John Stamos Shares How "Have Mercy" Came To Be

Have mercy? More like have backstory! (What’s that? Is that a round of applause I hear? Oh, Mylanta! You’re too kind. Cut. It. Out.) When the 2016 TV Land Icon Awards taped last Sunday, a certain well-coiffed TV star revealed the origin story of a certain well-coiffed TV character's go-to saying. According to Entertainment Weekly, actor John Stamos recently shared how Full House catchphrase “Have mercy!” came to be. (Spoiler alert: Mr. Woodchuck was not involved in the making of this catchphrase.)

At the TV Land ceremony, Stamos received the Icon Award for, ya know, being a TV icon. During the Grandfathered star's acceptance speech, he reportedly took a moment to tip his hat to the Hollywood legend who presented him with the accolade: Garry Marshall. For if it wasn't for the man who created beloved television programs like Happy Days, Mork & Mindy, and Laverne & Shirley, Jesse Katsopolis’s iconic motto might've never happened.

"He always said, ‘Get a catchphrase, you need a catchphrase,’” Stamos told the audience. “I’m not kidding you. The ‘have mercy' thing came out of, ‘Oh sh*t, Garry told me I had to have a catchphrase."

And the rest, as they say, is a rose pinned on every last one of our noses.

You can catch the TV Land Icon Awards on Sunday night at 9 p.m. EST on TV Land.