Born Yesterday (1993) - Quotes

The Unexpected Allure of Art

Billie: If I'd known art smelled this good, I would have come a long time ago! God, it's so small but it's like it's bigger than the whole room.

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Misunderstanding Authors in Conversation

Harry: What are you reading?

Billie: Democracy In America by... Pocahontas.

Harry: Yeah, she's good.

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Empowerment and Personal Growth in Education

Billie: So, how are we gonna smarten me up?

Paul: Well, we aren't gonna do it. You're gonna do it. It's your battle. It's up to you.

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The Value of Knowledge and Self-Worth

Billie: But I've been thinking a lot lately about something my dad used to say: "Without knowledge, you're less than everybody." And I don't want to be less. I mean, I don't want to be better than anybody neither and I don't want to go above myself. I just want- I just want to not be less.

Paul: Well, I'm afraid it's too late for that... cause you're already more than most people.

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The Nature of Praise and Recognition

Paul: You were great tonight. Didn't you think you were great?

Billie: Oh, yeah. We really tricked them, didn't we?

Paul: What's the matter?

Billie: Well, if you saw a great ventriloquist, who would you compliment? The dummy?

Paul: You're not a dummy.

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Confusion and Honesty in Washington Politics

Billie: I don't understand one word of that.

Paul: No one will. There is no Verner Amendment. But the only time anyone in Washington admits they don't know something is when they're being indicted.

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Mastering Small Talk in Washington D.C.

Paul: You want to be able to talk to people in this town? In Washington, everybody says exactly the same things at every party. You just have to know the right responses. If you learn these eight sentences, you'll be a hit at every party.

Billie: You're kidding me!

Paul: Nope. Those eight sentences cover just about everything anybody talks about. It's the Washington art of sounding like you know what you're talking about when you don't know zip.

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A Dance Invitation in an Unlikely Setting

Billie: I love this song. Let's dance.

Paul: Oh, I don't... I can't dance.

Billie: I can. Harry and me won a medal once.

Paul: Well, this isn't a dancing place.

Billie: It is if you're dancing. Come on.

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Contentment in Simple Pleasures and Bargains

Billie: Even if I am stupid, it hasn't hurt me none.

Paul: What do you mean?

Billie: I've got everything that I want. I got lots of jewels, big like I like. Mink coat. A TV that fits in my purse. I want something, I ask for it. If he don't give me what I want, I don't give him what he wants. If you get my drift?

Paul: And you're happy with this setup?

Billie: So long as I know how to get what I want, that's all I want to know.

Paul: Makes sense. So long as you know what it is you want.

Billie: Exactly. What?

Paul: Well, I mean, if you don't know a lot, how do you know that a mink coat is the best thing to have?

Billie: Because I used to have a rabbit coat.

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Miscommunication About Intentions in Relationships

Paul: Well, Harry wants me to...

Billie: He wants you to smarten me up?

Paul: No, I'm sure you're... I think he just wants me to...

Billie: Smarten me up.

Paul: Yeah.

Billie: So, what's he paying you?

Paul: Five hundred bucks a day.

Billie: Sucker. You coulda gotten twice that. He's got a lot of it, you know.

Paul: I'd have done it for nothing.

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Conflict Over a Tutor in a Free Country

Billie: I don't want some stuffy old tutor!

Harry: Be nice to him or I'll crack you one.

Billie: It's a free country.

Harry: That's what you think!

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The Most Terrifying Words in English

Harry: I got an idea.

Ed: The four most terrifying words in the English language.

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Appearance and Perception in Conversation

Harry: Does she look OK to you?

Billie: What's the matter with how I look?

Harry: That's what I wanna know.

Billie: What do you know? You open beer cans with your teeth!

Ed: You look beautiful, Billie.

Billie: Thank you, Ed.

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Aspirin Offer to a Long-Dead Character

Harry: You don't look right. Want an aspirin?

Ed: No, Harry, I'm fine. Considering I've been dead for 12 years, I feel great.

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Determining the Approach in Conversation

Harry: So, what's this gonna be, pal? A plug or a pan? I like to know these things. Then I know how to talk if I know your angle.

Paul: No angle. Just the facts.

Harry: A pan. Listen, I gotta do my stairs and stuff. Are you OK with that?

Paul: Sure.

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A Brief Exchange Between Harry and Billie

Harry: Billie!

Billie: What?

Harry: Well?

Billie: What?

Harry: Not bad, huh?

Billie: Not bad.

Harry: Not bad? You know what this is costing me a night?

Billie: $6,500, you already told me.

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Clarifying Mrs. Brock's Identity

Bellman: I hope Mrs. Brock is satisfied with the arrangements?

Harry: She's not Mrs Brock.

Bellman: Oh yes, that's fine.

Harry: You bet it's fine. There's only one Mrs. Brock and she's my mother. And she's dead.

Rejecting elitism in business acumen

Harry Brock: Don't Harvard talk me. I didn't make my money by being an idiot.

The Illusion of Fate in Business Success

Harry Brock: You show me a businessman believes in fate, I'll show you the first businessman who ever went broke. I started with a wagon, selling somebody's junk. And I got here in a silk suit, talking to a college know-it-all like you. If I lose it, I'll meet you right back here in this room, in a new silk suit.

The Importance of Making Money

Harry Brock: You don't save money, bud, you make it!

Efficiency Demands in the Workplace

Harry Brock: Listen. Anybody that works in this room, tell them to do it good, do it fast, nobody gets hurt. I don't like a lot of people around all the time, and I don't like waiting for nothin'.

The Conflict of Selfishness and Altruism

Paul Verrall: The whole damn history of the world is the story of the fight between the selfish and the unselfish.

The Illusion of Intelligence in Society

Paul Verrall: People always pretend to be smarter than they are.

The Essence of True Intelligence

Paul Verrall: Being smart isn't just about books. It's about asking questions. It's about finding out why things are the way they are.

Perceptions of Effort and Equality in Relationships

Billie Dawn: Men are unbelievable. I give and give and give and it's like wallpaper to you. You just walk right past it. Then you make one effort and you think we're equal. It only looks like a big effort because you never made one before.

Wealth Does Not Equate to True Living

Billie Dawn: You got money, Harry, but you got a cheap life.

Struggling with a Sense of Belonging

Billie Dawn: How come I feel like I don't fit in any more? Tell me why am I so unhappy with everything that I used to want.

Billie Dawn on Harry's Rudeness

Billie Dawn: [''pulls out a pocket dictionary and looks up a word''] You know what your problem is, Harry? You're not just rude, you're......"flagrant" about it!

Questioning Trust and Learning in Relationships

Billie Dawn: Did you teach me to cheat cause you think I can't learn?

Comment on someone's self-importance

Billie Dawn: Oh, don't worry about him. He's too busy being a big man.

The Complexity of Emotions and Expectations

Billie Dawn: You know how when somebody dies, it's OK to feel sad, but then at other times, when you're supposed to be happy and you feel sad, it's worse than the times when you're allowed to be sad?