Basic Trope: Villains blaming it on the "meddling kids" when caught.
- Straight: Four teenagers: George, Helga, Lily, and Frank, end up revealing Alice and Bob, who were committing some crime in order to make money. George calls the police, who arrest Alice and Bob, and then Bob says "We would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids."
- Exaggerated: Every villain on the show says that when revealed by that group of teenagers.
- Downplayed: "It was those nosy youths' fault!"
- Justified: Well, George, Helga, Lily, and Frank were the ones who revealed Alice and Bob after all, and Bob thought they were nosy.
- Inverted:
- Alice and Bob say "We wouldn't have succeeded if it weren't for our evil Five-Man Band".
- Alice and Bob say "And we got away with it all thanks to you meddling kids!"
- Alice and Bob say "We would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling adults!"
- Subverted: "We would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for—" but then Frank, who is the Big Eater of the group, interrupts by saying "I'm hungry."
- Double Subverted: Bob then finishes saying "You meddling kids."
- Parodied: The teenagers form a detective agency called "The Meddling Kids".
- Zig-Zagged: Bob does a long "The Reason You Suck" Speech, ending in "And we would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids."
- Averted: Nobody says this line.
- Enforced: The producers want a catchy catchphrase to be uttered at the end of every episode.
- Lampshaded: Lily says "Why do we always end up revealing criminals, who call us meddling kids?"
- Invoked: Alice and Bob say "We would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids! ...Besides, we always wanted to say that."
- Exploited: The meddling kids trademark the line. Every time someone says it, they profit.
- Defied: Bob, for whatever reason, makes sure not to say this line.
- Discussed:Bob: We would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!
Alice: You say that every time!
Bob: Well, it's true!
George: We've stumbled upon crime a lot, and the criminals always blame it on us meddling kids.
Lily: Yeah, why is that?
Helga: Well, it would be logical. We are youths and we did find them out.
Officer O'Brian: Tell it to the judge, Bob. (drives off with Alice and Bob)
Frank: And now we can go out for pizza! - Conversed: "Why do villains always say that they would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids?"
- Played for Laughs: Bob says the "meddling kids" line while covered in custard, as he had gotten a Pie in the Face from George.
- Played for Drama: Those were Bob's last words before his death.
And I would've gotten away with not linking back to the main page if it weren't for You Meddling Kids!
