Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
It is said that we’re living in the golden age of television when it comes to series, but the best show ever created aired between 2002 and 2008, and it’s called The Wire. HBO series revolve around Baltimore drug scene, seen through the eyes of the drug dealers and police officers mainly, although politicians, teachers, and journalists all make appearances. The Wire characters are the elements which make the show so great, as they are as believable and relatable as they are impressive and distinct.
It seems that all of them drop little nuggets of wisdom, from the corner dealers to the high ranked city officials, but of course, the main characters like The Wire’s Omar have quite a few of them. The show itself emphasize the importance on quotes as one marks the start of each episode, often representing the theme of it. So we take a look back on some of the greatest parts of wisdom said by the important The Wire characters.
Frank Sobotka quote
“We used to make shit in this country, build shit. Now we just put our hand in the next guy’s pocket”
Lester Freamon quotes
“I don’t wanna go to no dance unless I can rub some tit.”
“A life, Jimmy, you know what that is? It’s the shit that happens while you’re waiting for moments that never come.”
“You follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers. But you start to follow the money, and you don’t know where the f**k it’s gonna take you.”
William “The Bunk” Moreland quotes
Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
“The Bunk is strictly a suit-and-tie motherf**ker”
” I’m just a humble motherfucker with a big-ass dick”
D’Angelo Barksdale quotes
“See, the king stay the king, a’ight?”
“Where’s Wallace at? Where the f**k is Wallace? Where’s Wallace, String? String! Where the f**k is Wallace? Huh? Stringer!”
Brother Mouzone quote
“You know what the most dangerous thing in America is, right?… A n***a with a library card.”
Det. Roland ‘Prez’ Pryzbylewski quotes
“Shit, I’m married. With lawn furniture, man.”
Stringer Bell quote
“Nigga, is you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?”
Omar Devone Little quote
“At the end of the day, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.”
“I got the shotgun. You got the briefcase. It’s all in the game, though, right?”
“Man, money ain’t got no owners. Only spenders.”
“Lesson here, ‘Bey: You come at the king, you best not miss…”
“Look man, I do what I can do to help y’all. But the game is out there, and it’s either play or get played.”
“How you expect to run with the wolves come night, when you spend all day sparring wit’ the puppies?”
Reginald “Bubbles” Cousins quote
“Ain’t no shame in holding on to grief, as long as you make room for other things too.”
Wallace quote
“Yo, you my niggas yo. We boyz. I ain’t gotta be like this” – before getting shot by Bodie an Poot.
Prop Joe quote
“Stir up a hornet’s nest, no telling who gone get stung”
Sgt. Ellis Carver quote
“You can’t even call this shit a war…wars end.”
Jimmy McNulty quotes
“I wonder what it feels like to work in a real police department!”
“I don’t know. The lie’s so big, people can live with it, I guess.” – answering to Bunk how he’s not in jail.
“Crikey! I was looking to get a little hanky-panky and this one bloke gave me this number to call when I got across the pond” – especially funny seeing how the actor Dominic West is a Brit, playing an American, imitating a Brit.
“The things that make me right for this job, maybe they’re the same things that make me wrong for everything else”
“See, that’s what I don’t get about the drug thing. Why can’t you sell the shit and walk the fuck away? You know what I mean? Everything else in this country gets sold without people shooting each other behind it.”
“If only half you motherfuckers at the district attorney’s office didn’t want to be judges, didn’t want to be partners in some downtown law firm… If half of you had the f**king balls to follow through, you know what would happen? A guy like that would be indicted, tried and convicted. And the rest of ’em 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 f**king future.”
“Well, you know what they say: “stupid criminals make stupid cops”. I’m proud to be chasing this guy.” – on Stringer Bell.
“He’s a boss. F**k the bosses.”
State Sen. R. Clayton ‘Clay’ Davis quote
“SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIET”
What are some of your The Wire characters favorite quotes?
