All The Words From Clueless That Prove Cher Is Basically Shakespeare

“Here's the 411 on Mr. Hall: he's single, he's 47, and he earns minor ducats for a thankless job. What that man needs is a good healthy boinkfest.”

I know what you’re thinking: Why is this article about Clueless starting with a quote from Shakespeare? Believe it or not, that line is not from King Lear, but was actually uttered by the equally lofty Cher Horowitz (Alicia Sliverstone). The linguistic ingenuity possessed by the 1995 heroine and her two best friends, Dionne (Stacey Dash) and Tai (Brittany Murphy), has only gotten more impressive with time — and, like the Bard himself, deserve a place in our 2020 vocabulary. 

On 19th July, Amy Heckerling’s modern adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma turns 25 years old, which means it’s been 25 years since we first were buggin’ about the Baldwins and Betties on our screens. Silverstone, Dash, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, and the late Murphy make up the cast that popularised such phrases, and while they’ve all moved well beyond their Clueless lives (some in more...interesting...directions than others), the lexicon remains. 

Thankfully, Clueless is streaming on Netflix right now, so not only can you properly celebrate its birthday, but you can also watch as many times as you need to reintroduce yourself to its colorful vocabulary. Or, you can simply read ahead, where we’ve identified and defined some of Clueless’s most iconic words and phrases. I’m Audi!t