90 Cool Hand Luke Quotes to Bring Out Awesomeness

So sit back and relax as we go back in time. You will certainly be entertained by the most iconic quotes from one of the best movies in history.

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And don’t forget to check out these and .

1. “Calling it a job don’t make it right, boss.” – Luke

2. “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate. Some men, you just can’t reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it. I don’t like it any more than you men.” – Captain

3. “He’s a natural born world-shaker.” – Dragline

4. “Sorry, Luke. I’m just doing my job. You gotta appreciate that.” – Boss Paul

5. “You know, sometimes, I wished people was like dogs, Luke. Comes a time, a day like, when the bitch just don’t recognize the pups no more, so she don’t have no hopes nor love to give her pain. She just don’t give a damn.” – Arletta

6. “He was smiling. That’s right. You know, that, that Luke, that smile of his. He had it on his face right to the very end. Hell, if they didn’t know it ‘fore, they could tell right then that they weren’t a-gonna beat him, that old Luke smile. Oh, Luke. He was some boy, Cool Hand Luke.” – Dragline

7. “Well, Arletta, things are just never the way they seem, you know that. Sometimes a man just has to go his own way.” – Luke

8. “John-boy, lemme tell you something. You know, them chains ain’t medals. You get ’em for making mistakes. And you make a bad enough mistake, and then you gotta deal with the man. And he is one rough old boy.” – Luke

9. “Oh boy, she knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s driving us crazy, and loving every minute of it!” – Luke

10. “Boy, you’re new meat. You’re gonna have to shape up fast and hard for this gang. We got rules here. In order to learn ’em, you gotta do more work with your ears than with your mouth.” – Dragline

11. “I never planned anything in my life.” – Luke

12. “Sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand.” – Luke

13. “That’s my darling, Luke. He grins like a baby but bites like a gator.” – Dragline

14. “Small town, not much to do in the evening.” – Luke

15. “Oh come on. Stop beatin’ it. Get out there yourself. Stop feedin’ off me. Get out of here. I can’t breathe. Give me some air.” – Luke

16. “Oh Luke, you wild, beautiful thing. You crazy handful of nothin’.” – Dragline

17. “Anything so innocent and built like that just gotta be named Lucille.” – Dragline

18. “You gonna get used to wearin’ them chains after a while, Luke. Don’t you never stop listenin’ to them clinking. ‘Cause they gonna remind you of what I been saying, for your own good.” – Captain

19. “Well, that oughta be easy for a genuine son of a bitch.” – Luke

20. “That ditch is Boss Kean’s ditch. And I told him that dirt in, it’s your dirt. What’s your dirt doin’ in his ditch?” – Boss Paul

21. “You run one time, you got yourself a set of chains. You run twice, you got yourself two sets. You ain’t gonna need no third set, ’cause you gonna get your mind right.” – Captain

22. “Nothin’, a handful of nothin’. You stupid mullet head, he beat you with nothin’, just like today, when he kept comin’ back at me—with nothin’.” – Dragline

23. “Now, I can be a good guy, or I can be one real mean sum-bitch.” – Captain

24. “Wish you’d stop bein’ so good to me, Cap’n.” – Luke

25. “Now, I can be a nice guy, but if you trouble me, I can be a mean son of a bitch.” – Boss Paul

26. Is that your answer, Old Man? Well, I guess you’re a hard case too. – Luke

27. “Don’t hit me anymore. Oh God, I pray to God you don’t hit me anymore. I’ll do anything you say, but I can’t take any more.” – Luke

28. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I guess I’m pretty tough to deal with, huh? A hard case. Yeah, I guess I gotta find my own way.” – Luke

29. “Come on. Love me, hate me, kill me, anything. Just let me know it.” – Luke

30. “I’m just standin’ in the rain talkin’ to myself.” – Luke

31. “Knock it off, Luke. You can’t talk about Him that way.” – Dragline

32. “Anybody here? Hey, Old Man, You home tonight? Can You spare a minute? It’s about time we had a little talk. I know I’m a pretty evil fellow—killed people in the war, and got drunk, and chewed up municipal property and the like. I know I got no call to ask for much, but even so, You’ve got to admit You ain’t dealt me no cards in a long time. It’s beginning to look like You got things fixed so I can’t ever win out. Inside, outside, all of them—rules, and regulations, and bosses. You made me like I am. Now, just where am I supposed to fit in? Old Man, I gotta tell You, I started out pretty strong and fast, but it’s beginning to get to me. When does it end? What do You got in mind for me? What do I do now? Right. All right.” – Luke

33. “Are you still believin’ in that big bearded Boss up there? You think He’s watchin’ us?” – Luke

34. “Dying? Boy, He can have this little life any time He wants to. Do Ya hear that? Are Ya hearin’ it? Come on. You’re welcome to it, ol’ timer. Let me know You’re up there.” – Luke

35. “My Lord, whatever I done, don’t strike me blind for another couple of minutes.” – Dragline

36. “Let him go. Bam, bam.” – Luke

37. “You’re an original, that’s what you are!” – Dragline

38. “Man, there’s still daylight.” – Convict

39. “Just let that li’l ol’ belly sag and enjoy yourself!” – Dragline

40. “No man can eat fifty eggs.” – Fixer

41. “She ain’t got nothin’ but, nothin’ but one safety pin holdin’ that thing on. Come on, safety pin, pop. Come on , pop.” – Gambler

42. Dragline: “Why you got to go and say fifty eggs for? Why not thirty-five or thirty-nine?”

Luke: “I thought it was a nice round number.”

43. “Alright, stand back, you pedestrians, this ain’t no automobile accident.” – Dragline

44. “Move over. I’m gonna sit in here next to my boy—Cool Hand Luke.” – Dragline

45. “My boy says he can eat fifty eggs, he can eat fifty eggs.” – Dragline

46. “You hang on in there, Luke. You hang on. There’s gonna be some world-shakin’, Luke. We gonna send you a postcard.” – Dragline

47. “Don’t know whether to smile, spit, or swallow.” – Dragline

48. “You better get in there and get it out, boy.” – Boss Paul

49. “You tryin’ to say something? You got a flappin’ mouth. One of these days, I’m gonna have to flap me up some dust with it.” – Dragline

50. “Well, lookie here. I knew they’d get you. Them chains and a bonus of a couple of years, your running days are over forever, boy. Hell, I’d like to see you try to run again. You know, you getting so you smell so bad I can track you myself.” – Dog Boy

51. “Stay down, you’re beat.” – Dragline

52. “Shut your mouth about my Lucille.” – Dragline

53. “Luke? You all right? They got us, boy. They’re out there, thicker than flies. Bosses, dogs, sheriffs, more guns than I’ve ever seen in my life. You ain’t got a chance. They caught up with me right after we split up. And they was aimin’ to kill ya. But I fixed it. I got ’em to promise if you give up peaceful, they won’t whip ya this time. Luke, you gotta listen to me. All ya got to do is give up nice and quiet. Just play cool.” – Dragline

54. “Git outa my eyeballin’ seat, you newmeat dummy!” – Dragline

55. “When it comes to the law, nothin’ is understood. I’m his official egg-peeler. That’s the law!” – Dragline

56. “He ain’t in the box because of the joke played on him. He back-sassed a free man. They got their rules.” – Dragline

57. “We ain’t got nothin’ to do with that. Would probably have happened to him sooner or later anyway, a complainer like him. He gotta learn the rules the same as anybody else.” – Dragline

58. “There is no smoking in the prone position in bed. To smoke, you must have both legs over the side of your bunk. Any man caught smoking in the prone position in bed spends a night in the box.” – Carr

59. “You got a grudge against another man, you fight him Saturday afternoon. Any man playing grabass or fightin’ in the building spends a night in the box.” – Carr

60. “No one’ll sit in the bunks with dirty pants on. Any man with dirty pants on sitting on the bunks spends a night in the box. Any man don’t bring back his empty pop bottle spends a night in the box. Any man loud-talking spends a night in the box.” – Carr

61. “Them clothes got laundry numbers on them. You remember your number and always wear the ones that has your number. Any man forgets his number spends a night in the box.” –  Carr

62. “These here, spoons you keep with you. Any man loses his spoon spends a night in the box.” – Carr

63. “I hope you ain’t going to be a hard case.” _ Carr

64. “First bell’s at five minutes of eight when you will get in your bunk. Last bell is at eight. Any man not in his bunk at eight spends the night in the box.” – Carr

65. “One in the box, one in the bush.” – Carr

66. “You got questions, you come to me. I’m Carr, the floorwalker. I’m responsible for order in here.” – Carr

67. “You ain’t alone. Everywhere you go, I’m with you, John too.” – Arletta

68. “I guess I just gotta, gotta love you and let go, hmm?” – Arletta

69. “Oh, I had me, I had me some high old times. Your old man, Luke, he wasn’t much good for stickin’ around, but dammit, he made me laugh.” – Arletta

70. “When a man’s mother dies, and uh, he gets to thinking about her funeral and paying respects, before he knows it, his mind ain’t right. He’s got rabbit in his blood and he runs.” – Captain 

71. “I always hoped to see you well-fixed. Have me a crop of grand kids to fuss around with.” – Arletta

72. “You’re gonna hafta kill me.” – Luke

73. “Don’t you ever talk that way to me. Never! Never!” – Captain

74. “Oh man, oh man, I’m dying.” – Convict

75. Boss Paul: “You got your mind right, Luke?”

Luke: “Yeah. I got it right. I got it right, boss.”

76. “Foolin’ ’em, huh? You can’t fool ’em about somethin’ like that. They broke me.” – Luke

77. “Get in here. Ain’t ya scared? Ain’t ya scared of dying?” – Dragline

78. “You try to run again, we gonna kill ya.” – Boss Paul

79. “What’d he look like, Drag? Yeah, what’d he look like? He had his eyes opened or closed, Drag?” – Convicts

80. “Why, we always thought you was strong enough to carry it. Was we wrong?” – Arletta

81. “Well, I ain’t askin’ what ya gonna do when you get out, because I’ll be dead and it don’t matter.” – Arletta

82. “Aw. All that time, you was plannin’ on runnin’ again.” – Dragline

83. “Look Cap’n, look what he done to Blue. He’s dead, he’s dead. He run himself plum to death.” – Dog Boy

84. “Uncle Luke, why can’t you have chains?” – Luke’s Nephew

85. “Yeah, them poor old bosses need all the help they can get.” – Luke

86. “Now, there ain’t nothing to come back for.” – John

87. “You never thought maybe that’s a heavy load?” – Luke

88. “Just nine more between you and everlastin’ glory—just little ol’ eggs. They pigeon eggs, that’s all.” – Dragline

89. “Hey, buddy, take it easy. You’re making me look bad.” – Dragline