Ranking Dowager Countess' Sassiest Lines on Downton Abbey

All hail Maggie Smith! Here are the best quotes from her character on PBS' hit drama series

By Madelyn Abry Nov 09, 2015 8:13 PMTags
Maggie Smith, Downton AbbeyCourtesy of ©Nick Briggs/Carnival Film and Television

The final episode of the PBS series Downton Abbey premiered across the pond last night to over 8 million viewers. It is hard to say goodbye to this epic drama, though we still have the Christmas episode to look forward to. We thought we would soften the blow by paying homage to one of the series' best characters. Some call her Violet Crawley, but if you know what's good for you call her the Dowager Countess of Grantham.

This spitfire of a matriarch portrayed perfectly by Maggie Smith has some of the best lines on the show. Try to be proper and not spit out your tea while reading our list of the Dowager Countess' best one liners from Downton Abbey, ranked from sass to so. Much. Shade!

BBC

18. "That's the thing about nature, there is so much of it."

17. "I am tougher than I look."

16. "Stop whining and find something to do."

15. "We have to watch that dreadful woman parade around the village as if she owned it."

14. "All this endless thinking. It's very overrated. I blame the war. Before 1914, nobody thought about anything at all."

13. "It is the job of the grandmothers to interfere."

12. "We can't have him assassinated…I suppose."

11. "I'm a woman, Mary. I can be as contrary as I choose."

10. "Forgive, perhaps. Forget, never."

9. "He's a man. Men don't have rights."

8.  Isobel: "Servants are human beings too."
     Violet: "Yes, but preferably only on their days off."

7. "No one wants to kiss a girl in black."

6. "I never did like James. He was too much like his mother and a nastier woman never drew breath."

5. Isobel Crawley: "How you hate to be wrong."
    Dowager Countess: "I wouldn't know, I'm not familiar with the sensation."

4. "When you give little people power it goes to their heads like a strong drink."

BBC

3. "Vulgarity is no substitute for wit."

2. "Don't be defeatist dear. It's very middle class."

1. "What is a week-end?"

If you don't have a job, the weekend doesn't really matter to you so we understand why Violet was confused. Ugh, can we submit our application to be English royalty, or at least not have to work for the weekend?!

Watch Downton Abbey star Elizabeth McGovern share her thoughts on the series ending so abruptly:

Watch: "Downton Abbey" Star Spills on Show's Sudden End