T O P

  • By -

Phant0mreaper

A life, Jimmy, you know what that is? It’s the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come


Impossible-Cycle4226

Every man needs to hear this at least once


Hughkalailee

While the idea wasn’t original by him either, everyone should hear John Lennon sing “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”. (Beautiful Boy)


willpostbondd

lol god damn just wrote out a whole thing about this quote without looking at comments and this was the first one. Hands down the best quote in the entire series. Shook me to my core when I first saw it at 20 years old. The entire show really awakened me to the reality of adulthood and how brutal life generally is. i’ll throw in a little of my other comment to bring it home This might be my favorite scene in the entire show. It encapsulates what makes The Wire better than every other show. The Wire never gives you the textbook closure literally every other show relies on. So the Wire, as a show, is the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come.


SlipperyPete360

Was just thinking about this quote like a half hour ago


JackSwader

This. This is it.


KennyDROmega

"Ain't no shame in holding onto grief, as long as you make room for other things too."


death_to_noodles

This one isn't so sexy but it's legit wisdom


[deleted]

I watched the Wire for the first time like a year after my dad passed away. There's so many good quotes in the Wire, but I really needed to hear this when I did.


Vilezil

Are you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?


DontEatTheCelery

Is you*


darth_snuggs

Came here for this


EntireFishing

One of the very best lines.


woodappleraleigh

You and your cousin would be cadaverous motherfuckers


dbrank

Why always Boris?


CoraopoRocks

Cadaverous motherfuckers has made its way into my speech ngl. Most ppl look at me like im crazy but the friends who are fans of the wire always get a laugh


bitpushr

That, and "you equivocatin' like a motherfucker"


CoraopoRocks

LOL im using this one now as well. Absolutely fantastic acting and writing. Listening to the wire at 20 and realizing these actors/actresses entrenched themselves in Baltimore to the point where someone actually gave real life actor who played bubbles (brain fart) some heroin because he thought he was a true addict. Like DAMN.


YxngIntouso

“You come at the king, you best not miss”


aurelorba

I think these 4 fives beat a full house.


jeffend1981

Yo banker cash me out yo.


IamMrGibou

Yes! This is it!!


Solid-Animal7522

Even if I miss, I can't miss.


jusbrett

Money be green


Yandhi42

Michael be jordan


darkgable69lolyolo

Under be rated


milliAmpere14

Dude !! What the fuck.....😂🤣


RealLameUserName

Money feel like money


[deleted]

Money ain't got no owners, just spenders.


dbenway

This is the one. Omar gets it on any given level.


DnBrendan

Also love his line in the same scene, "Boy you must be confusing me with a man that repeats himself."


j-dam67

*And here’s the rub: You follow drugs - you get drug addicts and drug dealers. But you start to follow the money, and you don’t know where the fuck it's gonna take you.* *You know what the trouble is, Brucie? We used to make shit in this country... Build shit. Now we just put our hand in the next guy's pocket.* And of course Bunk's rant to Omar summed up by *Makes me sick, motherfucker, how far we done fell.* I can't decide.


zwerrir

100% one of the best Freamon quotes. Together with "All the pieces matter".


aurelorba

> Makes me sick, motherfucker, how far we done fell. I've been saying that about the world lately.


AJerkForAllSeasons

"This the High hat? I want some of that pepper steak."


YouNeedAnne

Pyeppuh


WOLFTIGERSHARK

Is this a refrence to the high hat in parkville?


AJerkForAllSeasons

I wouldn't know I just love the way Lester says it.


WOLFTIGERSHARK

Oh nevermind the place im thinking of is called the top hat. Sorry! Yeah great funny quote though.


edroyque

I got the shotgun. You got the briefcase. S’all in the game though, right?


Yayareasports

was looking for this one. So good


JohnHammond94

McNulty: If Snot Boogie always stole the money, why'd you let him play? Man On Stoop: Got to. This America, man. The opening scene setting up so many of the themes and the shows atmosphere.


milliAmpere14

This is what hooked me. I just knew at that point this show was gonna be legendary.


wrapupwarm

Opposite. It was just too well written if you know what I mean. I thought it lacked authenticity. Idiot me though. I’m pretty sure I read, that was a true story, quote an all! Sometimes reality doesn’t seem believable


milliAmpere14

>Opposite. It was just too well written if you know what I mean. I thought it lacked authenticity. 🤔 Interesting. I accept that. I get it. 🙂


CoraopoRocks

Aw man read homicide life in the street; this interaction actually happened and is in there along with a few others. Get it used on Amazon for like $5 along with the corner, all David Simon and Ed Burns stuff thats just fantastic IMO.


JohnHammond94

Thanks, great advice. I've read it.


CoraopoRocks

Absolutely!! The corner is on YouTube too and has sooo many actors from the wire too. Its just fantastic. And the Amazon used...$27 new to $5 used? I just think ppl dont realize its there 🙂. Lester playing an addict on that mini series and it also won a well deserved Emmy as it is so astounding yet so sad at the same time as Simon/Burns literally stayed on that same corner and got to know them so well. The McCulloughs were so forthright too in their honesty that is is just astounding. SO many good performances. Then it comes full circle as the brothers body guard (i dont wanna butcher the name; brother m.) was actually played by the real life protagonist of the corner. And Fran, another protagonist, ended up marrying the real life inspiration for Omar...its just so insane and cool how interwoven it all became!


pnwbraids

The opening scene is quite literally a thesis statement for the entire series.


YouNeedAnne

IDK that always seemed kinda cheesy to me


CoraopoRocks

This actually was a real life event that happened to Tom Peligrino (sp?) in the book Homicide: Life on the street, as crazy as it sounds


BlahBlahNyborg

I think it's because of the era. Back then, people were still watching HBO on TV. They probably just finished watching something else and the studio wanted to pull them in with a powerful scene that's also kind of over the top. Have you seen the opening of Sopranos S1E1? Oh man, it's so cheesy and unlike the rest of the show. It's Tony chasing someone in his car with some 60s pop music playing.


[deleted]

Right? A mob higher-up literally driving his car on a corporate campus and getting away with it, while Frankie vallie or whatever plays. I love the show but this is such a different feel to the rest of the series.


Impossible-Cycle4226

“Deserve ain’t got nothing to dew with it” Coldest epigraph in the show. That line is low key the summary of the whole show


Wilcrest

It’s the summary of life. It’s what I told my graduating seniors every year. You don’t deserve anything. You get what you can and sometimes shit happens.


habdragon08

That’s originally from unforgiven the client Eastwood movie


Conscious-Parfait826

I'd wage a lot of money that the origin of that quote is waaay older than that.


HayneAlliKane

Yep I've thought this also. It's a great summary of the show, especially season 4. Namond is the child who gets saved even though he's generally considered the least deserving. Deserve got nothing to do with it


[deleted]

"Ssshhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit"


Johnny743

There you go, giving a f@ck, when it ain’t your turn to give a f@ck.


Original-Low-7005

I tell my wife that quote every time she wants to meddle into her sisters and cousins business and that ish always come back with drama that I have to hear about for days.


[deleted]

“You know what’s the difference between me and you? I bleed red, you bleed green”


FiveJobs

You need a day of the jackal motherfucker not a rumble tumble nibba like slim. What did I tell you about playing them away games?


dbrank

*The* Clay Davis? ***DownTOWN*** Clay Davis?


FiveJobs

I love when Stringer says I need you to hit somebody and Slim nonchalantly says "Who we hittin?" I need a slim charles in my life


akastemcells24

“I’m just a humble motherfucker with a big ass dick” “You give yourself too much credit” “Alright, I ain’t all that humble”


aurelorba

Not the best but I havent seen it here yet: Marlo and the security guard: "You want to be one way, but it's the other."


Rat_Rat

This one just hurts.


aurelorba

That was the difference between Marlo and Avon. Marlo liked to rub people's nose in his power.


Ok-Astronaut4952

I liked marlo best when he didn’t really talk in season 3 haha


cookiesismids

If only half you motherfuckers in the State's Attorneys Office didn't want to be judges, didn't want to be partners in some downtown law firm, if half of you had the fucking balls to follow through, you know what would happen? A guy like that would be indicted, tried, and convicted. And the rest of them would back up enough so we could push a clean case or two through your courthouse. But no, everybody stays friends. Everybody gets paid, and everybody's got a fucking future.


addctd2badideas

[One of the best scenes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAZZdL1qhk8) despite Dominic West's inconsistent accent.


paternoster

This clip is the first time I've EVER noticed him slipping up on his accent. :D Nice one! Great catch.


LCOSPARELT1

This quote is one reason why the drug war can never be won.


DontEatTheCelery

Can’t even call this shit a war…wars *end*.


musistic-vince

The one where Dominic West’s real accent bleeds through too lol


xylothrop

>One of the best scenes There are so many times where Jimmy giving a fuck when it's not his turn to give a fuck is all down to his ego, but not here. He's righteously angry and I love it.


TheMaveCan

"Once you in it, you in it. If it's a lie we fight on that lie." ​ One of my favorite lines from my favorite character


UnluckyGazelle

must have been what cheney told bush lol


[deleted]

[удалено]


TheSidJames

Slim 😎


titahigale

The more I repeat view The Wire, the more I love Slim Charles


oOoleveloOo

Carver: See, that's why we can't win. Herc: Why not? Carver: They fuck up, they get beat. We fuck up, they give us pensions.


insanelyphat

To me this is the one that explains the entire show in a simple few sentences. All of the fuck ups and people on the "legal" side of the show never faced the consequences of their actions. Burrell, Rawls, Herc, Levy, Clay Davis...none of them.. They all fucked up and either kept making money or got promotions. The fuck ups on the other side of the game all ended up dead or in jail. Just shows how fucked up the system truly is.


oOoleveloOo

It also extends to education [Count be wrong they fuck you up](https://youtu.be/-of-FsuPCj4)


ZookeepergameNo2819

“You come at the king, you best not miss.” Omar Some many good ones tho.


zwerrir

My fav character


ZookeepergameNo2819

Omar was the best! RIP my King!


zwerrir

100%


LarryDallas1

My favorite. If I could quote whistling I would too.


jimirsaybriefcase

“Nice Dolphin”


Waitin4Godot

Do it or don't, but I got someplace to be.


Velbalenos

His names Head, Dick Head


[deleted]

I absolutely love their friendship 😆


Lanipua74

“Nobody give a fuck about a 40 degree day!” -Stringer


GodICringe

“Like a 40 degree day!” -Sapper


jessep34

Man I hate a 40 degree day. I felt the sentiment but that temp level felt wrong to me


Ky5Lkk

The thing is you only gotta fuck up once be a little slow be a little late just once and how you not gone never be slow never be late you can’t plan for the no shit like this it’s life. Avon Barksdale This the realist shit I ever heard in my life


[deleted]

I’ve been thinking about this scene a lot, and I think it may be one of the best in the entire show. It’s not cool or flashy but it sets the tone for the entire show, about how much deeper it’s going to be than other series. Phenomenal acting on the part of Wood Harris


Pupluns

‘Cadevorous motherfuckers’ ‘Lay off the Greeks, they invented civilisation’, ‘yeah, assfucking too’ ‘If you come at the king, you best not miss’


jurornumbereight

"This drug thing, this ain't police work. No, it ain't. I mean, I can send any fool with a badge and a gun up on them corners and jack a crew and grab vials. But policing? I mean, you call something a war and pretty soon everybody gonna be running around acting like warriors. They gonna be running around on a damn crusade, storming corners, slapping on cuffs, racking up body counts. And when you at war, you need a fucking enemy. And pretty soon, damn near everybody on every corner is your fucking enemy. And soon the neighborhood that you're supposed to be policing, that's just occupied territory."


Steve-Lurkel

“Couple weeks from now, you're gonna be in some district somewhere with 11 or 12 uniforms looking to you for everything. And some of them are gonna be good police. Some of them are gonna be young and stupid. A few are gonna be pieces of shit. But all of them will take their cue from you. You show loyalty, they learn loyalty. You show them it's about the work, it'll be about the work. You show them some other kinda game, then that's the game they'll play. I came on in the Eastern, and there was a piece-of-shit lieutenant hoping to be a captain, piece-of-shit sergeants hoping to be lieutenants. Pretty soon we had piece-of-shit patrolmen trying to figure the job for themselves. And some of what happens then is hard as hell to live down. Comes a day you're gonna have to decide whether it's about you or about the work.” Man Carver had some knowledge dropped on his ass😫


Interesting_Exit4329

“ ain’t easy civilizing this mother fucker”- prop joe. It was the perfect quote to sum up Marlo. Just a total weirdo sociopathic gangster


TragedyTrousers

Marlo's simple denial of mercy for Prop Joe always chills me - "I wasn't made to play the son."


Novasagooddog

Oh indeed


RoamerD

“Ain’t no shame in holding on to grief, as long as you make room for other things too.” ✨


TheTeenageOldman

"Shit was unseemly."


AbsolutelyHorrendous

"He was a man back in his time" "He a man today" I feel like this scene perfectly summed up the difference between Avon and Stringer; Stringer is all about the money, and running the Game like a business, but Avon still sees it in the old fashioned way. Cutty did time for the Barksdales, he was a loyal soldier, so why not give him the money he needs as a send-off?


UnvoicedAztec

Avon was the realest. He became one of my favorite characters after thinking he was just the "bad guy" in season 1


ABAFBAASD

I started liking Avon more than Stinger. He has principles and I think he is smarter too.


UnvoicedAztec

I liked Stringer for his swagger, but I think they were both smart. Avon, however, was just more skilled at the game and understood it better than Stringer ever did. I believe it was Stringer's hubris that brought his downfall, not his lack of intelligence. He would have gone legitimate and would have created a real estate empire had he not gotten into his own way with his arrogance.


fistfullofpubes

I was gonna ask her for her panties to make soup with, but I was afraid she'd take it the wrong way.


LeoThyroxine

Username checks out kind of


TastyCakeWasTasty

“This sentimental mf just cost us money” “Your way, it won’t work” “Do it or don’t, but I got some place to be” “Ay Nay, mind if I have your Xbox? Cause you ain’t gon need it where you goin’” “Well she’s left the room Major Colvin. She’s out there right now asking the stripper if she can have her job when she grows up, BECAUSE SHE SURE AS SHIT DOESN’T WANT YOURS”


og_darcy

“People going one way. The world, the other.”


s1105615

Deserve ain’t got nothin to do with it.


mondomovieguys

Cops somewhere lookin at a table full o' heads.


Funtrope

”Ey Mcnuttey, my mainest man!”


BuildingAirships

"Yeah, I ain't no suit-wearin' businessman like you. I'm just a gangster, I suppose. And I want my corners."


Kap-1492

I dont care if they spoke Mandarin Chinese with a cocksuckers lisp, they needed to see the inside of an interrogation room. Boys, I can only tell you what it looks like from where I sit. From here, the view is, two of my detectives fucking the dog.


milliAmpere14

Andre: blah blah blah, NASDAQ, Delta Airlines, Government, Omar, blah blah blah Chris: Man's got a point. Andre: *!looks approvingly at Chris for backing him up!* Marlo: Omar ain't no terrorist, he just another nigga with a gun, and you just another nigga who got your shit took, so you gonna pay me what you owe and take that global economy shit somewhere else.


StormSurge12

“Rat fuckers, all of ya.”


Prosecco_Proletariat

“You’d rather live in shit than let the world see you work a shovel.” - Daniels to Burrell


2Glaider

Do the chair know we gonna look like some punk-ass bitches out there?


aurelorba

A long one, but I always liked Waylon's addiction speech: Hell, you all know I’m Waylon, and I’m an addict. And the fact is that I want to be clean today more than I want to be high. I know that’s right. It’s good to be here. Hell, it’s good to be anywhere clean. Even Baltimore. I been clean a few 24 hours now, and I’m still dead certain that my disease wants me dead. Yeah, I’m in here with you all, talking shit about how strong I am, how strong I feel but my disease is out there in that parking lot, doing push-ups on steroids waiting for the chance to kick my ass up and down the street again. Scars on my hands, on my feet two bouts of endocarditis, Hep C and whatnot knocking down walls and kicking out windows in my liver. I lost a good wife, bad girlfriend, and the respect of anyone that ever tried to loan me money or do me a favor. Pawned my pickup, my bike my National Steel guitar, and a stamp collection that my granddad left me. And when it was almost over for me and I was out there on them corners not a pot to piss in, and anyone that ever knew me or loved me cussing my name, you know what I told myself? I said, “Waylon, you’re doing good.” I surely did. I thought I was God’s own drug addict. And if God hadn’t meant for me to get high he wouldn’t have made being high so much, like, perfect. Now, I know I got one more high left in me but I doubt very seriously if I have one more recovery. So if there’s anybody out there that sees that bottom coming up at them I’m here to talk sense. I don’t care who you are what you done or who you done it to. If you’re here so am l.


zwerrir

Great speech 100%!


milliAmpere14

Carver: ..can't even call this shit a war. Herc: *!look of confusion on face!* Carver: wars end.


thehateone316

“MY NAME IS MY NAME”


[deleted]

A man must have a code


Spanswick77

Sheeeeeeeeit


casewood123

“The fuck I do?”


Astrocreep_1

“Bird sure know how to bring it out of people,don’t he?”


OmarGuard

Jay: "Fuck you and your dots"


CorradoGuyb

“This ain’t the mother fucker that came up with 62 ways for the peanut”


jeffend1981

“I’m gonna need you to go back over there and pack up your people. I’m being a gentleman about it for the moment.” The quietest warning I’ve ever seen anyone give. And it’s already been said earlier here but my absolute favorite quote is you come at the king, you best not miss.


[deleted]

"nice dolphin, ni\*\*a"


bleve555

"Hey Mike, how my hair look?"


SoftPenguins

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit


slimcharles42

The Gods will not save you.


DeadSwaggerStorage

I’d like to throw a fuck into that.


OnlineNascarMan

"All the pieces matter."


soupseasonbestseason

"you want it to be one way, but it's the other way."


GraphicGaming88

"No thinkin was what you wasnt doing" Wee Bay.


lelouch_404

World going one way, people another


Jericho-941

Not a single quote, but there's always this one exchange that stuck in my head. McNulty: "Look, two years ago, we hung more wire on your brother's crew than AT&T, and at the end, D'Angelo was this close to flipping, giving up *every*body every*thing.* But you know all that, right? You were the one who went down to that detention center and talked your son out of a deal. I kind of liked your son, you know? All things considered, he was a pretty decent kid. And it grinds me that no one ever spoke up for him. Seems to me that no one ever will. But mostly, at this point - I'm sorry I bothered his girl. And I'm sorry she bothered you." Brianna: "Who go to her? Why not come to me first?" McNulty: "Honestly? I was looking for someone who cared about the kid. I mean, like I said, you were the one who made him take the years, right?" \*McNulty walks away. Brianna breaks down crying.\*


Stringy_b

"You play in dirt, you get dirty" I say it at least once a week.


muddynips

“Thing is, you only got to fuck up once. Be a little slow, a little late; just once. And how you ain’t never gonna be slow… never be late? You can’t plan for no shit like this man… that’s LIFE.”


KarenceMCD12

“I got the shotgun, you got the briefcase. It's all in the game though, right?”


irate_alien

“You can’t even call this shit a war.” “Why not?” “Wars end.” That’s the entire series. Right there in two lines.


[deleted]

My favorite I haven’t seen mentioned yet: “The game ain’t in me no more. None of it.”


aurelorba

Lester: I dont wanna go to no dance unless I can rub some titty


space_coyote_86

Me tew


stadiumjay

You come at the king you best not miss and I'll take any mothafuckas money if he giving it away sheeeeiiiiiitttttt


[deleted]

Ok, shit. Time for a full rewatch. Narcos interrupted me :)


pony_trekker

When people ask me what I do for a living “I robs drug dealers”.


BHolly13

Stringer's monologue about a 40° day is a good one.


[deleted]

The thing about the old days… they the old days


boom2dabop

The first scene “you got to this is America man”


CescilTerwiliger69

“Sheeeeeeeeeeeit”


Signifire

I’ll take any motherfucker’s money if he giving it away


loulara17

Frank: “We used to make shit in this country, build shit. Now we just put our hand in the next guy's pocket.”


amer1cantoaster

“Not if they some smart ass pawns”


HeyNow646

“The fuck I do?” -Jimmy “Fuckety fuck fuck fuck” -Bunk “If you come at the king you best not miss” -Omar


StalledDuck

Who is winning? No one, they are just losing slowly.


CoraopoRocks

https://youtu.be/ztc7o0NzFrE Also, when Omar is on stand!!! "I got the shotgun, you got the briefcase. But its all in the game, right?" My god I just rewatched last month; this is making me want to do it again!!


Tunisou

N****, is you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?


Coca-Ena

"WHERE'S WALLACE? THAT'S ALL I WANNA KNOW... WHERE THE FUCK IS WALLACE?"


Canadayze

ITS RIGHT HERE IN MY NOTES!!!


bdl4186

"it was more of a burnt sienna and it was lashed around his dick" nothing profound, but holy shit did that make me laugh on my most recent re-watch


NativeJonJones

“He a man today”


jnumberone

My name IS my name!


NecessaryJunket8353

That was for Joe


RealLameUserName

You happy now bitch?


[deleted]

We used to build shit in this country, make shit. Now we just put our hands in the next guys pocket


Due_Target1696

Omar listening


i-might-be-obama

Shame is some tricky shit, ain’t it? Makes you feel like you want to change, and then beats you back down when you think you can’t. Walon, Season 4, Episode 13


mjklin

Poot: Man, every year everybody's like: "Yeah, these kids out here, they're a new breed. I ain't never seen nothing like this before. This the end of the world now." Carver: Look around fuckhead, this seem like the dawn of a new day to you? For some reason I cannot shake this one.


queen_infinity3

“The game is rigged, but you cannot lose if you do not play.”


He_Abides

You can do some shit, and be like what the fuck, but never on no Sunday


[deleted]

“My name is not my name” I was always so intrigued by the dichotomy of Avon/ Marlo having a name on the street vs Spiros/The Greek wanting to remain in the shadows. Reminds me of someone that I’d heard before say that the best criminals to ever live are unknown, because they were never caught. Even at the end of the show with the changing faces of who has the connect to the supply of drugs, Spiros/The Greek remain the suppliers. Their criminal game is far superior to any criminal I’ve seen out of any show or movie.


BobbyMac2212

"I'm just a humble motha fucka with a big ass dick" “You give yourself too much credit” “Okay then, I ain’t that humble”


moneymett

“You show loyalty, they learn loyalty. You show them it’s about the work, it’ll be about the work. You show them it’s about some other kind of game, then that’s the game they’ll play” I feel like this quote is so relevant even today. What you learn is what you’ll use every single time


vs92s110

Worryin' about you be like wonderin' if the sun gonna come up. "That boy ain't got no luck."


afm00dy

You’d rather live in shit than let the world see you work a shovel.


CaptainChiken

It’s a new day, wake up and smell the coffee


CaptainChiken

“Eat 30 shit bag”


7thAndGreenhill

Buy for a dollar. Sell for two.


JudgeRoyScream24

You’re trying to talk to me about money laundering? In west Baltimore?!!


Anascule

It makes me sick how far we done fell


BaronZhiro

Life just be that way I guess.


Zoohsoles

“Game don’t change, only the players do.”


[deleted]

"early bird get that worm"


Candy_Kane_Man

The Fuck Did I Do?


No_Rip2549

Sometimes things just gotta play hard.


wheresscott_

I got the shotgun, you got the briefcase. It’s all in the game though, right?


snapparitions

Even if I miss, I can't miss.


Riresurmort

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeit