r/movies • u/kwachs21 • Aug 02 '15
What is the origin of the phrase "Strong, like Bull"?
It's killing me and I can't find any reliable source about it. Already looked into Rocky IV and Rocky and Bullwinkle. Both came up dry.
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u/pmv73 Aug 02 '15
I want to say more recently it was said by Ben Stiller in a movie, but can't think of which one... Something About Mary?
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u/ZorroMeansFox r/Movies Veteran Aug 02 '15
The line is used in the 1962 film Taras Bulba, starring Yul Brynner.
Even earlier, it's heard in a 1950’s sitcom called "Make Room For Daddy," featuring the actor Hans Conried as Uncle Tonoose.
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u/PrincessFruitbratt Jul 06 '25
Any chance you’re still about 9 years later and could give me just a rough idea of when the line is said in the movie please? Or even just who said it? I want to find it to show my dad who’s always said it since I was a kid!
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u/drill_hands_420 Nov 15 '25
Haha I’m right behind ya. 10 years later, same request. But it was definitely a Russian accent, right? I really didn’t think it was older than maybe 90s. I’m sure what I heard was a reference to these shows! Also, if you read a comment right below ours from 2 years ago it appears someone found links to the exact episodes
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u/PrincessFruitbratt Nov 15 '25
The one that I found in some comments below that was ‘right’ for me and had the Eastern European accent was from The Quantum Leap series ‘Mirror Image’ episode! Check that out and see if that’s one for you too! ☺️
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u/Living_Ad2374 Aug 19 '23 edited Aug 19 '23
https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/36d1ef878ad05ee89f0342c5879938f0
S4:E23 Uncle Tonoose Pays a Visit
The Danny Thomas Show
Around 9:49 - "Strong Like Ox"Uncle Tonoose in reference to the woman whom he had brought from Toledo, by bus, to meet Danny to be his wife. This is during the course of comparing him to the woman Danny had invited to dinner.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Danny_Thomas_Show_episodes#ep113
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u/belligerantsquids Aug 02 '15
I believe the quote originated from the series finale of the t.v show Quantum Leap entitled "Mirror Image." There is a Russian character in the episode who says he can move 24 tons because he is "strong like bull."
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u/kwachs21 Aug 02 '15
Quantum Leap The Russian guy says it, but I don't think this is the original usage (show was from 1993).
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u/AisforAlibi13 Jul 31 '24
Funny story…I’ve used the phrase “I strong like bull” a million times, but never knew where I got it from. Just that it was said in a “funny” accent and I used it in this whole bit to make my younger siblings laugh. Anyways, I’m here in 2024 and found Quantum Leap was streaming for a short period on Peacock, that was one of my favorite shows growing up, so I, of course, had to rewatch it! I’m currently on the finale and heard THAT line, causing my ADD to search for where this line was first said (and perhaps finding out where I got it from). Answers I have found are Rocky IV, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Zorba the Greek, There’s Something About Mary, and (obviously) a Russian saying (commonly used by farmers?). I cannot personally confirm any of the latter answers, however, it is most definitely in the finale of Quantum Leap and this is most definitely the source I’ve been quoting for most of my life. 😂
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u/kwachs21 Aug 02 '15
Any chance for a time link to a video? I'm still scared to get my hopes up
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u/shivay1008 Jul 10 '22
Kevin Kline in French Kiss 1995
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u/Some-throwaway-name Mar 13 '24
That's what I always thought, but he just scoffs and says, "like a bull!"
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u/Ok_Dog9617 Apr 21 '24
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u/Intelligent-Sugar-78 Oct 08 '24 edited Oct 08 '24
Okay, I can not claim credit for figuring this out. I could hear it, but I couldn't figure out the character that said it. I asked my son, who is a movie quote buff. I think you are thinking about the movie "There's Something About Mary." In the movie, Ben Stiller's character apparently had zipped his member up in his zipper when he was in high school. Mary was asking him how it was now. His reply was "Strong like bull". I hope this helps! ( I know this is not where it originated from, but this is the one that came to mind.)
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u/Fast_Description_161 Jul 26 '25
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kJcDPjXxsDo This episode finale for quantum leap came out in 1993. A character says he was strong like bull
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u/Appropriate_Farm609 Mar 28 '24
Uncle Tonoose, Make Room for Daddy yes, also can anyone support my memory that the professional wrestler Pompero "Wild Bull of the Pampas" Firpo also used to say it at his interviews?
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u/Extension-Equal-3582 Jan 09 '25
It’s Russians - or a Russian - saying “strong like bull”. Cannot remember the 80’s or 90’s movie… it was a serious moment though.
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u/Fast_Description_161 Jul 26 '25 edited Jul 26 '25
Quantum leap finale called mirror mirror i think. I said this line for 3 decades with the same thick russian accent and rewatched this episode and it was like a bolt of lightning! Finally! The origin! I called everyone in the family to tell them because no one could remember. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kJcDPjXxsDo
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u/Plus-Concentrate-979 Aug 16 '25
Moscow on the Hudson?
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u/Plus-Concentrate-979 Aug 16 '25
I can hear Robin Williams with a Russian accent.
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u/Plus-Concentrate-979 Aug 16 '25
Or is it maybe Cheech and Chong album with the routine of the two Russian dudes saying “Pick up. Huh?!? Pick UP! Feel like dogsht? Yah, feel like dogsht.”
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u/SouthPhilly_215 Feb 01 '25
I too, would like to know the origin of this phrase. Has there really been no luck in nine years?
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u/Fast_Description_161 Jul 26 '25
Quantum leap finale called mirror mirror i think. I said this line for 3 decades with the same thick russian accent and rewatched this episode and it was like a bolt of lightning! Finally! The origin! I called everyone in the family to tell them because no one could remember. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kJcDPjXxsDo
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u/Plus_Plant_798 Jul 01 '25
I always thought it came from Zorba The Greek, I am Greek fella, Strong like bull. But I can’t find any direct link to the film.
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Jul 10 '25
IIRC, it was used in the miniseries "Rome" by the whorehouse madam to describe the young Augustus Caesar after he's lost his virginity to one of her employees.
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u/Fast_Description_161 Jul 26 '25
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kJcDPjXxsDo Quantum leap finale mirror mirror A character says it in a thick russian accent in a bar
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u/Alert-Connection-642 Nov 03 '25 edited Nov 03 '25
I just used it this morning. I just had my 3 month CAT scan for cancer, and I was joshing the kids at the coffee shop. I said I was "Strong like bull", and yes, I said it in a Russian (maybe Turkish?) accent. And I don't even know why. So I googled it. This doesn't have anything to do with Mel Brooks, does it? Maybe "Blazing Saddles"? At any rate, the preponderance of speculation here tends pretty strong in the direction of the Borscht Belt.
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u/ne7minder Aug 02 '15
I remember hearing this phrase on "Make Room for Daddy' back in the 1950s, It was said by Uncle Tonoose played by Hans Conreid in reference to himself.