Seinfeld's pilot episode aired 25 years ago, on July 5th, 1989, yet it continues to be the most influential sitcom in TV history — not only for changing how we watched television and rewriting the playbook for every comedy that followed it, but also how this "show about nothing" expanded our vocabulary.
Nearly every episode of Seinfeld contains one word or phrase that we still weave into our day-to-day interactions. These are 15 of the best instances of how the show left a lasting mark on our lexicon.
"Low-Talker"
"The Puffy Shirt": Season 5, Episode 2
It's a situation every Seinfeld viewer has encountered: A person who talks so quietly that you can't understand them, yet you don't want to embarrass them or ask them to repeat themselves.
In most cases, a conversation with a low-talker leaves us wondering "Wait, what?" In Jerry's case, his chat with a low-talker ended with him wearing that embarrassing puffy shirt on The Today Show. "But I don't want to be a pirate!"
More from Rolling Stone: In Pics: 10 Great ‘Seinfeld’ Episodes
"Close-Talker"
"The Raincoats": Season 5, Episodes 18 and 19
A close-talker is the annoying cousin of a low-talker, and as portrayed by Judge Reinhold, Seinfeld's close talker gets uncomfortably right in the face of the person they're conversing with.
Forget about personal space; you can feel their hot breath as they're speaking to you. Luckily for Jerry and Elaine, they dump Aaron the close-talker on Seinfeld's parents, who don't seem to mind someone infringing on their individual proximity.
"Spongeworthy"
"The Sponge": Season 7, Episode 9
The contraceptive might have been pulled from the market, but the term Elaine coined continues to define men that just aren’t worth sleeping with.
After Elaine's beloved sponge is removed from pharmacies, she hoards up Manhattan's remaining supply while deliberating whether that episode's love interest is deserving of one of those last few sponges. If a dude isn't "spongeworthy," the long-term prospects aren't great. (Parody Twitter account @Seinfeld2000 would perhaps rebrand the word "Tinderworthy.")
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