The Big Lebowski Quotes

Context

This line is spoken by Jeff "the Dude" Lebowski, played by Jeff Bridges, in the film The Big Lebowski, directed by Joel Coen (1998).

The Dude is the guru of living a relaxed life, man. You can shove his head in the toilet, pee on his rug, steal his car, trash his pad, and dust his face with Donny's ashes, and, well, he abides. "Just take it easy, man" is his attitude to all of life's gutters, strikes, and spares (bowling being one of his favorite pastimes because he can drink and smoke while getting his exercise). The movers and shakers, doers and motivators of the world either can't abide him or wish they could be more like him.

Although it wasn't a big hit when the movie came out, The Big Lebowski has gathered a huge following over the years. It's even got its own religion now: Dudeism. There are not a lot of rules and rituals in Dudeism—nothing to kill or die for (imagine that, John Lennon). It just involves a lot of living in the moment. The Dude became a philosophical icon and "The Dude abides" turned out to be a prophetic statement.

Take 'er easy with this clip.

Where you've heard it

Spa-goers hear this all the time. You get your hot-stone massage, your reflexology, and your facial. You're blissed out. Putting your head back on your fluffy, pool-side towel, you sip your sparkling water and exhale softly, "the Dude abides." Your spa-mates understand. You're all at one with the universe now.

Additional Notable References

• Analyzed by Aliens
• Dudeism, the Religion
• Dudespaper

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.

Are you kidding? It takes too much energy to be pretentious. We'll just abide here in our state of being and let the doers run the world. Could we just have a nice rug to tie the room together?