The Wire Quotes

Context

This line was spoken by Omar Little (played by Michael K. Williams) in The Wire, written by David Simon and Ed Burns (2002-2008).

If you ask a random person who their favorite character from The Wire is, nine out of ten times the answer is going to be Omar Little. Omar is the openly gay, shotgun-toting, and nursery rhyme-whistling Robin Hood of the Baltimore housing projects. He steals drugs and money and then distributes it to the people around him, free of charge.

It's an understatement to say that Omar is quite the character. The most important thing about him is that he has a code. Omar only kills or injures criminals, people who are part of "the game" he is always talking about, and doesn't use profanity.

His catchphrase captures the essence of the show, which is that the entire world is basically a game, and if you break the rules, there are consequences. No matter who you are or where you come from. It's all in the game, yo.

Where you've heard it

If you've seen at least the first season of The Wire or ever had a casual discussion about it, this quote, and Omar, are bound to come up.

Omar had many other memorable quotes, and this article breaks them down for your reading pleasure.

EA Sports kind of gets what Omar is talking about.

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.

Even if you're not a drug dealer or a stick up man, this is a good quote to use to remind people that we're just part of a bigger system.