It’s been over two decades since Mean Girls first hit theaters starring Lindsay Lohan as Cady, the new girl in school. The teen comedy is considered one of the best movies of the 2000s and became such a classic that it inspired a Broadway show and then a movie musical based on the stage performance. All three versions kept a lot of Tina Fey’s original and oh-so-quotable dialogue, so let’s look back at 32 of the best Mean Girls quotes that we’re still repeating today.
“Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by Regina George.”
Regina George remains one of the most notorious female villains in movie history, and if you need proof of why, just look at how many people she has affected with her reign of terror. Even her best friends fell victim to her manipulation, as well as the North Shore High teachers.
“You go, Glen Coco!”
It seems like such a throwaway line that it’s hard to say why this quote is so enduring. Damian is helping Cady to break up The Plastics, which involves him dressing as Santa Claus for a candy cane scheme. He hands out candy canes purchased by other students, with Glen Coco receiving an impressive four, thus inspiring the beloved quote. The line was even given extra flair in the musical versions of the film during the song “Revenge Party.”
“It’s October 3rd.”
Mean Girls fans will never forget what day it was when Aaron Samuels asked Cady what day it was. That date is now circled on movie lovers’ calendars as Mean Girls Day, making it the perfect time to dress up in pink (as long as it’s Wednesday) and enjoy a repeat viewing of the classic teen movie.
“Oh, I love seeing teachers outside of school. It’s like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs.”
Damian and Janis seemed bewildered and a little disgusted to see Ms. Norbury outside of the classroom, and shopping at the mall no less. Janis wasn’t wrong, though, because there is something inherently strange about seeing teachers or anyone from school out in the wild.
“On Wednesdays we wear pink.”
The Plastics had a lot of arbitrary rules about social appearances to follow, but this one is the most iconic. How does anyone who’s seen this movie even put together an outfit on a Wednesday without considering this cardinal rule? Is it even OK to wear pink on days that aren’t Wednesday? I’m not afraid to ask the important questions.
“She doesn’t even go here!”
I wouldn’t say it was surprising that Damian snuck into the junior girls’ workshop (his identity fully cloaked by use of a hoodie and sunglasses). It’s a little surprising, however, that he infiltrated their space and then still had the brazenness to call out someone else who wasn’t supposed to be there.
“That’s why her hair is so big. It’s full of secrets.”
Gretchen Wieners, played by Lacey Chabert, was all “big hair, don’t care” in Mean Girls, as the girl who knew everything about everybody. Damian (Daniel Franzese) had an amusing way of describing the infamous gossip, but his delivery ensured that the quote would stick around for decades.
“That was so fetch.”
You have to applaud Gretchen for her drive to make “fetch” happen. Despite anything Regina says, it’s clear that if we’re still saying this word 20+ years later, it was a success.
“What’s so great about Caesar, hmm? Brutus is just as cute as Caesar. Brutus is just as smart as Caesar. People totally like Brutus just as much as they like Caesar. And when did it become OK for one person to be the boss of everybody, huh? Because that is not what Rome is about!”
The Plastics are clearly Gretchen’s Roman Empire, and she definitely started to see some parallels between Julius Caesar and Regina George, leading to her questioning in the middle of history class why Caesar got to stomp around like a giant while the rest of them tried not to get smushed under his big feet. For what it’s worth, I’ve also always thought Brutus was just as cute as Caesar.
“Whatever, I’m getting cheese fries.”
Math is hard. When Cady tried to show Regina how to cross multiply to figure out the percentage of calories from fat in her lunch, the queen bee decided it was just easier to go with what she knew.
“I’m not like a regular mom. I’m a cool mom.”
Amy Poehler was only in Mean Girls for a total of 2 minutes and 10 seconds, but boy did she make an impression as Regina’s mom. Mrs. George’s ridiculously lenient parenting style continues to be referenced (and possibly emulated) to this day. You can’t say she wasn’t a good hostess, though, because she was willing to get the girls drinks or novelties of any sort.
“Irregardless, ex-boyfriends are just off-limits to friends. I mean, that’s just, like, the rules of feminism.”
Oh Gretchen. I’d love to be able to give her credit for using a four-syllable word, but given that “irregardless” isn’t a word, I just can’t. I’m also not sure that Ms. Toaster Strudel quite understands the basic tenets of feminism, though many would agree that staying away from friends’ ex-boyfriends is a good practice.
“She asked me how to spell orange.”
What an underrated gem we have in this quote. When explaining to Cady who the Plastics are, Damian gives a colorful example of why Karen is one of the dumbest girls you’ll ever meet.
“I don’t think my father, the inventor of Toaster Strudel, would be too pleased to hear about this.”
I just adore Gretchen throwing her weight around as the heiress of the Toaster Strudel empire. She’s taking names and is certainly not afraid to drop them.
“I’m kind of psychic. I have a fifth sense. It’s like I have ESPN or something.”
Now we just have to figure out which other sense Karen Smith isn’t using … Amanda Seyfried’s character’s talents didn’t end with her psychic abilities (or the ability to watch cable sports, apparently). She can also put her whole fist in her mouth and predict when it’s already raining.
“There are two kinds of evil people. People who do evil stuff and people who see evil stuff being done and don’t try to stop it.”
Janis Ian (played by Lizzy Caplan) is definitely onto something here, but I’m not quite sure her argument holds up when you consider she was trying to get Cady to steal the Burn Book from Regina. I’m not sure her intentions were pure.
“I will keep you here all night. … I will keep you here till 4.”
Principal Duvall (Tim Meadows) was determined to not let the students leave until they’d learned a lesson from the huge brawl that took place in the school halls. He didn’t care how long it took … at least until he was informed that the school couldn’t force anyone to stay past 4.
“Did you have an awesome time? Did you drink awesome shooters, listen to awesome music, and then just sit around and soak up each other’s awesomeness?”
Janis had every right to be mad at Cady for lying about going out of town instead of going to her art exhibit. On top of everything, Cady threw a big party and didn’t even invite Janis and Damian, thus proving that Cady had gone full Plastic. Janis fully dismantled Cady, yelling at her through the sunroof of Damian’s car as he tried to get them home before breaking curfew, and I’m sure no one involved felt very awesome in that moment.
“I’m sorry that people are so jealous of me, but I can’t help it that I’m popular.”
I’m pretty sure this was not the kind of apology that Ms. Norbury meant when she suggested the junior girls had some things they needed to get off of their chest. No wonder nobody caught her during the trust fall.
“I wish we could all get along like we used to in middle school. I wish I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy.”
If anyone was in need of Ms. Norbury’s empowerment exercises to be able to get something off of her chest, it definitely seems like this mystery student. Too bad she didn’t even go there.
“And I want my pink shirt back!”
After Janis went off on Cady for becoming one of The Plastics, Damian punctuated it by basically saying there was no way he was going to let Cady keep the pink shirt he’d lent her so she could sit with her new friends on Wednesdays. This line was apparently ad-libbed by Daniel Franzese, so hats off to the actor.
“One time she punched me in the face. It was awesome.”
The students at North Shore High School were so desperate to be seen by Regina George that they didn’t care how that acknowledgment came. Poor Bethany Byrd (Stefanie Drummond) took one in the face from the queen bee and was pleased as, well, punch.
“Gretchen, stop trying to make fetch happen. It’s not going to happen!”
I hate to break it to you, Regina, but “fetch” totally happened. Strangely enough, though, so did this quote, because it’s still repeated in the context of trying to get anyone to stop doing something that’s inevitably going to fail.
“Oh my God, Danny DeVito! I love your work!”
This wasn’t actually the kindest response that Damian could have given after getting called out for being in the girls restroom to talk to Cady and Janis, but it is hands down one of the funniest.
“I win.”
A freshly divorced Ms. Norbury definitely won the contest for who had the worse summer, after Mr. Duvall said his carpal tunnel syndrome came back. A breakup absolutely trumps carpal tunnel every time.
Thanks to Regina George, multiple generations of girls have been endearingly referring to their besties as “losers” for 20 years. I, personally, cannot get in the car to go shopping without uttering this phrase.
“I’m a mouse. Duh!”
Everyone (except Cady) knows that Halloween is just an excuse for girls to go out in public dressed provocatively. Lingerie works as a costume if you pair it with animal ears, right? Right?! Well, at least it worked for Karen.
“I can’t go out. *cough, cough* I’m sick.”
Using a fake illness to get out of a possibly uncomfortable social situation is a good move, but the strategy’s success lives and dies on the strength of that fake cough. Karen’s is definitely one for the history books.
“Is butter a carb?”
Regina George honestly wasn’t looking too good when she reached the point in her “diet” where she had to ask Cady if butter was a carb.
“I have a nephew named Anfernee, and I know how mad he gets when I call him Anthony. Almost as mad as I get when I think about the fact that my sister named him Anfernee.”
OK, this may not be a quote that’s actually repeated in full, but you can’t help but love this oh-so-relatable look into Principal Duvall’s private life after Cady corrected him on the pronunciation of her name.
“I didn’t say anything.”
There are tons of examples throughout the 2004 classic that show just how much of a fish out of water Cady is amongst the wilderness of the high school hallways, but one of the funniest was her not understanding why the Plastics were always playfully telling her to “Shut up!”
“I did not leave the South Side for this.”
Principal Duvall certainly did not expect to have to deal with full-on hallway melees when he came to North Shore High School, and he was not about to allow himself to be bested by the entire class of junior girls. After nearly getting kicked in the face, he hit the fire alarm, which promptly put an end to the Burn Book brawl.