Obscure But Very Useful Movie Quotes

Ken Jennings, the master of trivia whose Jeopardy! winning streak is legendary, author and mental_floss contributor, wrote one (well, two, actually) of the neatest lists on the Internet: obscure but very useful movie quotes.

For example:

“I’m not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work there, Lou.” Frances McDormand, one step ahead of her partner in Fargo. Useful when: politely disagreeing with someone. “Caitlin’s been quiet in there for an hour–she must be asleep.” “I’m not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work there, Lou.”

“Stay on target!” “Almost there.” “Stay…on…target…” I don’t even know who says this. Two pilots strafing the Death Star in Star Wars. Useful when: performing almost any precision-demanding manual task. Parallel parking. Whipping a souffle. Tightening a hard-to-reach screw on a piece of Ikea furniture. “Stay…on…target…”

“I’ll alert the media.” The long-suffering John Gielgud’s response to Arthur’s stated desire to take a bath, in Arthur. Useful when: anyone turns some fairly small, private thought into a full-fledged announcement. “This shirt is missing a button!” “I’ll alert the media.”

“Blocked. At every. Turn.” Jim Carrey, realizing that traffic is oddly synchronized on The Truman Show. Useful when: obstacles seem to crop up in your path in worst-case-scenario fashion,especially while driving. The universe is against you.

“DRAAAAAAINAGE!” Daniel Day-Lewis, from the worst bowling night ever in There Will Be Blood. Mindy has forbidden me from doing the “milkshake” thing, which is swiftly moving into catchphrase territory anyway, and is thus disqualified from the list. Useful when: draining the tub, turning on the disposal, cleaning rain gutters, etc. Also: when drinking (literally) someone’s milkshake. Especially if you plan to drink it up.

Check out the entire thing here: List 1 | List 2 | More contributions from Ken's forum readers