George Carlin

Comedian, social critic

Contemporary influential 172 sayings

Sayings by George Carlin

I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is and to cross it deliberately.

1997 — Interview, 'The Progressive' magazine
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours.

1981 — Stand-up special, 'A Place for My Stuff'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.

1992 — Stand-up special, 'Jammin' in New York'
Strange & Unusual Confirmed

When you're born, you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front-row seat.

2001 — Stand-up special, 'Napalm & Silly Putty'
Strange & Unusual Confirmed

The very first things that children learn are their limitations. Before they learn anything else, they learn what they can't do.

1997 — Interview, 'American Masters' documentary
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

If it weren't for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn't get any exercise at all.

2001 — Stand-up special, 'Complaints and Grievances'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

Don't just teach your children to read. Teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything.

1997 — From his book, 'Brain Droppings'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

All my best words are those that I stole from other people.

2001 — Interview, 'Esquire' magazine
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The planet is fine. The people are fucked.

1992 — Stand-up special, 'Jammin' in New York'
Strange & Unusual Confirmed

I like it when a flower or a little tuft of grass grows through a crack in the concrete. It's so fuckin' optimistic.

2006 — Stand-up special, 'Life Is Worth Losing'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're gonna get selfish, ignorant leaders.

2008 — Stand-up special, 'It's Bad for Ya!'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I'm a modern man. I'm a modern man. A man for the millennium. Digital and smoke-free. A diversified multi-cultural post-modern man. I'm a man for all seasons, and I'm a man for all reasons. And I'm a man of constant sorrow, and I'm a man of constant sorrow, and I'm a man of constant sorrow. And I'm a man of constant sorrow, and I'm a man of constant sorrow, and I'm a man of constant sorrow.

1999 — Stand-up special, 'You Are All Diseased'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'Where's the self-help section?' She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

1997 — From his book, 'Brain Droppings'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

2001 — Stand-up special, 'Complaints and Grievances'
Strange & Unusual Confirmed

Think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are stupider than that.

1992 — Stand-up special, 'Jammin' in New York'
Strange & Unusual Confirmed

Here's a little poem by my friend, Jack Handy: 'I hope that after I die, people will say, 'He was a good man. He was a kind man. He was a man who loved his family.' And then, after a brief pause, 'But he was no George Carlin.'

1999 — Stand-up special, 'You Are All Diseased'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I'm a little freaked out by the fact that I'm becoming my father. I find myself saying things like, 'Turn off the lights, I'm not paying to light the whole neighborhood!'

2006 — Stand-up special, 'Life Is Worth Losing'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

A lot of people say, 'Well, I'm not into politics.' Well, politics is into you.

2004 — Interview, 'Newsweek' magazine
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I love it when people say, 'I'm not religious, but I'm spiritual.' That's like saying, 'I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't eat meat.'

2008 — Stand-up special, 'It's Bad for Ya!'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The government is not your friend. The government is not your enemy. The government is your government.

2006 — Stand-up special, 'Life Is Worth Losing'
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable