--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’ve learned that when you get to be a…" description: "\"“I’ve learned that when you get to be a certain age, you can get away with saying a lot of things, some of which wouldn’t even be remotely funny if som..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/george-takei-4192_certain-age_i-ve-learned-that-when-you-get-to-be-a-c_2310729.jpg" --- # I’ve learned that when you get to be a certain age, you… ![“I’ve learned that when you get to be a certain age, you can get away with saying a lot of things, some of which wouldn’t even be remotely funny if someone forty years younger said them. The Golden Girls ran for years off the same theory and basically used the same four jokes for seven marvelous…” quote by George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/george-takei-4192_certain-age_i-ve-learned-that-when-you-get-to-be-a-c_2310729.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/george-takei-4192_certain-age_i-ve-learned-that-when-you-get-to-be-a-c_2310729.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/george-takei-4192_certain-age_i-ve-learned-that-when-you-get-to-be-a-c_2310729.jpg) > ““I’ve learned that when you get to be a certain age, you can get away with saying a lot of things, some of which wouldn’t even be remotely funny if someone forty years younger said them. The Golden Girls ran for years off the same theory and basically used the same four jokes for seven marvelous seasons.”” [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Age grants a license to speak boldly, but humor depends on context and audience. **In simple terms:** Older people can say more, but jokes need the right audience. Key Takeaway Use humor wisely, consider who’s listening. Themes age humor context Mood playful reflective Type observational humorous When to use this quote - family gatherings - public speaking - online comments - workplace banter Key Concepts social dynamics generational gaps Questions to Reflect On - How does audience age affect joke reception? - When is it appropriate to push boundaries? 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I would come home and make sure I finished my homework every night by 8…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-helberg/my-whole-life-revolved-around-tv-as-a-kid-i-would-come-home-and-make/) [Simon Helberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-helberg/) > [If you have one good series, you know, it's a blessing. Two good series is unusual. Three is a phenomenon, but right now, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-white/if-you-have-one-good-series-you-know-it-s-a-blessing-two-good-series/) [Betty White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-white/) > [When I was on 'The Golden Girls,' we'd have eight scenes per show. And when 'Seinfeld' came along, they went to, like, 30 scenes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-hurwitz/when-i-was-on-the-golden-girls-we-d-have-eight-scenes-per-show-and/) [Mitchell Hurwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-hurwitz/) > [I'll keep this as nonpartisan and diplomatic as possible - but for those of us whose heads are kind of spinning off and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-diane-raphael/i-ll-keep-this-as-nonpartisan-and-diplomatic-as-possible-but-for/) [June Diane Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-diane-raphael/) > [The Golden Girls certainly proved that there was a large audience for a show about older women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/the-golden-girls-certainly-proved-that-there-was-a-large-audience-for/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [Let me tell you girls the three most important things I learned about life: Number one: Hold fast to your friends; number two: There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estelle-getty/let-me-tell-you-girls-the-three-most-important-things-i-learned-about/) [Estelle Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/estelle-getty/) > [I'm that person who owns all of the seasons on DVDs, including the Lifetime intimate portraits showcasing The Golden Girls. I am a massive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/i-m-that-person-who-owns-all-of-the-seasons-on-dvds-including-the/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [When I want a chilling vision of the future, I just watch the Golden Girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-webb/when-i-want-a-chilling-vision-of-the-future-i-just-watch-the-golden/) [Morgan Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-webb/) > [I did a 'Golden Girls' once, which shot in front of an audience, and that went well. I had a good time. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-van-dyke/i-did-a-golden-girls-once-which-shot-in-front-of-an-audience-and-that/) [Dick Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-van-dyke/) > [They offered me $1,500 to do a week of 'The Golden Girls.' Can you imagine that? A big show with a big budget, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soupy-sales/they-offered-me-1-500-to-do-a-week-of-the-golden-girls-can-you/) [Soupy Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soupy-sales/) ## More by George Takei > [“Sharing is an act of trust, for ridicule is an ever-present risk on the Internet today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/sharing-is-an-act-of-trust-for-ridicule-is-an-ever-present-risk-on/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [“If leadership requires a fired-up sense of purpose and imagination, it also demands a profound connection to the society to be led. Like it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/if-leadership-requires-a-fired-up-sense-of-purpose-and-imagination-it/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [“As with the douchebags of the world, calling an asshole an asshole sometimes is exactly what needs to happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/as-with-the-douchebags-of-the-world-calling-an-asshole-an-asshole/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [“But as Stephen Fry has so eloquently noted, all great atrocities and genocides first begin with marginalizing then dehumanizing a specific group of people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/but-as-stephen-fry-has-so-eloquently-noted-all-great-atrocities-and/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [A man who layeth with another man must be stoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/a-man-who-layeth-with-another-man-must-be-stoned/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [Well, the whole history of Star Trek is the market demand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/well-the-whole-history-of-star-trek-is-the-market-demand/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [Today we have the economic collapse that the whole planet is suffering, but there is hope, and that's what's going to keep us moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/today-we-have-the-economic-collapse-that-the-whole-planet-is/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [You know, I grew up in two American internment camps, and at that time I was very young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/you-know-i-grew-up-in-two-american-internment-camps-and-at-that-time/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [“I began to wonder, what accounts for our collective affinity for the apocalypse? 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Vote!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/do-your-duty-as-an-american-and-as-a-citizen-of-the-galaxy-vote/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [“I’ve recently suggested that Betty and I should do a TV series about two seniors living together in an unlikely pairing of a widow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/i-ve-recently-suggested-that-betty-and-i-should-do-a-tv-series-about/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) [Explore all 115 George Takei quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) ## More Certain age quotes > [Unless you're of a certain age, you may not know my name, but you can Google it - I was a pretty big movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tab-hunter/unless-you-re-of-a-certain-age-you-may-not-know-my-name-but-you-can/) [Tab Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tab-hunter/) > [Those of us of a certain age grew up expecting that by now we would have Rosie the Robot from 'The Jetsons' in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-enriquez/those-of-us-of-a-certain-age-grew-up-expecting-that-by-now-we-would/) [Juan Enriquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-enriquez/) > [After you reach a certain age, they think you’re over. 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A lot of people get to be a certain age and they just kind of lose interest or they give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/i-m-looking-for-trouble-a-lot-of-people-get-to-be-a-certain-age-and/) [John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/) > [You get to a certain age and you start comparing and being uncomfortable in one's body. And then you get to a place where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wunmi-mosaku/you-get-to-a-certain-age-and-you-start-comparing-and-being/) [Wunmi Mosaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wunmi-mosaku/) > [When you get to a certain age, you don't get lost. If you have a good set of pals around about you can have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-kiernan/when-you-get-to-a-certain-age-you-don-t-get-lost-if-you-have-a-good/) [Ford Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-kiernan/) > [“He's a full grown man of a certain age - of which I now know - and a mouthwatering one at that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-ellen-malpas/he-s-a-full-grown-man-of-a-certain-age-of-which-i-now-know-and-a/) [Jodi Ellen Malpas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-ellen-malpas/) > [I'm trying to get my kids - in particular, my step-daughter Mary, who's 12 - to recommend music to me. 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