About

Well, Excuse Me, Princess is a memorable catchphrase uttered by the character Link on the television series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, which featured an animated adaptation of The Legend of Zelda video game series. Usually delivered with an irritated or frustrated tone, the phrase became popular online among fans of the series and became a common response to criticism online.

Origin

On September 8th, 1989, The Super Mario Bros, Super Show! aired the first episode of the Legend of Zelda animated series.^[1] In the opening credits of the episode, the characters Link and Zelda (voiced by Jonathan Potts and Cyndy Preston, respectively) jump from a great height. Link lands safely on dry land, while Zelda falls into a lake. Treading water, she says, "Nice job, hero." Link responds, "Hey, excuse me, princess" (shown below). Link would go on to use the phrase throughout the show's run.

On November 26th, 2004, YTMND ^[2] user sup3r-m4rio posted the earliest available meme usage of the phrase for a site that features the phrase in text and plays the audio from the series' opening. The post received more than 11,000 views in less than 20 years (screenshot below).

Spread

Usage of the phrase and audio continued on YTMND throughout the 2000s. For example, on July 1st, 2005, YTMND^[3] user GCNMario posted a variation of the meme. The post received more than 89,000 views in less than 16 years (screenshot below, left).

The following year, on June 10th, 2006, YouTuber kittykatstar posted a supercut of Link saying the line. The post received more than 4.8 million views in less than 15 years (shown below, right).

Clips of Link saying the line were also used for YouTube Poop videos. On July 6th, 2006, YouTuber StealthedGameboy shared the video "Youtube Poop: Excuse Me, Princess 3." The post received more than 11,000 views in less than 13 years (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References