Do you ever talk in movie quotes? Sometimes I wonder if a quarter of what I say isn’t lifted from movies, consciously or not. Mindy and I first met (sorta) over a movie quote–the story is on page 245 of Brainiac.

Novices might imagine that people who quote movies are zany/annoying “office character” types always rattling off punchlines and taglines. “Houston, we have a problem!” “Are you talking to me?” “You can’t handle the truth!” In my experience, movie-quoters are a lot more idiosyncratic. The dialogue they repeat isn’t famous. But for some reason (repetition? coincidence?) it’s been particularly memorable to them. And it’s useful in a broad array of social situations. Thankfully, my daily routine doesn’t require me to say “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” or “I’m gonna make you squeal like a pig!” very often. But here, off the top of my head, are ten movie quotes I use all the time.

1. “Marines! We are lea-ving!” Michael Biehn, at the top of his lungs in Aliens. Useful when: trying to get all the kids in the car.
2. “This is no good. We’re on top of the monument!” Cary Grant atop Mount Rushmore in North by Northwest. Useful when: sightseeing. Anywhere. Last used atop the Vittoriano in Rome. My Cary Grant redefines “terrible.”
3. “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.”
4. “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…”
5. “I was born on the side of a hill. I was born on the side of a hill.” Katharine Hepburn, in the Connecticut woods, with one high heel broken off her shoes. Bringing Up Baby. Useful when: wearing only one shoe. Also: standing on the side of a hill.
6. “Dey ain’t got no feelings. Dey’re made of rubber!” Paraphrased, a clown in Dumbo. (He’s talking about elephants.) Useful when: you’re tormenting in some way, or have just dropped, the children. Or dog.
7. (In a posh accent.) “All the poor people would come rushing in!” One of the most appalling children in 21 Up, Michael Apted’s documentary series revisiting the lives of a randomly chosen group of Britons every seven years. For a documentary, the Up series is surprisingly quotable, mostly because each successive installment reprises all the juicy lines from the last ones. Useful when: tweaking upper-class twits. Scenes from the class struggle in Seattle.
8. “He’s laughing, having a good time.” A bottled-up Adam Sandler, about to attack a mini-golf clown in Happy Gilmore. Useful when: conveying disgruntled annoyance that someone else is having a little too much fun at your expense. “You had to walk all the way back up here in the rain?!” “Sure, you’re laughing, having a good time…”
9. “459 Durillo Street.” Barbra Streisand, pretending to be a secretary, sends Madeline Kahn to a rundown address in Peter Bogdanovich’s salute to screwball comedy, What’s Up, Doc? Useful when: looking for a street address from a car, especially when Google Maps sends you through some seedy neighborhood en route. “That’s foah. Fah-eev. Nah-een. Durillo Street.” Also: when “punking” Madeline Kahn (pre-1999 usage).
10. “Send me all the blueprints. Send me all the blueprints. Send me all the blueprints.” Leo flips out, as Howard Hughes in The Aviator. Useful when: someone nearby is evincing OCD symptoms. Not when it’s your son though. Turns out your wife gets mad. Replaces: “Sammelweiss. Sammelweiss. Sammelweiss.” Brad Pitt wigging out in Twelve Monkeys.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten dozens of others, so maybe I’ll run a sequel some time. Readers: what are your favorite non-famous movie quotes that seem to come up in conversation more than the famous ones?