A small crimson flag on a pole beside a gold medal and ribbon against a charcoal background.

Original artwork, not a still

Mr. Burns

Honestly, Smithers, I don't even know why Harvard continues to show up. Why, they barely even won.

— The Simpsons ‧ 1989

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

A snobbish, sneering put-down. The speaker wonders why Harvard even bothers to show up, then adds that they barely won, which is a twist: the complaint is that a victory was too narrow to count as impressive. It's arrogance turned upside down, treating a win as a disgrace.

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