The HIMYM Joke That Never Got Old: Fans' Favorite Recurring Gag
Thanks to its unique brand of humor, many jokes from How I Met Your Mother aged really well and became part of popular culture.
Though How I Met Your Mother ended in 2014, its many fans don't stop watching and rewatching the CBS sitcom adding to its sizable viewership.
With each new rerun, fans notice new small jokes and references that make them admire the writers of the sitcom even more. The main vibe of the show though is created by its special brand of humor that largely consists of running jokes and phrases that have become part of the collective unconscious and are often used by HIMYM fans in totally unrelated discussions and everyday life.
It is those little recurring jokes that made the show's fans take to the popular Subreddit r/HIMYM. The author of the post that started the discussion asked their fellow HIMYM fans what recurring jokes were their favorite.
Among such hilarious phrases as Barnie's "just... ok?", "fish are weird" by Marshall, big fudge, and Murder Train, one joke got more than 450 upvotes proving to be one of the fan favorites.
"Ted, what's my ONE RULE? it's like you don't even listen to me!" one of the fans wrote in the thread citing a famous Barney's catchphrase.
This comment immediately triggered an array of replies quoting Barney's rules. The "one rule" joke is a recurring and hilarious phrase perfectly reflecting the fickle nature of the beloved character.
The funny thing about this phrase is that Barney uses it a lot throughout the series and his "one rule" usually changes. Though often Barney's rules are extremely ridiculous they always serve the purpose of proving his point in a group discussion.
While some of them like "never date a girl with a hook for a hand" were never repeated twice, others like "new is always better!" have become an important trigger in several storylines and taken their well-deserved place among HIMYM golden quotes.
Barney's dedication to his rules structured as the Bro Code is not only a hilarious addition to the series but also a tool to explore the HIMYM characters deeper. Barney lives by rules but constantly alters and breaks them. In contrast, Ted lives on impulse but elevates it to the rank of the law.