The baseball player and personality who inspired the Yogi Bear character has died, but his many malapropisms live on. Famous as much for them as for his baseball prowess, but as he once said himself, “I never said all the things I said.”
Berra’s contributions to Major League Baseball history are incalculable, but his legacy might be even better remembered for what he contributed to American language. A sportswriters’ favourite, Berra had countless expressions and turns of phrase that were memorable because most of them didn’t make any sense. (At the same time, every one had some truth to it.)
USA Today has 50 favourite Berra-isms to enjoy, including:
- When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
- You can observe a lot by just watching.
- The future ain’t what it used to be.
- No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded.
- Congratulations. I knew the record would stand until it was broken.
- You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you.
- Never answer an anonymous letter.
- It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much.
- So I’m ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face.
- Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets.
- If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.
And my all time favourite,
It’s like deja vu all over again.
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