Clean Quote by Mitch Hedberg
“This shirt is dry clean only. Which means... it's dirty.”
About This Quote
Source Stand‑up Comedy: Live at the Comedy Store, 2005
A paradoxical joke that a “dry clean only” shirt is actually dirty, playing on literal versus figurative language.
In simple terms: A shirt labeled dry clean only is humorously called dirty.
Key Takeaway
Enjoy wordplay that flips expectations.
Themes
humor
language
paradox
absurdity
everyday life
Mood
playful
lighthearted
Type
comedic
observational
When to use this quote
- gift‑giving
- fashion advice
- marketing slogans
- social media memes
- teaching language nuances
Key Concepts
semantic ambiguity
irony
comedy writing
Questions to Reflect On
- How does context shape humor?
- When have you seen a literal phrase used figuratively?
A Different Perspective
The joke relies on contextual knowledge of laundry symbols, limiting its universality.
![“I walked all around it [the Guggenheim Bilbao] and couldn't find one clear, clean shot. To make things worse, the weather was lousy. Nothing about this rang commercial money shot. In a situation like this there's only one thing to do: forget about pleasing editors, please yourself.” quote by Robert Polidori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/375/robert-polidori-55002_clean_i-walked-all-around-it-the-guggenheim-bi_9097.jpg)
