Original artwork, not a still
Marge, it takes two to lie: one to lie and one to listen.
— The Simpsons · 1989
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is Homer at his most smugly illogical: a sentence built to sound wise that quietly tells Marge she is partly to blame for believing him. It reads like folk wisdom and works as a joke about bluffing, which is why people quote it as a half-serious maxim about scams and gullibility.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The SimpsonsShow the scene
From "Colonel Homer", a season 3 episode of The Simpsons first aired on 26 March 1992. After Marge snaps at Homer in a cinema, he drives off to a country bar and discovers the singer Lurleen Lumpkin. He becomes her manager, "Colonel Homer", and Marge grows jealous of the time he spends with her. Homer offers the line to Marge as he tries to talk his way out of trouble, and it is one of the episode's best-known jokes.
Sources (2)
- Simpsons Wiki: Colonel Homer quotesQuote listReference checked
- Simpsons Wiki: Colonel HomerInfobox and Full StoryReference checked
Context reviewed
