--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Son, you're teasin' the gorilla in the…" description: "\"Son, you're teasin' the gorilla in the monkey house.\" — Hank Hill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/hank-hill-20223_gorilla_son-you-re-teasin-the-gorilla-in-the-mon_518003.jpg" --- # Son, you're teasin' the gorilla in the monkey house. ![“Son, you're teasin' the gorilla in the monkey house.” quote by Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/hank-hill-20223_gorilla_son-you-re-teasin-the-gorilla-in-the-mon_518003.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/hank-hill-20223_gorilla_son-you-re-teasin-the-gorilla-in-the-mon_518003.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/hank-hill-20223_gorilla_son-you-re-teasin-the-gorilla-in-the-mon_518003.jpg) > “Son, you're teasin' the gorilla in the monkey house.” [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A humorous warning about provoking someone who may seem harmless but can become dangerous if teased. **In simple terms:** Don’t provoke the seemingly weak. Key Takeaway Avoid unnecessary conflict. Themes humor warning power dynamics Mood playful cautious Type advice humorous When to use this quote - family gatherings - workplace banter - online forums Key Concepts social hierarchy provocation selfcontrol Questions to Reflect On - What situations might you be underestimating? - How can you recognize hidden strengths? A Different Perspective Even mild teasing can escalate unexpectedly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gorilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gorilla/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Monkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monkey/) ## Related quotes > [“At the zoo, I stood in front of the primate cage listening to a woman marvel at how “presidential” the four-hundred-pound gorilla looked sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/at-the-zoo-i-stood-in-front-of-the-primate-cage-listening-to-a-woman-2/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [“At the zoo, I stood in front of the primate cage listening to a woman marvel at how “presidential” the four-hundred-pound gorilla looked sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/at-the-zoo-i-stood-in-front-of-the-primate-cage-listening-to-a-woman/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [“one can in fact trust a four hundred pound male gorilla, before one can ever trust a Roman Catholic priest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-lockhart/one-can-in-fact-trust-a-four-hundred-pound-male-gorilla-before-one/) [Peter B. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-b-lockhart/) > [I'm King Kong, silverback Congo. Call me Gorilla but my real name 'Lonzo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gorilla-zoe/i-m-king-kong-silverback-congo-call-me-gorilla-but-my-real-name-lonzo/) [Gorilla Zoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gorilla-zoe/) > [I have no patience whatever with these gorilla damnifications of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/i-have-no-patience-whatever-with-these-gorilla-damnifications-of/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [“She took a deep steadying breath, and channelled her inner gorilla. “Gron,” she grunted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-lancaster/she-took-a-deep-steadying-breath-and-channelled-her-inner-gorilla/) [V.C. Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-lancaster/) > [WWE is the 8,000 pound gorilla in the room, and the market share they have is north of 90 percent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-jarrett/wwe-is-the-8-000-pound-gorilla-in-the-room-and-the-market-share-they/) [Jeff Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-jarrett/) > [It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/it-will-be-a-killer-and-a-chiller-and-a-thriller-when-i-get-the/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [My aunt Maxie had a plastic guitar in her closet, and I started playing that, going nuts on it. I went to stay with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benji-hughes/my-aunt-maxie-had-a-plastic-guitar-in-her-closet-and-i-started/) [Benji Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benji-hughes/) > [Not a lot of people get into Brock Lesnar like I did. Brock is every bit as intimidating as you'd imagine he would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samoa-joe/not-a-lot-of-people-get-into-brock-lesnar-like-i-did-brock-is-every/) [Samoa Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samoa-joe/) > [That's right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh," Nick said arrogantly. "You might know karate, boy, but I know gorilla, and I'm a level 40 champion in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/that-s-right-uh-huh-uh-huh-nick-said-arrogantly-you-might-know-karate/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“on August 16, 1996, when an eight-year-old female gorilla named Binti Jua helped a three-year-old boy who had fallen eighteen feet into the primate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/on-august-16-1996-when-an-eight-year-old-female-gorilla-named-binti/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“I stood with my arms crossed, scanning the crowd. My eyes hated on a very tall gorilla looking in our direction. He bore a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-higgins/i-stood-with-my-arms-crossed-scanning-the-crowd-my-eyes-hated-on-a/) [Wendy Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-higgins/) > [You call yourself a gorilla, yet you come out here and hee-haw like a jack ass! (Stone Cold referring to Gorilla Monsoon)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/you-call-yourself-a-gorilla-yet-you-come-out-here-and-hee-haw-like-a/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [“Looking down at her blood-stained shirt she felt numb. The world seemed to spin and the edges of her vision began to turn black.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-cody/looking-down-at-her-blood-stained-shirt-she-felt-numb-the-world/) [Katie Cody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-cody/) ## More by Hank Hill > [Bobby, some things are like a tire fire, trying to put it out only makes it worse. You just gotta grab a beer and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/bobby-some-things-are-like-a-tire-fire-trying-to-put-it-out-only/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [You can't compete with this guy. He's a football player, and football players know how to treat a woman right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/you-can-t-compete-with-this-guy-he-s-a-football-player-and-football/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [Butane is the bastard gas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/butane-is-the-bastard-gas/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [I always say - if you plan ahead, then when things happen, you're prepared for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/i-always-say-if-you-plan-ahead-then-when-things-happen-you-re/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [I am the mac daddy of Hiemlich County.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/i-am-the-mac-daddy-of-hiemlich-county/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [So are you Chinese or Japanese?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/so-are-you-chinese-or-japanese/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [Worker's comp? Do I look like a hobo to you? No, sir, I am not going on welfare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/worker-s-comp-do-i-look-like-a-hobo-to-you-no-sir-i-am-not-going-on/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [Bobby, from now on when I ask you how your day was, what I mean is 'how was shop'?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/bobby-from-now-on-when-i-ask-you-how-your-day-was-what-i-mean-is-how/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [If Bobby doesn't love football, he won't lead a fulfilling life, and then he'll die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/if-bobby-doesn-t-love-football-he-won-t-lead-a-fulfilling-life-and/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [Bobby, I want to give you this cup. It was made from the finest American steel ever to come out of Pittsburgh, PA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/bobby-i-want-to-give-you-this-cup-it-was-made-from-the-finest/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [I can't enjoy a party until I know where the bathroom is. You knew that when you married me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/i-can-t-enjoy-a-party-until-i-know-where-the-bathroom-is-you-knew/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [Bobby I'm going to tell you to do two things I hope you never have to do again, tape the Cowboys game and fetch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/bobby-i-m-going-to-tell-you-to-do-two-things-i-hope-you-never-have-to/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [Disappointment? No! You make me proud! I've been disappointed by just about everything else in this town, but you? Not once. Damn it, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/disappointment-no-you-make-me-proud-i-ve-been-disappointed-by-just/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [Why are we watching a foreign movie? You'd think if it was any good they would make an American version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/why-are-we-watching-a-foreign-movie-you-d-think-if-it-was-any-good/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [If you'd like to learn more about sexual education, don't! Nobody likes a know-it-all who sits around talking about their genitalia. Now, I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/if-you-d-like-to-learn-more-about-sexual-education-don-t-nobody-likes/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) [Explore all 30 Hank Hill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) ## More Gorilla quotes > [“Looking down at her blood-stained shirt she felt numb. The world seemed to spin and the edges of her vision began to turn black.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-cody/looking-down-at-her-blood-stained-shirt-she-felt-numb-the-world/) [Katie Cody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-cody/) > [You call yourself a gorilla, yet you come out here and hee-haw like a jack ass! (Stone Cold referring to Gorilla Monsoon)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/you-call-yourself-a-gorilla-yet-you-come-out-here-and-hee-haw-like-a/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [“I stood with my arms crossed, scanning the crowd. My eyes hated on a very tall gorilla looking in our direction. He bore a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-higgins/i-stood-with-my-arms-crossed-scanning-the-crowd-my-eyes-hated-on-a/) [Wendy Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-higgins/) > [“on August 16, 1996, when an eight-year-old female gorilla named Binti Jua helped a three-year-old boy who had fallen eighteen feet into the primate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/on-august-16-1996-when-an-eight-year-old-female-gorilla-named-binti/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [That's right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh," Nick said arrogantly. "You might know karate, boy, but I know gorilla, and I'm a level 40 champion in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/that-s-right-uh-huh-uh-huh-nick-said-arrogantly-you-might-know-karate/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Not a lot of people get into Brock Lesnar like I did. Brock is every bit as intimidating as you'd imagine he would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samoa-joe/not-a-lot-of-people-get-into-brock-lesnar-like-i-did-brock-is-every/) [Samoa Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samoa-joe/) > [My aunt Maxie had a plastic guitar in her closet, and I started playing that, going nuts on it. I went to stay with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benji-hughes/my-aunt-maxie-had-a-plastic-guitar-in-her-closet-and-i-started/) [Benji Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benji-hughes/) > [It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/it-will-be-a-killer-and-a-chiller-and-a-thriller-when-i-get-the/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [WWE is the 8,000 pound gorilla in the room, and the market share they have is north of 90 percent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-jarrett/wwe-is-the-8-000-pound-gorilla-in-the-room-and-the-market-share-they/) [Jeff Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-jarrett/) > [“She took a deep steadying breath, and channelled her inner gorilla. “Gron,” she grunted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-lancaster/she-took-a-deep-steadying-breath-and-channelled-her-inner-gorilla/) [V.C. Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-lancaster/) > [I have no patience whatever with these gorilla damnifications of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/i-have-no-patience-whatever-with-these-gorilla-damnifications-of/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I'm King Kong, silverback Congo. Call me Gorilla but my real name 'Lonzo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gorilla-zoe/i-m-king-kong-silverback-congo-call-me-gorilla-but-my-real-name-lonzo/) [Gorilla Zoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gorilla-zoe/) > [“one can in fact trust a four hundred pound male gorilla, before one can ever trust a Roman Catholic priest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-lockhart/one-can-in-fact-trust-a-four-hundred-pound-male-gorilla-before-one/) [Peter B. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-b-lockhart/) > [In the early '50s, my great-grandmother and grandfather raised a baby gorilla named Bobo who wore clothes and played with the neighborhood kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-elverum/in-the-early-50s-my-great-grandmother-and-grandfather-raised-a-baby/) [Phil Elverum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-elverum/) > [When it comes to global warming, coal is the gorilla in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goodell/when-it-comes-to-global-warming-coal-is-the-gorilla-in-the-room/) [Jeff Goodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goodell/) [Browse all 71 Gorilla quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gorilla/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Son, you're teasin' the gorilla in the monkey house.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hank Hill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/son-you-re-teasin-the-gorilla-in-the-monkey-house/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gorilla" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/son-you-re-teasin-the-gorilla-in-the-monkey-house/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/hank-hill-20223_gorilla_son-you-re-teasin-the-gorilla-in-the-mon_518003.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/hank-hill-20223_gorilla_son-you-re-teasin-the-gorilla-in-the-mon_518003.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1a/hank-hill-20223_gorilla_son-you-re-teasin-the-gorilla-in-the-mon_518003.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Son, you're teasin' the gorilla in the monkey house.” — Hank Hill", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hank Hill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Son, you're teasin' the gorilla in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/son-you-re-teasin-the-gorilla-in-the-monkey-house/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/son-you-re-teasin-the-gorilla-in-the-monkey-house/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```