The Golden Girls is a wonderful sitcom that originally aired back in the 1980's about four senior women sharing a house and getting into all sorts of strange situations.
One of these lovely ladies is Rose Nylund, a woman in her late fifties from the Minnesota town of St. Olaf portrayed by Betty White.
Rose isn't always the brightest bulb in the drawer, but her heart is in the right place and some of the funniest things on the show come right out of her mouth. Here are four of her favorite one-liners I've come across so far streaming Golden Girls on Hulu. They are always sure to make you stop and think "what?".
1. "My mother always used to say, 'The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana.'"
Well, it's the truth! If a little unorthodox. Really any perishable good could have been used but there's something singularly funny about using banana.
But the real key to comedy is to be unpredictable and these next 3 are truly unpredictable sayings:
2. "If you hold a bird gently, it will stay. If you squeeze the bird, its eyes will bug out."
Not where I thought that one was going to go. And it's so much funnier than the usual cliche. However, it is also concerning and make you wonder just how many birds Rose might have accidentally killed in her youth.
3. "You can put two herring in a purse and let them fight it out but you should never take that purse to a formal affair."
According to Rose, this one is an "old Scandinavian saying". I think it's hilarious. And it's very true! Don't take fish-purses to formal events. Rose tried to use this as a proverb and relate it to a situation in which two characters were not getting along at a party. And it works, if you squint hard enough. I think the real meaning is "leave your problems at home".
and lastly, this one is my very favorite again because of its unpredictability:
4. "You can lead a herring to water, but you have to walk real fast or he'll die."
The imagery it conjures, the utter earnest with which Rose utters it, the looks Blanche and Dorothy give her. This will always be one of my favorite Rose Nyland sayings no matter how many others I hear. Rose claims this one as an "old Scandinavian saying" as well and it's a wonderful play on the old "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink" because this particular saying seems to have no real life lesson. It's just funny.
So there you go, four hilarious one-liners from Rose Nylund. Needless to say, she is not the only comedic zinger on the show and if you are looking for sassy, dry retorts that make the audience go "oooooh", look no further than listening to Rose's roommate Dorothy.
Golden Girls has some comedy for everyone and if you've never seen it you should really go check it out.
