Took an Arrow in the Knee

“I Took an Arrow in the Knee” is a catchphrase from the role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim which inspired the snowclone phrasal template “I used to X, then I took an arrow to the knee.”

In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the town guard non-player characters (NPCs) repeated “I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee.” when the player walks near them.

The restating of such a specific story over and over again by so many different guards caused it to be noticed by players, who then proceeded to post about it in gaming forums and image boards.

"Took an arrow to the knee" is a popular internet meme derived from the video game "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim".

In the game, different characters in the game will say, "I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow to the knee". To parody this the meme has taken the format, "I used to X, then I took an arrow to the knee".

This meme is usually found in the comment sections of various websites and is expressed with facetious intent.

something people started saying when skyrim came out

the universal excuse for why you didn't do something. A.K.A the most common youtube comment.

to plan on doing something, having done something, or did something, only to get shot in the knee by an arrow.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's version of Stop right there criminal scum!

Catch phrase from the game 'The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim' in which the guards have a repeating phrase throughout the game. Sparked an internet meme, including much fan art and responses from other existing memes.

A popular internet meme which has derived from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, in which town guardsmen will often say to the player "I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow to the knee".