Although stfnal, the allusion is used across the microcosm. In the early 1950s, "Klaatu Borada Nikita" was used a few times as an interlineation, a reference to then-USSR Premier Nikita Kruschev. It's also used ingroupishly and fannishly in several films. They are originally the three little words that saved the world from destruction by Gort, the robot, in the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still (based on a Harry Bates story, "Farewell to the Master" which had appeared in Astounding). Patricia Neal just barely got them out in time (actually, she said, "Gort, Klaatu borada nikto," which is four words, but why quibble?) to prevent him from burning her (followed by the rest of the world) to a crisp and instead sent him out to pick up and revive the recently killed Klaatu (Michael Rennie). As a bit of in-group humor, in Army of Darkness, the protagonist is supposed to say the words "Klaatu borada nikto" before picking up The Nekronomicon (another allusion, this one to Lovecraft) – and his failure to remember the correct words when the time comes unleashes an army of undead to fight against him and his allies. It's also used in the UFO send up movie, Out There; when one of the human-looking aliens admits to being an alien, smiles, gives the Vulcan salute and says, "Klaatu borada nikto."
| From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959
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| The three little words that saved the world. In The Day The Earth Stood Still they prevented Gort, the atomic robot, from devastating the planet.
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| This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc.
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