What is the origin of the phrase "patience, grasshopper"? I'd never heard it said before, and in the last few months it's popping up around me like kudzu. Often said in a fake "kung fu movie" accent.

Google is not helping (I only get pages where people use the phrase, including a site about learning Icelandic and another about how to have multiple orgasms), and I couldn't find anything in the AskMe or MeFi archives either.
posted by matildaben on Jan 24, 2005 - 7 answers