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Can anybody explain to me the gist of the phrase "said no one ever". Yes, I read urban dictionary definition but still I don't get it. Looks like it is said with sarcasm.

E.g. "Pam Anderson's boobs are too small" said no one ever. Ok, everybody knows she has large boobs. So the meaning here is boiled down to: of course I'm not the first who noticed it and spoke it out. Am I right?

Probably I need a good example to grasp it.

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  • Just out of curiosity - is English not your first language?
    – dwjohnston
    Commented Nov 17, 2013 at 6:16
  • @user1068446 Alas
    – Dmitry
    Commented Nov 17, 2013 at 19:50

3 Answers 3

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Consider first a statement that everyone agrees with. For example,

Everyone said that was a great party.

Now invert the order:

"That was a great party," said everyone who attended.

Note that this is the same pattern as your sentence except everyone is saying it instead of nobody.

We can keep the sentiment the same but state it as kind of contrapositive like this:

No one ever said that that was a dull party.

Now invert the order:

"That was a dull party", said no one ever.

It helps to add the appropriate pauses and emphasis too. So, pause for dramatic effect after the word party, to get people thinking that you're done speaking and have just uttered a completely absurd statement, then follow up with

"said no one ever."

Which turns your statement on its head and lets the listeners know you're not crazy after all- just making a small joke. It also helps to place a little extra emphasis on the word ever.

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  • Your explanation is pretty legible, but where's the punchline?
    – Dmitry
    Commented Nov 18, 2013 at 0:29
  • Maybe you can come up with another example where this phrase is more relevant?
    – Dmitry
    Commented Nov 18, 2013 at 0:31
  • @dVaffection- Maybe this will help: knowyourmeme.com/memes/said-no-one-ever
    – Jim
    Commented Nov 18, 2013 at 1:08
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    I particularly like: "Wow, that's a really nice lookin' pair of Crocs", said no one ever.
    – Jim
    Commented Nov 18, 2013 at 1:10
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    If we put it in front so that the sentence is: Nobody would ever say, "Wow, that's a really nice looking pair of Crocs" the meaning is clear and I hope you would agree with the sentiment. It's just got no hint of playfulness- it's a plain old statement of fact. By putting it at the end we lead the listener down a path and then as soon as they think they know what you're saying we turn the tables. But the overall sentiment expressed is the same. Bob said, 'Hello Dad' is the same as "Hello Dad," said Bob.
    – Jim
    Commented Nov 18, 2013 at 4:18
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It's just a catchphrase/meme. I wouldn't like to say it's "ungrammatical", but at the very least it's unusual/flowery reordering of the standard English word sequence. To illustrate that "standard sequence", consider a structurally similar (but much older) catchphrase...

As the actress said to the bishop (5160 hits in Google Books)
Said the actress to the bishop (68 hits)

As OP realises, it's always used in a sarcastic context. It's a quirky rearrangement of as no-one [has] ever said/would ever say, usually used after a statement that's amusing but obviously untrue. As it happens, the only time I'd heard it before posting this answer was where the speaker clearly meant the opposite (as countless people have said/as is blindingly obvious), but a quick search on Google suggests this particular meme isn't often used with such ironic reversal (yet?).

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    Actually the speaker doesn't mean 'as countless people have said.' It means 'As nobody in their right mind would ever say'
    – Jim
    Commented Nov 18, 2013 at 14:42
  • @Jim: Ooops! I see you're right! It just so happened I'd heard it for the first time a few days ago, where the speaker clearly intended the "facetiously reversed" meaning (something like "We need to take climate change seriously - said no-one ever", where he obviously thought everyone in their right mind would agree climate change is a major problem). I was careless reading OP's example, and I didn't notice it was used the opposite way. Before answering, I just typed said no-one ever... and noted that Google autocompleted with ...meme, but I didn't check any actual instances.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Nov 19, 2013 at 0:04
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    ...having done that now, I realise it's almost always used with the literal sense (i.e. - the preceding statement is totally daft). I'll edit to reflect.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Nov 19, 2013 at 0:06
  • Also structurally similar are the animal responses in Who Killed Cock Robin (Who killed Cock Robin? / “I,” said the sparrow / “With my little bow and arrow.”) and Paul Galdone's version of The Little Red Hen (Little Red Hen found a grain of wheat. “Who will plant this?” she asked. “Not I,” said the cat, etc.) For those above school-age, there is also Simon & Garfunkel's Sparrow. Such usages may have contributed to the popularity of the catchphrase.
    – choster
    Commented Nov 19, 2013 at 0:58
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You have a pretty good grasp of the concept of sarcasm, said no one ever. Kinda like that.

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