Alice Quotes

Context

This line is spoken by Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry, played by Polly Holiday, in the TV show Alice (1976-1985).

Alice was a show about a bunch of waitresses working in Mel's Diner. The boldest and most outspoken of the ladies was Flo, who—when she got annoyed with her boss—wasn't afraid to let off a sassy "Kiss my grits!" to let him know where he stood on her list. It was basically the TV way of saying "Kiss my [bleep]" without actually having to bleep it.

The line comes from the movie that the TV series was based on. In Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Flo tells her boss to "kiss [her] where the sun don't shine." TV writers couldn't get that graphic (hey, it was the '70s), so they rewrote the line as "kiss my honeydew." Unfortunately, no one in the studio audience found that funny. We can't say we blame them.

A few tweaks later and the "Kiss my grits!" catchphrase was born. It's one part sweet southern charm, one part super-sass, and it's been part of Alice and the American lexicon ever since.

Want a taste? Check out this clip.

Where you've heard it

Ever wanted to tell someone to kiss your [censored], but were just too sweet and genteel to do it? Well, "kiss my grits" is a nice, suitable-for-work alternative with the same "stick it where the sun don't shine" attitude attached. Just check out these examples:

• You can buy all sorts of fun "Kiss My Grits" merchandise to put some sass in your kitchen.
• An episode of Cutthroat Kitchen was named "Kiss My Grits" after Flo's catchphrase.
• Country singer Neely has a whole song called "Kiss My Grits."

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Flo might have attitude, but she's sure not highfaluting when she's doing it.