when your favorite show starts to flag and go downhill, as when Fonzie jumped the shark on waterskis. We all knew that Happy Days was on its way down then.
When Rudy (Cosby show) hit puberty, and they added that new little girl that was Denise's step-daughter, that show DEFINITELY jumped the shark.
by osbo November 5, 2002
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It is the precise moment when you recognize that something is really over although it's momentum carries it on for a few steps.
She lit another cigarette and looked away. Her eyes looking beyond me told me for sure that the shark had been jumped.

Howard Dean's campaign jumped the Shark when he stood on the stage raving and shaking his fist at the crowd.
by J. Salyer March 22, 2004
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A semi-popular phrase for "selling out" or turning into shit.
The Ren and Stimpy show jumped the shark when Nickolodeon bought all the rights to make the show.
by AYB June 20, 2003
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Chris Wylde. Whoo-ee. Now there's a man whose opnion you should listen to.
He also sells DiGiorno, and had a shitty talk show on Comedy Central for a while.
by Anonymous June 19, 2003
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Lamest term in the television industry according to comedian Chris Wylde.
by MoonKnight January 19, 2003
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"Man, Kyle's been in his room jumping the shark all night. What a loser."
by Deflator Mouse April 9, 2007
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The beginning of the end. Something is said to have "jumped the shark" when it has reached its peak and begun a downhill slide to mediocrity or oblivion. It's said to have been coined by Jon Hein, who has a web site, jumptheshark.com, and now a book detailing examples, especially as applied to TV shows. It supposedly refers to an episode of the TV show "Happy Days" in which Fonzie jumps over a shark on water skis, which Hein believes was the point at which the series had lost its touch and was beginning to grasp at straws.
A TV show's sure "jump-the-shark" sign: the appearance of a "special guest star".
by John Slowata October 15, 2005
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