You Put the X In XY

At some point in one's life, they will come across many different people with views, thoughts, and beliefs than their own, especially if they live in a universe where there are aliens, monsters, fairies, demons, vampires, or what have you co-existing with humans; in fact, it doesn't even have to be beings from a different species in order for you come across someone different, considering that each and every human is unique.

As a result, that person will come across someone he/she loathes with absolute intensity (i.e. The Rival, Alpha Bitch, Big Bad, Anti-Hero, etc.) or someone he/she loves/admires so much that they'd sacrifice anything just to please them (i.e. Big Brother Mentor, Love Interest, etc.). But how do they go about describing this person they hate/like? Not any old compliment/insult will do.

Therefore, the person must describe them as the epitome of the trait that they loathe/admire. Thus, they say "Bob, you put the X in XY". X is the adjective used to describe said trait and XY is the noun of X. For example, one could say, "You put the stupid in stupidity".

There's also the related "you can't have XY without X" phrase, for example, "You can't have consensual without sensual."

Examples of You Put the X In XY include:

Anime and Manga

• In the dub of Sgt Frog, Natsumi complains, "Those frogs put the 'noise' in 'annoys.'"

Film

• Muppet Treasure Island: the motto of Rizzo's cruise company is "we put the 'rat' in 'pirate'."
• Used in Not Another Teen Movie.

"You put the "suck" in "liposuction." You put the "eww" in "jiu-jitsu." You put the "ism" in "this is all just a defense mechanism!"

• Bring It On

Carver: She puts the "ass" in "massive". Darcy: You put the "lewd" in "deluded". Whitney: She puts the "itch" in "bitch". Courtney: She puts the "whore" in "horrible".

• Cry-Baby

Ramona Rickettes: You put the T in tough!

• The Wizard of Oz: The Cowardly Lion sings about courage putting "the 'ape' in 'apricot'".

Live Action TV

• Ally McBeal episode "Just Friends"

John Cage: You put the "fish" in "superficial".

• Hannah Montana episode "Everybody Was Best Friend Fighting"

Guillermo Montoya: ...you put the tennis in Tennessee.

• Kitchen Confidential

Jack Bourdain: You put the "ho" in "hostess".

• QI episode "Bears"

Stephen Fry: You put the "qi" in quim.

• Best Week Ever

Doug Benson: She puts the "bra" in "abracadabra".

• The Larry Sanders Show episode "Roseanne's Return"

Arthur: She puts the 'supe' in supermodel.

• From Buffy:

Buffy: And what are we if not women up to a challenge? Willow: Exactly! I mean, did we not put the "grrr" in "girl"?

• In Queer as Folk, Emmett dresses up as a geisha for Ben's surprise party and Ted tells him that he "puts the gay back in geisha."
• My Name Is Earl episode, "Chaz Dalton's Space Academy".

Earl: You put the "ass" in astronaut! You put the "not" in astronaut! Randy: Zing!

• One game of "Hats" in Whose Line Is It Anyway? sees Wayne wearing a Pope hat.

Wayne: "I put the PUH! in Pope!"

• Family Matters episode, "Life of the Party":

Steve: You two guys put the "ick" in "pathetic"!

• One of the last lines to the Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? theme song:

She put the "miss" in "misdemeanor" when she stole the beans from Lima

Music

• Who put the bomp in the bomp-shoo-bomp-shoo-bomp? Who put the ram in the ram-a-dam-a-ding-dong?

Radio

• In the Big Finish Doctor Who adventure "The Skull of Sobek", the Doctor's companion starts experiencing strange visions. When he finds out, he remarks "You put the Lucie in hallucination."

Theater

• In The Addams Family The Musical, Gomez sings of his wife, "The mist inside the word mystique."

Video Games

• Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsenal

Lawrence: You put the wit in twit, sir.

• House of the Dead: Overkill

"It puts the 'hot" in "shotgun".

• beatmania IIDX, from the Memetic Mutation side of things:

"You can't spell revival without V."

Web Comics

• Variation in Schlock Mercenary.

Schlock: ...puts the 'hot' back into 'shut up'. Kevyn: 'Shut up' doesn't have a 'hot'. Schlock: But 'shot up' does. Elf: I like the way you spell, Sergeant.

• • Coffinpedo MkIV. "Putting the 'Fun' back in your funeral!"
  • Also, comments from the local police observing what Elf did (on air) to the reality show host who annoyed her while shopping.
• This strip from The System.
• Scary Go Round: "You can't say 'nautical' without saying 'naughty.' I tried; it's not even a word."

Web Original

• Homestar Runner, from the Strong Bad Email "halloweener":

"Until next time, who put the 'ween' in Halloween? I dunno, probably you, ya freakin' weirdo."

• The Web site Muse Blog- "We put the 'piracy' in 'conspiracy'."
• The Annoying Orange to a "barking spider".

Annoying Orange: That guy really puts the 'rant' in tarantula.

• • Also with the new iPhone / iPod game "Kitchen Carnage":

Annoying Orange: I really know how to put the 'App' in Apple.

• Happy Harry Toons: Putting the "LOL" back in Philology.
• In Kickassia:

The Cinema Snob: You really know how to put the dick in dictatorship.

Western Animation

• Hercules "put the glad in gladiator".
• In the Batman the Animated Series episode "The Man Who Killed Batman", Harley Quinn says to the Joker, "You put The Fun in Funeral."
• In the episode of The Simpsons where Ned Flanders becomes principal of Springfield Elementary:

Flanders: Well, tippety-top of the A.M. to every-good-body here. As chairman of the PTA, I am de-diddley-lighted to take over here and I think I can put the "pal" back in "principal". [The students laugh.] Chalmers: Heh heh, yeah. And I'll put the "super" back in "superintendent". [Silence. One person coughs.]

• And seconds later:

Jimbo: I was wondering, do you, er, what's your policy on, uh, lunch? Ned: Well, let me just say I want to put the "stew" back in "students". [The students laugh again.]

• • The "spring" in "Springfield"
  • "Maybe this key will be the key to putting the 'key' in 'anarchy'."
• In one episode of Jimmy Neutron, Sheen told Timmy "You know how to put the 'mental' in 'experimental'."
• From an episode of The Critic: "We put the 'harm' in 'pharmaceuticals'."
• Vicky from The Fairly Odd Parents is called "Icky with a V" by Timmy behind her back. It even led to a Chip Skylark song called "Icky Vicky."

Miscellaneous

• Tropes:
  • The Ass in Ambassador
  • The Fun in Funeral
  • Put the Laughter In Slaughter
• T-Shirt Hell (NSFW) have "I put the 'cute' in execute", "I put the syn in synagogue", "You can't have manslaughter without laughter", "I put the [blank] in lazy", and "I take the 'the' out of psychotherapist".
  • Another shirt says, "You can't have 'Awesome' without 'Me." Some variants spell it out in Scrabble tiles.
  • And yet another says "I put the 'sexy' in 'dyslexia'."
• The "fun" (or "mental") in Fundamentalist.
• A Star Trek: Voyager reviewer wrote at one point about an email he'd got, where the sender claimed the reviewer "put the anal in analysis".
• "The 'fun' in 'dysfunctional'.
  • Or the 'funk' in 'dysfunctional', if you ignore the spelling.
• The "laughter" in "slaughter": If you're thinking of the Joker right now (especially this one), then we've been doing it right.
• On this very wiki:

"Black Mage put the Sociopath in Heroic Comedic Sociopath. And removes the Heroic for good measure."

• Magic: The Gathering:

It puts the "vortex" in "flavortext".

• From a Slashdot comment thread: "Brought to you by the RIAA, the people who put the F.U. in Fair Use."
• Bleach puts the 'word fight' back in 'sword fight'.
• When They Cry series puts the 'laughter' in the 'slaughter'.