In Half-Blood Prince:
  Riddle: Sir, I wanted to ask you something.
  Slughorn: Ask away, then, m'boy, ask away...

This later gets a Call-Back:

Harry: Sir, I wanted to ask you something.
Slughorn: Ask away, then, my dear boy, ask away...

In Arthur Hailey's book In High Places, there are two examples of repeating "I don't know":
- Alan Maitland is lawyer for Henri Duval, who is a stowaway on a freighter who has no papers, and thus, no country will admit him. Maitland has been trying to find a way to allow Henri to be admitted to Canada. Dan Orliffe, a local reporter covering the story, mentions that Prime Minister Howden will be arriving in town and that his newspaper could arrange for Maitland to meet him. As desperate as Maitland is to get Henri admitted, he's not sure if he should.
  Dan Orliffe's face had a studied earnestness. "Everybody has an angle, but you and I would be helping each other, and Duval too. Besides, with that kind of advance publicity Howden wouldn't dare refuse."
  "I don't know, I just don't know." Standing up, tiredly, Alan thought, what was the point of it all?
- Brian Richardson, the manager of the Political Party who the Prime Minister of Canada belongs to, has asked the Prime Minister's secretary, Millie, to marry him. She's not sure if it will work.
  "If only it were that simple," Millie sighed.
  He said defiantly, "We can make it that simple."
  Unhappily she answered, "Brian, darling, I don't know. Honestly, I don't know."
  Or do I know? she thought.
The Lord of the Rings: "Yet we may, Mr. Frodo. We may."
In Lost Mission, the first book of Daniel Young and Joshua James' nine-volume Oblivion series, a group of discredited ex-police and ex-military members has discovered that a death-worshipping religious cult named the Oblivion has shapeshifters disguised as people so they can fit in, either massacring dozens or hundreds at a time or committing suicide bombings that the shapeshifters themselves will not be killed by, allowing them to then go on to kill more people. This discovery (plus the things they did to find out) has made their group wanted fugitives. Worse, the people they're going to rendezvous with off-world are untrustworthy and will probably come after them too, so they have nowhere to go. Ben gives the other members of the group an excuse as to why they should go on a search mission to find the military ship captained by his father, which has gone missing:
He looked at Ace, then at Morgan, wondering if either of them would guess what he was about to say. "We can go find the Atlas."
"Those coordinates are classified," Morgan said.
Ben hesitated. "I might have looked up a few other things while I had classified access." He paused. "Things that would get me flagged, and that I wouldn't go near if I didn't know I was leaving the planet and never coming back."
"Damn, son," Ace said. "Ballsy. But I still don't see why we're going after the Atlas."
Because my father is still alive. I know it. "Because if they really were sabotaged by the Oblivion and attacked by their alien friends, they might be the only people in the UEF that would actually believe us."
"If any of them are alive. Didn't you see what those shapeshifters can do?" Ace asked.
Ben raised his prosthetic arm. "Yeah, I know what they can do."
"I just think it's risky."
"Where would you rather go?" Morgan asked.
Ace sat back, unhappy. "I don't know, man. I don't know."
From the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic book, Rarity and the Curious Case of Charity:
Rarity: "I know, darling, I know."
Clint McCullough's novel Nevada has several:
- After Meade discovers that his Uncle Charlie knew that Meade's wife was unfaithful (at least a year before Meade found out), he asks Charlie who the guy was:
  Charlie had been dreading the question, even more the answer. He hesitated for a moment, then blurted out, "Damnit, I don't know!" His voice trailed off. "I don't know."
- Meade has his rival at gunpoint, and wants to know how he got Meade's son David hooked on drugs.
  "I don't know! I don't know!" Tony Giuliano shouted in his terror.
- Reese, Meade's son from a relationship with a woman who left him without telling him she was pregnant, has come back to see Meade (without letting Meade know he is Meade's son), and Smitty, one of Meade's closest friends who realized it as soon as he saw Reese, is trying to talk him into working for Meade, and that while Meade will feel blood ties, he'll never guess Reese is his son. Reese isn't so convinced:
  Stretching his long legs, Reese rested his head against the cushion. "I don't know, Smitty," he said, staring at the ceiling. "I just don't know.'"
In another of Arthur Hailey's books, Overload, Nimrod Goldman — a vice president of Golden State Power and Light (a Fictional Counterpart of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company) — has evidence that another executive — a former U.S. Supreme Court Justice — lied when he said he knew nothing about electric power theft, and probably was aware (although it can't be proven) that such thefts were occurring on a ranch his family owns. The head of the utility's Property Protection Department asks him if they are going to continue trying to keep the former Justice's name out of the newspapers as being potentially involved in thefts from his own employer:
"I don't know." Nim sighed. "I simply don't know. And, in any case, it won't be my decision."
In Red Planet, the new headmaster at the only high school on Mars has posted an announcement on the bulletin board that all student rooms must be neat and orderly, and that inspections will be done weekly by him personally, instead of each floor monitor handling the issue. The change is not appreciated.
"What's the idea? He must think this is a school of correction!"
Frank turned to one of the older students who had, until now, been monitor of their corridor. "Anderson! What do you think about it? Can he do that?"
"I don't know. I really don't know."
"The Secret Sense": As Fields leaves the portwem, Garth calls out to rub in the Sense Loss Sadness Fields is feeling by emphasizing Fields feels blind now.
"You entered a normal man! You leave blind—blind-BLIND."
Happens by accident in The Stand. Near the end, one character is asked, on the other side of The End of the World as We Know It, if she believes whether "people ever learn anything". She says, "I don't know," then pauses. Stephen King spent a good month trying to come up with an answer, couldn't, and had her repeat herself.
In Time for the Stars, Tom Bartlett — an identical twin with his brother Pat — has discovered through testing by the Long Range Foundation that they communicate telepathically, and the foundation has offered them a lucrative contract as communication specialists, in which one will get to go in a spaceship to the stars to collect information about planets they reach while the other stays home. Tom is unhappy because Pat arranged to sign the contract last, making him the one who gets to go to space. Tom wonders to himself in his journal if Pat did this deliberately and whether he would have done so himself.
Was Pat trying to put one over on me right then? If so, I didn't catch him wording his thoughts. Contrariwise, would I have tried the same thing on him if I had thought of it? I don't know, I just don't know.
To Kill a Mockingbird: "Let the dead bury dead this time, Mr. Finch. Let the dead bury the dead."
In the Warrior Cats book The Darkest Hour, Bramblepaw asks Firestar whether Sorrelkit, who has just eaten poisonous berries, will survive.
Firestar let out a long breath. "I don't know, Bramblepaw," he admitted. "I just don't know."

Live-Action TV

Babylon 5:
Ivanova: I've always had trouble getting up when it's dark outside.
Sinclair: But in space, it's always dark.
Ivanova: I know. [softly] I know.
In Band of Brothers, when Easy Company advances into Foy and Lieutenant Dike completely loses his cool, he's surrounded by subordinates demanding to know, "What are your orders, sir?" and wails back, "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!"
Bosch: In the episode "Blood Under the Bridge", Robertson (who is investigating the Gunn murder) talks to Edgar. He first states that he thinks Bosch is being framed. He next says that maybe, to put heat on someone else, Bosch is framing himself. Edgar shuts him down with "Never." Robertson says to him, "You don't know, youngblood, you don't know."
El Chapulín Colorado: One sketch has a man recounting how he was discussing with his son about waiting for marriage. And he kept repeating several words twice to emphasize how heated the conversation was. But he then said at the end he decided to give up, since he doesn't like to just repeat everything.
The theme song of Corner Gas goes, in part: "I don't know, the same things you don't know. I don't know, I just don't know."
Doctor Who:
- "Everybody lives, Rose! Just this once, EVERYBODY LIVES!"
- The Sixth Doctor has a habit of repeating something someone else (usually Peri) said in increasingly dramatic and questioning tones, to demonstrate his disdain for it.
Grey's Anatomy Season 6, Episode 16. Dr. Webber tells Dr. Shepherd, "I had to pee in a cup today, Derek. I had to pee in a cup."
In Hill Street Blues Season 3, Episode 11, "No Body's Perfect," Nate, a trainee police officer, is talking to his partner who has had years in the precinct, after a harrowing pursuit including where the perpetrator held Nate hostage before Nate knocked him down and captured him, about is misgivings.
Nate: I don't think I'm cut out to be a police officer. I'm gonna quit.
Bobby: That's up to you, Nate. But if you do, don't do it because you think you're a coward. There's all kinds of bravery, brother, and you're showing me a lot of it right now.
Nate: I don't know, I just don't know.
Horatio Hornblower: The characters seem to do it all the time.
- Jack Simpson has a rather weak one when he accepts one lieutenant's invitation to drink and a game of cards.
  Jack Simpson: Gladly, sir, gladly.
- Captain Pellew likes this "speech pattern", and it is even more popular in Fan Fiction for his character. He delivers a memorable repeated one liner, lampshading his Improbable Aiming Skills when he shoots Midshipman Jack Simpson.
  Master Bowles: [enthusiastically] Exceptionally fine shot, sir! If I may say so.
  Captain Pellew: You may, Mr Bowles. You may.
- When Horatio returns to the "Indy" after his successful capture of Papillon and saving them from French corvettes, Pellew welcomes him with this:
  Captain Pellew: Timely, Mr Hornblower, timely.
- In "Mutiny", Mr Bush seems unable NOT to mention Mr Wellard in front of the captain. Even though every time he says his name, Sawyer remembers Wellard is his new whipping boy.
  Captain Sawyer: I am obliged to you, Mr Bush... Much obliged.
In How I Met Your Mother, Barney does this so frequently that the other characters see it coming a mile away.
Barney: ...and call him I will, Ted.
Ted (stage-whispering to Robin): He's going to say it again really slowly.
Barney: Call...him...I...will!
M*A*S*H:
- In "As You Were," Radar is trying to get shelling near the compound stopped or at least diverted. He's on the phone when another round of shellfire goes off...closer than ever.
  Radar: I said west, Tony. West!
- At the conclusion of "Smilin' Jack," Hawkeye asks Potter which of the three campaigns he's been in was the worst when word comes in that France suffered 500 casualties in an attack.
  Potter: Every last one of them, Hawkeye. Every last one of them.
Modern Family:
- Lampshaded in an episode:
  Mitchell: You love scrapbooking.
  Cameron: Do I, Mitchell? Do I? (exits)
  Mitchell: No, stop. Don't do the double question thing to prove a point. I hate it when people do that.
  Cameron: (holding baby Lily around the door, in a falsetto) Do you, Mitchell? Do you?
  Mitchell: Lily!
- And invoked by Luke:
  Luke: When I want Dad to leave me alone, I just say "Do you. dad? Do you?" He gets real quiet and then I can walk away.
Monty Python's Flying Circus:
- Parodied in the "Killer Sheep" sketch by having a scientist ramble "I just don't know. I really just don't know. I'm afraid I really just don't know," and so on.
- Played with in the Oscar Wilde sketch.
  Whistler: There is only one thing in the world worse than being witty, and that is not being witty. (fifteen seconds of restrained laughter)
  Oscar Wilde: I wish I had said that.
  Whistler: You will, Oscar. You will. (more laughter)
In Revolution, a guy has a mook on a table and asks him where his son is. "I don't know. I swear I don't know." The mook makes several promises, but still can't tell the man where his son is. The man says "Okay", then gives the mook a lethal injection.
Run, Joe, Run was a live action drama on NBC's Saturday morning line-up in the 1970s. It was about a German Shepherd falsely accused of an attack, so he takes it on the lam for thirteen episodes.
In a Saturday Night Live skit, a group try to give their friend (Darrell Hammond) a surprise party in his apartment, and wind up finding more about him than they wanted to know. As they're leaving one of the friends (Tim Meadows) says, "We saw the letter to Urkel, man, we saw the letter to Urkel."
On Seinfeld Kramer says that every story a proctologist tells ends like this - "It was a million to one shot, Doc. Million to one." That line is later repeated word for word by Frank Costanza when he's at the proctologist's office.
Star Trek: The Original Series:
- An example spoken by Spock:
  McCoy: I could've saved her! Do you know what you just did?
  Spock: He knows, Doctor. He knows.
- And again:
  McCoy: Can he do it?
  Spock: If he has the time, Doctor. If he has the time.
- In the episode "The Ultimate Computer", when it becomes evident that the M-5 computer is dangerously out of control:
  Daystrom: I really don't know how to get to the M-5, Kirk. I really... do not know.
A sample exchange from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Battle":
Beverly: You had no choice.
Picard: Didn't I? I don't know anymore... I just don't know.
In the Season 8 finale of Suits, Thomas, a furniture manufacturer owner (and Donna's current love interest) has a handshake agreement to sell furniture to all of a real estate client's shopping malls, is going to betray Thomas' company by using them as a stalking horse for getting better terms from a competing manufacturer. Donna, not knowing what has happened, sees Harvey's face and queries him. He admits what is happening but asks her to wait while he tries to arrange a replacement deal. Donna goes on her date, and Thomas tells her about how he got a really sweet deal from his current landlord, but this offer is only good until noon tomorrow. Worried he might get no deal at all, Donna tells him what's happening. He immediately takes the current offer and puts out a press release. The mall company is going to sue them for violating privilege. Louis wants to know how this happened:
Louis: Why couldn't Donna just wait for you?
Harvey: I don't know, Louis, I just don't know.
In the Supernatural episode "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part One", Sam replies twice with "I don't know" when Andy asks him where they are.
Used to convey scheming on Three's Company. A friend of Jack's (who really wants to take over Jack's restaurant) has set Jack up for humiliation in front of his boss. When Jack says he can't wait for what he thinks is a party, evil friend says, "Neither can I, Jack. Neither can I."
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, the Chrimbus Special: "I think it was, Doc. I think it was."
WandaVision: A justified version, as they're answers to multiple questions about which there is insufficient information.
Hayward: [regarding the TV broadcast] Is it happening in real time? Is it recorded, fabricated?
Darcy: I don't know, I don't know, and I don't know.
The Wire: Final line of Season 1.
Omar: It all in the game, yo. It all in the game.

Music

From The Beatles' "Something": "You're asking me, will my love grow? I don't know! I don't know!"
"Run, Rudolph, Run", written by Johnny Marks and performed by Chuck Berry. The lyrics read, "Run, run, Rudolph".
The chorus of Kasabian's "Where Did All the Love Go?" goes thusly:
Where did all the love go?
I don't know, I don't know
"Run, Baby, Run" by Sheryl Crow takes it to extremes; "Run, baby, run, baby, run, baby, run, baby, run..."
Shows up in the Stevie Wonder song "Lately", which is about the period between an affair and the resulting breakup.
Far more frequently you're wearing perfume
With, you say, no special place to go
But when I ask "Will you be coming back soon?"
You don't know, never know...
"Ninja Rap," performed by Vanilla Ice and Earthquake for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. "Go ninja go ninja go! Go ninja go ninja go!"

Podcasts

Welcome to Night Vale ends most episodes with a Dada Ad for what comes on after and then:
Cecil: Good night, Night Vale. Good night.

Radio

Susan Calman on The News Quiz, on a rant about the government stance on pig monitoring:
Let the pigs run free, Nick! Let them run free!
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978) had Magikthise and Vroomfondl protesting against Deep Thought computing the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe and Everything.
Vroomfondl: We'll go on strike!
Magikthise: That's right, you'll have a national philosophers' strike on your hands.
Deep Thought: Who will that inconvenience?
Vroomfondl: Never mind who it'll inconvenience, you box of blacklegging binary bits. It'll hurt, buster, it'll hurt!

Tabletop Games

Warhammer 40,000 has a dialogue where an Eldar talks down to a human, telling him that they (the Eldar) once had the power to move the stars themselves however it pleased them. The human replies, "Once."

Theatre

1776: "Not well John, not at all well."
Anything Goes has a song called "Blow, Gabriel, Blow". This is later parodied in Urinetown with Run, Freedom, Run.
Hamlet:
Ophelia: You are keen, my lord, you are keen.

Video Games

Used often enough by Nikolai in Bravely Second that it becomes a Catchphrase. His class even provides a game mechanics version of the trope, empowering spells that are cast twice in a row back to back.
When moving towards the room H29 in "Episode 0: Allocation" of Code 7, you hear strange whispering, while warnings about it being a trap flash on the screen. If you ask your partner Sam if she heard that, too, she doesn't seem to get your message, and someone else answers on her behalf.
Alex: What the fuck... did you hear that whispering?!
???: She didn't, Alex. She didn't.
In The Curse of Monkey Island there's this exchange between Guybrush and King André when the former tries to get a diamond from him:
Guybrush Threepwood: The Diamond belongs in a museum!
King Andre: So do post-impressionist paintings, Mr Threepwood. So do post-impressionist paintings.
Guybrush Threepwood: What the heck is that supposed to mean?
King Andre: Some day you will understand.
A mildly horrifying version at the end of the prologue of Detroit: Become Human, if you get the most successful outcome. ^{Context (spoilers)}
Daniel: You lied to me, Connor. You lied to me...
Vergil says this after winning against Dante in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening and Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3:
Vergil: Foolishness, Dante. Foolishness.
A line in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which many players heard over and over again because it's uttered every time you fail Zero's "Supply Lines": "Curse you, Berkley! CURSE YOOOOOUUUUU!"
Prayer of the Faithless: When talking about Heroic Sacrifice after meeting Mia again:
This "noble sacrifice" crap people love to spew out makes me sick. I tried to do that once. Once. Never again.
The Simpsons Hit & Run:
Milhouse: You better get outta here, Bart. Principal Skinner's looking for everyone that skipped school today. And when you're caught, it's expulsion, Bart! Expulsion!
One of the lines added to go with the Team Fortress 2 soldier's Tin Soldier outfit (a crude robot costume made primarily from cardboard boxes and dryer vent hose) is "Beep boop, son, beep boop."
Burgerpants from Undertale gives a couple of these in the No Mercy run.
Burgerpants: Par for the course, little weirdo. Par for the course.
A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky: Judd pitching his latest final tier of wares:
This new stuff will protect you from anything. ANYTHING.

Visual Novels

Murder by Numbers (2020): In Case 1, after getting Becky and John arguing, Honor repeats "Almost" after saying she "Almost feels sorry" for getting her into an argument.

Web Animation

Homestar Runner:
- "Wireless Bizness" was a brief attempt at the Brothers Chaps to use Wireless Application Protocol to make text-only episodes of Strong Bad Email for viewing on early mobile phones. One of these, which got adapted to the preview on the TV Time cartoons menu for Strong Bad email, involved a fan named Stu sending in an email saying "I drank way too much salty plum soda." This is Strong Bad's response:
  Strong Bad: No such thing, Stu. No such thing.
- In "No Hands On Deck!", Homestar remarks that he might just write a musical about the deck he's planning to build, and Coach Z offers to play the role of "The Orphan".
  Homestar: That's a good one, Coach. A really... really... good one.

Webcomics

8-Bit Theater,
- Happens here, when Black Belt declares that he and White Mage have successfully reunited the Light Warriors:
  White Mage: But we didn't do anything.
  Black Belt: Oh, didn't we, White Mage? Didn't we?
- Thief does this twice after escaping an orc zombie and leaving black mage behind
In The Order of the Stick, Elan apologises for the early strips where his silliness made things more difficult, and Roy says it was just a random Dungeon Crawl and they didn't know it was going to turn into a mission to Save the World. The Genre Savvy Elan isn't having it:
Elan: We were a ragtag band of unlikely heroes with unresolved issues who didn't see eye-to-eye. I should've known, Roy. I should've known.
Skin Horse, when Jonah Yu first encounters Nick's profanity filter in what was presumably a Cluster F-Bomb:
Nick: What the mosaic-tiled poolhouse floor do you think you're flipping gingerly, panther? Like I ain't got opal circles tossed up, some secret Mayan astronaut gotta eat the magic fudge? Sahara!
Jonah: What the hell?
Nick: Easy for you to say, gorilla-watcher. Easy for you.
Sluggy Freelance:
Kiki: Stay good, Character X, stay good!
Vast Error: Talald makes a balloon animal shaped like a spleen, which bursts and splatters red liquid all over her and Turnin. She asks what he thinks about the "flavor".
Turnin: thats blood
ive chowed down on indoor pools fulla jelly before
and thats blood.

Web Video

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, episode 55, Lizzie to Charlotte.
Lizzie: Low blow, Lu, low blow.
Stopmotion Chess: Parodied with the "legendary" word in the Distant Prologue text.

Western Animation

At the end of Adventure Time, "Web Weirdos":
Jake: Circle of life, Finn. Circle of life.
American Dad!:
- At the end of the episode "Dope & Faith":
  Stan: Brett, you're a Satanist! I could only be friends with you if you believed in...
  Brett: Believed in what?
  [Beat]
  Stan: Whatever you want, pal. Whatever you want.
- Earlier than that, at the end of the episode 'Lincoln Lovers,' where Stan hugs his son Steve:
Steve: ...This doesn't make me gay, does it, dad?
Stan: Only if you get a boner, son. Only if you get a boner.
- The faux Honeymooners quote from Family Guy mentioned below is referenced in "Stan of Arabia": "One of these days, Francine, one of these days!"
On Archer, when Krieger remembers his pig-boy.
That'll do, Pigly... that'll do.
An attempt to give Paul a catchphrase on The Beatles cartoon late in the run was not successful:
Paul: It's too much, man. It's too much!
Big Mouth: Played for Laughs in “The Hugest Period Ever”, when Missy was having gossip with her cousins, she starts to react when her cousins started saying the N-Word.
Quinta: ‘Know what, N*** ain’t s***.
Missy: Whoa! Okay- Oh boy! Uh, N-Word Alert!
Quinta: Girl? “N-Word?”
Lena: Man, that’s some s*** that mom taught her.
Missy: Yeah, she says your never suppose to say that word.
Lena: She can’t say it, because she’s of the Caucasian Persuasion, but you can~
Missy: Oh, No-No, I don’t, I definitely can not.
Quinta: Yes you can…
Missy: I promise you, [looks at the audience] it is not okay for ME (giggles) to say that word.
When Bugs Bunny gives Red Hot Ryder a telegram from the Masked Marauder (Bugs):
Ryder: (reading telegram) "Roses are red, violets are pink, flowers smell good but you sure do s..."(last word is obscured with "Censored") I sure what???
Bugs: (full volume) STINK, YOU FOOL!!! STINK!!!
The Motormouse & Autocat cartoon "What's The Motor With You?" concludes with Autocat, having had his butt literally kicked in a foiled plan, getting a lift home from Motormouse. Autocat is standing on the exhaust pipe of Motormouse's motorcycle and he has a pillow tied to his bottom. When Motormouse asks why he doesn't sit down:
Autocat: I've got my reasons, Motormouse. I've got my reasons.
A Charlie Brown Christmas: After failing to get the cast off the play to focus, Charlie Brown is sent out to get a Christmas tree for the play. As he walks out the door with Linus, Charlie Brown says "I don't know, Linus. I just don't know."
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers:
Monterey Jack: You bet it is, boyos! You bet it is!
Clone High: "Stupid, Joan. Reeeeeal stupid."
The Dick Tracy Show: After Hemlock Holmes busts a gut rescuing the Retouchables from Stooge Viller and Mumbles, he finds them waiting in the car.
Hemlock: (sarcastically) Gee, Tracy...do you think it was worth it?
Tracy: (dryly) I wonder, Hemlock. I wonder. (grins to the camera)
Family Guy:
- Peter quotes the example from Babe ("That'll do pig, that'll do") when talking to Meg.
- Also in the trailer for Passion of the Christ 2, Chris Tucker: "You crazy, Jesus! You crazy!"
- A cross-dressed Stewie to Brian: "I feel right, Brian. I feel right."
- Two episodes that reference The Honeymooners include the line "One of these days, Alice, one of these days!". This is actually a blend of two different catchphrases: "One of these days, one of these days..." and "To the moon, Alice!"
In Futurama, Amy and Hermes after watching All My Circuits:
Amy: Do you think Calculon's Evil Twin will ever walk again?
Hermes: I don't know, Amy. I just don't know.
Hey Arnold!: A catchphrase Gerald would often say to Arnold:
"You're a bold kid, Arnold. A bold kid."
Inspector Gadget: Big Bad Dr. Claw, whenever foiled once again, was prone to swearing vengeance like this.
Claw: I'll get you next time, Gadget! Next time!
In Invader Zim: "Dumb like a moose, Dib. Dumb like a moose!"
Dib: Reign of terror, Gaz! Reign of terror!
In the Jonny Quest episode "The Robot Spy", Doctor Quest is puzzled by the appearance of the titular device in its hidden form.
Jonny: What is it, Dad?
Dr. Quest: I don't know, Jonny, I really don't know!
The Mr. Men Show: Mr. Small has this as one of his catchphrases. The Phrase Catcher is always Mr. Nosy, whom Mr. Small refers to as "Nose" when he uses it.
Mr. Nosy: I can't believe he^noteMr. Nervous's not going to stay for the free breakfast pastries.
Mr. Small: Some people are a mystery, Nose. Some people are a mystery.
Skipper from The Penguins of Madagascar likes to do this often.
"Cute and cuddly, boys. Cute and cuddly."
Ready Jet Go!:
- When Sean comments on Bergs' coffee consumption in "Comet Fever".
Sean: You have enough coffee for an army.
Dr. Bergs: An army of one, my friend. An army of one.
- When Sean is excited to lead a human mission to Mars in the future in "Ain't No Mars Mountain High Enough"
Jet: Dream big, Sean-zo. Dream big.
- When Jet and Carrot talk about Sunspot in "The Grandest Canyon".
Carrot: You ever get the feeling there's something he's not telling us?
Jet: All the time, dad, all the time.
Robot Chicken: In the final sketch of "Some Like It Hitman", which gives an explanation for the absence of Della Duck, Donald's nephews ask him when they can see their mother again.
Donald: I don't know, boys. I just don't know.
Sealab 2021 in the early "Predator" episode (after Stormy suggests that he and [white] Debbie may have to repopulate the species together):
Debbie: That's disgusting!
Stormy: Is it, Debbie? (long beat)... Is it?
Debbie: YES!
The Simpsons: According to the DVD commentary for "Bart Gets an Elephant", this trope was a favorite of executive producer James L. Brooks.
- In "Bart the Elephant", Homer screams out the window, "That wasn't part of our deal, Blackheart! That wasn't part!"
- Groundskeeper Willie's "That'll do, snake... that'll do."
- When Lisa thinks she's losing her intelligence, Milhouse wonders if Bart will pick up the slack. "Maybe I will, Milhouse. Maybe I will." He doesn't.
- When Bart states he is going to help the family save money by give up smoking (despite not actually STARTING), Homer expresses pride and gives Bart a dollar. When Lisa points out he didn't actually do anything, Homer hits Lisa with "Didn't he, Lisa? Didn't he?" before realizing it himself and taking the dollar back.
- When Principal Skinner reveals that "Scotchtoberfest" — which Groundskeeper Willie is celebrating in full Scottish regalia — isn't a real holiday but rather a ruse to bait Bart into bad behavior, Willie is devastated and furiously shouts, "Ya used me, Skinner! Ya used me!"
- From "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer":
  Ralph: Wait, mister! You're drinking a candle! You don't wanna get wax in your mouth, do you?
  Homer: Maybe I do, son. Maybe I do...
- The fifth season episode "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" ended with the group spontaneously reuniting to sing on a rooftop, causing a huge crowd of fans to gather. Chief Wiggum (who was expelled from the group before they became famous) and Officer Lou have this exchange...
Lou: Pretty, huh, Chief?
Wiggum: It sure is, Lou. It sure is. [brandishes a nightstick] Get the tear gas.
From the South Park episode "More Crap":
Stan: "You don't understand, Mom. You just don't understand.
The very last line of The Transformers, after Galvatron declares Cybertron to be his:
Zarak: "We shall see, Galvatron. We shall see."

Real Life

Legend has it that when Philip II sent the message "If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta", the Spartans sent a one-word reply: "If". Philip left them alone.
In the court case of Perry v. Hollingsworth, which attempts to strike down California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriages, the court's decision had the following:
At oral argument on proponents' motion for summary judgment, the court posed to proponents' counsel the assumption that "the state's interest in marriage is procreative" and inquired how permitting same-sex marriage impairs or adversely affects that interest. Counsel replied that the inquiry was "not the legally relevant question," but when pressed for an answer, counsel replied: "Your honor, my answer is: I don't know. I don't know."
John McCain spoke on November 5, 2008 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix, Arizona, when he conceded the Presidential election to Barack Obama:
"I don't know. [interrupted by applause] I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election."
Canadian Professor Jordan Peterson was asked whether he believes in the Christian concept that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He said, "The literal resurrection? I don't know. I don't know."
In an interview at New York's 92Y, Gene Wilder tells how Mel Brooks called him after finding out that Gene had written a treatment for what would become the movie Young Frankenstein. "What did you get me involved in?" "Nothing you don't want to be." "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know."
In an MSN reprint of an article in the December 7, 2019 Washington Post titled "Texans on southern border vow to fight Trump's efforts to take their homes for border wall", about attempts by the Trump Administration's Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security to secure access to (and, in some cases, ownership of) land along the southern border for a border wall, Rocio Trevino, a Texas homeowner whose property the government wanted to survey, was interviewed for the article:
Trevino voted for Trump and agrees that the nation needs to secure the border — the family has hurricane shutters over every window and door for security — but she is exasperated by the uncertainty and unresponsiveness of the process involving her property.
"What bothered me most is every time I asked a question, the government responded with, 'We don't know. We don't know,'" she said.
In episode 516 of the Freakonomics podcast "Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America", Harvard economics professor Roland Fryer (who is black) released a controversial study on police use of force, using federally collected data and data from 10 cities, showing that while police do tend to use force on blacks more than on whites, as far as police shootings are concerned, "What we found there was no racial differences whatsoever in lethal uses of force." He tried to convince federal officials to change some practices both to get better reporting, and to incentivize ways to make local law enforcement use of force less likely. He did not have much success:
Fryer: And to start doing these things where we can potentially look at tying federal resources to police collecting the right data, etc. And just none of it happened. I just failed.
Freakonomics interviewer Stephen Dubner: Because why? Because that's just how it works in government — is that the easiest answer?
Fryer: I don't know. Maybe it's, "I suck." I don’t know. I really don't know. But it was extraordinarily frustrating to me because this is something that matters so much. And it felt like there was a wedge to really make progress.
We have a quadruple don't know starting at about 1:15 in a YouTube video found here, Steve Lehto, a lawyer in Michigan, read a report of a false document allgedly submitted to the United States Supreme Court:
Interestingly, after reading [ADF Legal's] statement...they still admit that what was presented to the court may have been fake, they don't know, they don't know. They're just saying they didn't do it, and are upset that people have insinuated that they did do it. However, we don't know who did it, but somebody submitted something that got into the court record, and the person it is attributed to, says "I never did that." And as the ADF Legal points out, "it could be that guy did submit it. and won't admit it. We don't know, we don't know."

Repeated for Emphasis
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