Every family has a collective second language: inside jokes. And I suspect a large part of it is often made up of quotes from their favorite movies. I, for instance, live with three siblings who are amazingly skilled at imitating voices and inflections (my brother’s Walter Brennan imitation has to be heard to be believed), improvising whole conversations “in-character,” and inserting apt quotes into everyday conversation. If we’d gotten started on Shakespeare a little earlier in life, we’d probably be quoting the Bard at each other all day long. As it is, hardly a day goes by when somebody doesn’t get a laugh by using a movie quote in just the right place.
Most of them really are inside jokes, in that they only “work” if everybody else knows the quote thoroughly well. For instance, if one of us quips “You don’t think that would look a trifle coincidental?” in a British accent, we all know exactly what they’re talking about. On the other hand, the other day my mom and I were discussing an item that came in different colors, and I said “Lemon, strawberry, or lilac?”—and it fell a bit flat because I had to refresh her memory on the source. (Bonus points if you can identify either of those.)
However, though most quotes are topical, there are those which, in the immortal words of Mr. Collins, “may be adapted to ordinary occasions.” This list I have compiled, if committed to memory and delivered with the proper flair, will provide you with a handy response in nearly every situation.
When asked to take on a job you thankfully cannot:
“That ain’t in my department.” ~ She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949)
When a dubious honor is conferred:
“What ’appiness to be asked!” ~ Martin Chuzzlewit (1994)
When everyone around you is over-excited:
“SPECULATION is the ENEMY of CALM.” ~ Cranford (2007)
After a minor calamity, especially a noisy one:
“I’m all right! I’m a-a-a-all right!” ~ It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
“I am injured in my feelings…” ~ Martin Chuzzlewit (1994)
When protesting one’s innocence or integrity:
“I’m a good girl, I am.” ~ My Fair Lady (1964)
When confronted with a regrettable situation:
“I wish the pleasure had been indefinitely postponed.” ~ A Christmas Carol (1951)
When expressing emphatic confirmation:
“That’s for sure, that’s for dang sure!” ~ Battleground (1949)
“Fred C. Dobbs don’t say nothin’ he don’t mean.” ~ The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
When expressing deep skepticism:
“That’ll be the day.” ~ The Searchers (1956)
“G’on!” ~ My Fair Lady (1964)
When you wish to tactfully get rid of someone:
“Go outside and see what kind of a day it is, will you?” ~ Martin Chuzzlewit (1994)
When needing to vent frustration:
“And it goes for you, too!” ~ It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
When being hurried:
“It will be ready in one very soon moment!” ~ North West Frontier (1959)
When others are refusing to take a situation seriously:
“This is no occasion for sport! There is lace at stake!” ~ Cranford (2007)
When you witness an action that defies classification for the moment:
“Enchanting little ritual.” ~ The Sound of Music (1965)
When expressing approval of a good idea:
“Excellent notion.” ~ Sense and Sensibility (1995)
When attempting to convince someone that your idea is a good one:
“But it’s a real winner!” ~ A Dog Named Christmas (2009)
When someone makes an obvious remark:
“Thank you for pointing that out, my dear.” ~ Sense and Sensibility (1995)
When someone grasps at an extremely thin straw:
“You think that, Jane, if it comforts you.” ~ Pride and Prejudice (1995)
When someone talks too much:
“Always yammering, always yammering, I tell you!” ~ Red River (1948)
When someone gets in before you with a piece of news:
“I rehearsed those words all the way from the worsted-work!” ~ Cranford (2007)
When utterly baffled by a question:
“Madam, I fear I have no idea.” ~ The Winslow Boy (1999)
When you cannot come up with an answer but have no intention of conceding a point:
“Yes, yes, but this is all very vexing.” ~ Pride and Prejudice (1995)
When you wish to end an argument:
“I will not debase myself by bargaining words with you!” ~ Martin Chuzzlewit (1994)
To accept a compliment in witty fashion (only to be used with one’s nearest and dearest, who are acquainted with one’s sense of humor):
“Yes, I know it; you don’t have to tell me.” ~ A Christmas Carol (1951)
“I flatter myself I have been able to make a kind of art of it.” ~ Pride and Prejudice (1995)
I’m glad to know my family isn’t the only one who quotes Cranford often! 🙂 For us, it’s usually the “I rehearsed those words all the way from [wherever one had happened to be at the time] one 🙂
Cranford is one of the most quotable things ever. I can’t tell you how many lines we’ve adapted to fit a particular situation—from “This is highly individual,” to “Mrs. Forrester, you’re betraying your emotions.” Or “Might I be excused the wig?” with an appropriate noun substituted. 🙂
Hee! So fun! My family does the same thing, we’ve got multiple sets of well-used quotes, as my parents and my sister and I have one set, and my sister and I and her husband and their family have another set. And then my sister and I also have our own private set as well that the others don’t share. (And Hamlette and I have our own set too.) But yeah, there isn’t a single day that goes by without multiple lines being quoted back and forth as common answers.
I don’t recognize any of the quotes you list here, other than the one from Sound of Music, but they are all great and appropriate quotes. I particularly love all the categories you’ve got!
Thanks! Yes, you’re right; even though we’ve mostly all seen the same movies, there’s probably sets of quotes that get used more between certain people in the family. And then my siblings and I even have some quotes from our own stories we’ve made up over the years, which have become inside jokes between us!
My sister and I have discovered that Pride and Prejudice (1995) has a near-perfect quote for almost every situation in life… and that once we get started on a scene it’s very difficult to stop!
I know there must be half a dozen more Pride and Prejudice quotes I forgot to put on here! Maybe I’ll have to do a Part II post sometime.
This is wonderful. It has been a while since I’ve watched Martin Chuzzlewit, so I had forgotten how witty it was! *smiles fondly* Cranford is perfect, and I use “there is lace at stake!” quite frequently. I also really love Sound of Music’s “enchanting little ritual”.
And though I haven’t seen this film, I think this one quote suits our family too perfectly! “It will be ready in one very soon moment!” ~ North West Frontier (1959)
Generally, our family go about quoting Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit, ALL THE TIME. Also, “Keys of the Kingdom” with Gregory Peck have some great one-liners.
Great post, Elisabeth! It was fun to read ^_^.
You might be the only person I know who’s actually seen Martin Chuzzlewit! I don’t know why it isn’t better known.
You should definitely watch North West Frontier (alternate title Flame Over India) sometime—it’s a great little adventure film with a good deal of humor in it too.
1995 Pride and Prejudice is a favorite! And The Thin Man movies are just made for quoting. And John Wayne. And perhaps Roy Rogers, and, just perhaps, so many more …
Sometimes my family jokes that we could have an entire meal time where we would only speak in quotes. I think that we could! Two of my favorite quotes are, ” Pass the potatoes please. I said pass the potatoes please! Hey you! Wake up! Pass the potatoes please!!” From The Proud Ones, and ” No (whatever the object is), Mrs. Bennet, I beg you!” From Pride and Prejudice.
Oh yes, I could easily quote from Roy Rogers films if I knew the person on the receiving end would “get” it! Gabby Hayes is highly quotable. (One of my favorites of his was in Romance on the Range—”Then I was overcome by a superior force.”) And we’ve definitely adapted the “No lace, Mrs. Bennet!” quote to many occasions.
Such fun!
Shane and The Winslow Boy are two of my favourite films. So quotable.
The Quiet Man gets a lot of play in our family. It’s surprising how many of us see mirages brought on by a terrible thirst.
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve said “I wish the pleasure had been indefinitely postponed” … well, I’d have a lot of nickels!
Aha, you got both of the mystery quotes! Your mentioning The Quiet Man reminds me of some Barry Fitzgerald quotes from How Green Was My Valley that we used to use on occasion…my favorite was “No aptitude for knowledge.”
I would love to see a part two! We quote movies a lot. And not necessarily as conversation but as good interjections. One quote from Sergeant York that we use is “Alvin, Ma wants ya!” (Not that there is an Alvin in the family.
Your quote choices seem superb and I have to laugh quite a bit at them. I watched She Wore a Yellow Ribbon not terribly long ago, and that quote about “not my department” is so funny. The one Walter Brennan quote stuck in my memory is: “Have you ever been stung by a dead bee?” And I have to agree with others that the Thin Man series have some wonderful lines.
I love Roy Rogers! Not that I can quote any of them except for snibbits of the songs. Although Gabby’s quote of “persnickety women!” is used a lot in my family.
That makes me think of another one—I’ve heard “Lizbeth honey, will you run and fetch…” from Old Yeller now and then. 🙂 Which movie is the Walter Brennan quote from? I don’t recognize it!
“To Have and Have Not” with Humphrey Bogart.
Movie and book quotes can be so much fun that they can also be an inside joke. There is a song from the 1940’s, “I’ve got a lovely bunch of Coconuts” that is so fun, and the way they say lo-ve-ly is a lot of fun to repeat. Now we sarcastically say “what a lovely bunch of coconuts” when something is going wrong, not that it has anything to do with the song!
Sarah