Pawn Stars Best I Can Do
Where it came from
Rick Harrison from the History Channel show Pawn Stars, who delivers a lowball offer after hearing an expert's appraisal. "Best I can do is [low number]" became his catchphrase by the mid-2010s.
A screenshot of Rick Harrison, framed like a standard interview, captioned with a brutally lowball offer. The setup always involves someone describing a thing of obvious value, and Rick's response is "best I can do is [pitifully small amount]". It's the default meme for anyone who is underpaying, undervaluing, or dismissing something.
The format rides on Rick's relentless cheapness being so on-brand that you could put him on any context and he'd still be trying to get the price down. It works for employers, landlords, dating, gift-giving, anything where someone's offering less than the thing is worth.
Still in steady use. The format is flexible and the face is instantly recognizable.
Search interest, over time
↳ data courtesy of google trends
