Context

This line is spoken by Karen Blixen (played by Meryl Streep) in the film Out of Africa, directed by Sydney Pollack (1985).

In Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen remembers the time when she was Karen Blixen… and she had a farm in Africa. This was the basis for her memoir, Out of Africa, which was made into a movie starring Meryl Streep. When the movie begins, Meryl, in a voiceover, tells us  "I had a farm in Africa." Pretty self-explanatory—but why the past tense? And why'd she leave it? You're going to have to watch the movie to find out. And no, it has nothing to do with dingoes or babies. That's another movie—and another continent—entirely.

Watch the scene here.

Where you've heard it

You'll hear this if someone is doing Meryl Streep impersonations and they've already used "the dingo took my baby!" and "Ernest! You pushed me down the stairs." Or, of course, if someone you know actually had a farm in Africa.

Additional Notable References:

• What better title is there for an article on South African land reform than "I had a farm in Africa"? There isn't one.

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.

Who do you think you are? Meryl Streep? Lindsay Lohan's character from Mean Girls? Unless you actually had a farm in Africa, don't even try it.