Context

This famous line is spoken by Jesse Katsopolis, played by John Stamos on Full House (repeated line). 

If you lived in the late 1980's to early 1990's and you'e attracted to men—or heck, even if you're not—you probably had the hots for Uncle Jesse. What was not to love? The boyish good looks, the perfectly coifed mullet. John Stamos was the total package.

Because we're dealing with someone who has graced more Tiger Beat covers than you can count on all your fingers and toes, it makes sense that his character's signature line would become engraved in our collective memory.

Any time Uncle Jesse was bowled over by a woman's looks or general being, he'd utter this phrase, and the studio audience (i.e., a totally convincing laugh track) would go nuts. It was basically his way of saying, "Lookin' good, toots."

Of course, the line doesn't just work one way. Show a picture of Stamos to any former Tiger Beat reader and we're sure they'll respond with a "have mercy" of their own.

Where you've heard it

Like many familiar sayings that become a character's catchphrase, it's sometimes tough to know when somebody else is giving a nod to a pop culture icon or just doing their own thing with it.

So…did the musical group Have Mercy get the idea for their band name from Uncle Jesse? What about the title of this book by Shelley Ann Clark? Or this movie, starring…no one you've ever heard of?

More likely, you've simply heard it spoken by some child of the 80's who was never able to come up with an exciting catchphrase of their own.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Technically, the phrase is a shortening of "Lord, have mercy. So, in essence, Jesse is asking God to have mercy on him by not delivering quite so many knockouts to his doorstep.