Context

This famous line is spoken by Ralph Kramden, played by Jackie Gleason on The Honeymooners (multiple episodes).

The Honeymooners was the first wildly successful sitcom of all time, and it isn't difficult to see why. Each week, viewers could tune in to catch the zany adventures of sweet, lovable Ralph Kramden, who was forever threatening his wife with acts of physical violence. 

Um…what?

All we can say is that it was a different time...one we're glad we don't live in. Studio audiences roared when Ralph would deliver one of his signature lines ("Bang! Zoom! To the moon!" was another big one), without really realizing that even the suggestion of domestic abuse should have been no laughing matter.

Ralph never hit Alice—not on screen, anyway—which is why people seemed able to forgive him for the verbal zingers. 

Still…not cool, 1950s.

Where you've heard it

Debuting in 1955, and therefore having well over half a century to seep into the public consciousness, The Honeymooners has easily been one of the most oft-quoted and oft-referenced shows in television history. Unfortunately, even in our current, politically correct era, we don't always remember the context in which the line was originally—for lack of a better term—hollered.

Which is why it has sometimes been used to advertise something totally unrelated to threatened punches to the mouth area. Like a picture gallery in USA Today that focuses on the "kisser" part and glosses over the "Pow." Convenient.

Not everyone has forgotten its origin though. Serious articles mentioning the line have been written as well, zeroing in on the spousal battering angle and—fortunately—not supporting it.

And then there will always be Family Guy, which will reliably be around to put its own spin on any pop culture reference, for better or for worse. Or for weirder.

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.

Ralph Kramden is pretty much the antithesis of "pretentious." He is the first in a long line of sitcom husband meatheads, and he set the bar pretty low in the "crude insult" category.

Even still, we have to move it up a couple notches for his use of the word "kisser" rather than going with the easier and more basic "mouth." Way to expand that vocabulary, you bully.