Nintendo Files Claim On 'It's On Like Donkey Kong'

In a move that the company says honors the impending launch of Donkey Kong Country Returns, Nintendo has filed a trademark request for the phrase "It's on like Donkey Kong." No, this is not an Onion article, either.

Nintendo calls it "an old, popular Nintendo phrase that has a number of possible interpretations depending on how it's used." A Nintendo phrase, eh?

Let's see what Ice Cube has to say. Here's a snippet of the lyrics from "Now I Gotta Wet'cha," off his 1992 album, The Predator.

"It's on like Donkey Kong
You wanted that fast buck
now I gotta light that [bottom] up
The [gentleman] with the big fat trigger"

Yeah, it's definitely a Nintendo phrase.