Look up confidence in the dictionary and the first thing that will pop up is Gina Linetti. One of the funniest characters from the cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, she spawned a number of iconic Gina Linetti quotes from her many appearances over the course of the series.
Though Brooklyn Nine-Nine is full of hilarious characters played by a talented team of actors, Saturday Night Live famed Andy Samberg as Detective Jake Peralta included, Gina Linetti steals the show with her wit, sass, and comedic one-liners.
Updated July 14th, 2021 by Darby Harn: With Brooklyn Nine-Nine heading into its eighth and final season, it's a good time to revisit the best Gina Linetti quotes. Though Chelsea Peretti is no longer a regular on the show, she still owns the lion's share of the series' funniest quotes, zingers, and diatribes. It's very likely she'll return in some capacity before the series ends, meaning fans have even more great quotes to look forward to. Before then, a look back through the first seven seasons of the show proves that Gina Linetti is the gift that keeps on giving.
“Every time you talk I hear that sound that plays when Pacman dies.”
In "Undercover," the first episode of season two, is a showcase in the critical question of whether Gina Linetti is actually any good at her job. She doesn't appear to do much in the episode, except antagonize Charles and engage in office gossip.
Her needling of Charles - leading to her classic one-liner involving Pac-Man - loses a lot of steam when it's revealed the two are actually romantically involved. Their relationship would take some twists and turns over the course of the next season or so of the series.
“I was thinking how I would make the perfect American President based upon my skill set, dance ability, and blood lust.”
In "Johnny And Dora," the final episode of the second season, Jake and Amy go undercover to catch a thief, just one of many times Jake and Amy are relationship goals. Gina's ambitions are more political as she's involved by Holt in the news that he's been transferred to the head of Public Relations for the NYPD.
This has to do with a disparaging letter Madeline Wuntch wrote, and he needs Gina to find it. This leads to her opining on her potential political prospects by saying she'd be a perfect president with her combination of dance ability and blood lust.
“I grew up forging report cards. If people knew how smart I was, it would have been harder to control them.”
"Maximum Security" is the 21st episode of season three, in which Gina and the rest of the Nine-Nine crew fake a funeral to nab a hitman. Gina finds herself naturally inclined to the subterfuge, commenting on how she systematically forged her own report cards in school.
It's her idea to use Hitchcock as the stand-in for the body at the funeral, leading to a lot of laughs in the episode. She also draws unwanted attention to herself for giving attendees of the funeral high-fives as they come in.
"How am I supposed to know there’d be consequences for my actions?”
In "Mr. Santiago," the seventh episode of the fourth season, Gina joins the large Thanksgiving get-together in which Jake meets Amy's father for the first time. Gina gives a classic Gina Linetti quote when she becomes involved in saving the life of a live turkey that's intended to be dinner.
However, the turkey has no appreciation for them and goes on a rampage that leads to Gina being locked in a bathroom. The episode becomes one of the best Brooklyn Nine-Nine episodes ever with its outrageous ending.
“Amateur. Always say your insults to someone’s face. No paper trail.”
Another standout quote from the "Johnny And Dora" episode involves Gina dressing down Madeline Wuntch for a major mistake. Wuntch made negative comments about the Police Commissioner, but the letter was buried in the archives. Holt needs it to get out of the unwanted assignment Wuntch has given him.
Gina advocates for putting someone down directly to their face - which she doesn't do to Wuntch in this instance - and avoiding a paper trail that could lead to problems down the line.
"Hi, Gina Linetti, The Human Form Of The 100 Emoji."
Gina keeps it real no matter the situation and isn't afraid to tell it like it is despite sounding rude. Gina's attitude check radar went off when Captain Holt transferred to the NYPD Public Relations department in the opening episode of season three, "New Captain."
As his assistant, she followed his every move and was Holt's backbone in this episode. When Holt felt defeated by his enemy, Deputy Chief Wuntch, he almost quits. Lucky for him, Gina gives Holt a motivational speech that kept him on the path of justice, proving that the 99 is lost without her.
"If I Die, Turn My Tweets Into A Book!"
If anyone could sell a book filled with their thoughts, it's Gina Linetti. Most of it would be self-flattering compliments, but there's no denying that the content would be pure gold. In "Halloween Part III," cockroaches falling out of Charles Boyle's pantlegs, startling Gina, in one of Charles' saddest moments.
While this is all part of the Nine-Nine's Halloween shenanigans, the fact that Gina's dying wish is to have her tweets turned into a book, goes to show how hilariously confident she is.
"Breakups Are A Cartoony Thumbs Down. They Make People Feel Face-With Xs For The Eyes."
According to Gina, breakups make people feel like the emoji with the Xs for eyes. This is evident to the Nine-Nine squad when Boyle's fiance leaves him before their wedding in "Changes And Specs." Distraught, he shows up to work in a Matrix-esque outfit, which Gina doesn't hesitate to make fun of.
Regardless, Gina is a good friend and tries to convince everyone to help Boyle find a rebound. Though she almost spends more time making fun of Charles than she does on her phone, Gina proves that she'll always have her friends' best interests, and poking fun at them is just her weird way of showing them that she cares.
"I Feel Like I'm The Paris Of People."
If Paris were a person, it would be Gina Linetti. Just as Paris is the pinnacle of all finer things in life, Gina is the pinnacle of all finer things in the Nine-Nine, as she explained in the episode "The Party." For this reason, Gina is a fan favorite. She always keeps Brooklyn Nine-Nine viewers laughing.
In the show, Gina also keeps those around her on their toes with her witty remarks. So much so that psychologists describe her as the "complete overlap of ego and id" when fascinated by Gina's ability to use intelligence and reason while simultaneously being extremely overconfident.
"I'm Scared Of Businessmen. A Whole Army Of Gray-Suited Brads And Chads Trying To Suck My Soul And Redeem It For Frequent Flyer Miles."
Being a unique character, Gina has unique fears. Despite Gina's complete dread of businessmen's "clammy hands" and small talk about "how hard Wednesdays can be" she's the type to conquer her fears. For this reason, Gina decides to have lunch with her not-so-fellow Brads and Chads at the 'Boyle-Linetti Wedding' from season two.
Gina's reason for conquering her fear was selfless. She did it to help Rosa get over her fear of needles and to help Amy with her fear of claustrophobic spaces, proving that her motives aren't always selfish and that she's actually a really good friend.
"This Man Is A Timberlake And You Need To Stop Treating Him Like A Fatone."
Captain Holt is one of the funniest characters on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. But Gina doesn't like when he's made of fun, which led to her using a deep-cut *NSYNC reference to get her point across when Deputy Chief Wuntch (Holt's arch-enemy) treated Holt like garbage.
For Gina, this simply cannot fly. In Gina's eyes, Holt is the star of the NYPD. To her, he is the face of the department just like Justin Timberlake was the face of *NSYNC. Holt is not just another band member like Joey Fatone was.
"My Mother Cried The Day I Was Born Because She Knew She Would Never Be Better Than Me."
Imagine walking into a room and becoming the center of attention. This is what happens to Gina Linetti in every situation imaginable, especially when involving a handful of psychologists. While at a work get-together in "The Party" from season one, Gina begins to woo a crowd of psychologists who find her life's theories captivating.
Her theories indicate that she is the single most amazing person to walk the earth. The one about her mother crying on the day she was born is just one of the many fascinating thoughts that come from Gina's mind.
"It's Gina's Phone. Leave Me A Voicemail. I Won't Check It 'Cause It's Not 1993."
Gina Linetti is good at most things, but if there's one thing she's really good at, it's all things cellphone-related. From tweeting to playing addicting games to Facebook and social media stalking, Gina does it all. One thing she doesn't do is voicemail, as revealed in "The Mole" from season two.
Leaving her a voicemail message just won't do the trick. The way to Gina's heart is through her cellphone. Send her a direct message or tweet and she'll reply in seconds.
"So There's Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha, But New York City Is Really The Fifth Character."
This classic Gina Linetti quote is her take on Sex and The City. Not only is she a tech and social media whiz, but she knows everything there is to know when it comes to popular culture. So much so that she doesn't even read the newspaper and claims to get all her news from a text message thread with her friends.
Gina even uses her pop-culture knowledge to help teach Captain Holt about Sex and the City to catch a dangerous criminal. And guess what? It totally works. This is the brilliance of Gina Linetti.
"I'm Incorporating Emoji Into My Speech To Better Express Myself. Winky Face."
According to Gina, the English language can't fully capture the complexity of her thoughts. So, she decides to incorporate emojis into her everyday speech in the first season episode "Changes And Specs."
By animating her sentences with emoji descriptions, Gina gets her points across (even though they confuse everyone in the 99th precinct and only make sense to her). This is just the Gina way and it's something Brooklyn Nine-Nine viewers keep coming back to see whether new to the show of avid watchers.