Original artwork, not a still
Here's a quarter. Go downtown and have a rat gnaw that thing off your face.
— Uncle Buck • 1989
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The perfect uncle moment: a man with no job and no degree defending a small child with total conviction. John Candy plays it as outrageous chivalry, and the insult is so specific that it has outlived the film as a stock reply to anyone being pompous. People still reach for it, usually with the quarter.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Uncle BuckShow the scene
In Uncle Buck, bachelor Buck Russell is minding his brother's three children when he is summoned to six-year-old Maizy's school. Her strict assistant principal, Mrs. Hoargarth, has been hard on the little girl, and Buck lets her have it: he does not want to know a six-year-old who is not a dreamer, and if she so much as scowls at his niece he will hear about it. He ends the speech by pressing a coin on her and telling her where to go, then wishes her good day.
Sources (3)
- Springfield! Springfield! script: Uncle BuckPrincipal's office sceneReference checked
- Wikipedia: Uncle BuckPlot and CastReference checked
- Wikiquote: Uncle BuckBuck Russell sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
