Nominate your favourite quote from 2017

Wednesday 8 November 2017

The search is on for this year's most sparkling one-liners. Nominate your favourite quote for Massey University's annual Quote of the Year.

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Politicians and comedians are always good sources for memorable quotes – who said it best in 2017?

Last updated: Thursday 23 June 2022

From Steven Joyce's "$11.7 billion hole" to Rainbow Youth's "It's deeply disappointing, but it's not gay," there have been plenty of memorable lines uttered by New Zealanders this year. Massey University will soon compile the 2017 shortlist for its annual Quote of the Year competition – and we'd like to hear what sparkling one-liners you think should make the cut. 

If you would like to suggest a quote, competition organiser Dr Heather Kavan would love to hear from you. There is a $100 prize for the winning quote. 

Quotes can be from any public source, including movies, television, stand-up comedy, speeches, songs, advertisements, social media, and news reports. The speaker must be a New Zealander and he or she must have said, written or published the quote in 2017.  

Last year's winning quote was Denise Roche's "Sex just can't be that good" response to Brian Tamaki's statement that homosexuality and "the weight of human sin" caused earthquakes.

Entries close at 11.59pm on November 27, at which time Massey University’s judging panel will choose the top 10 finalists. The top 10 quotes will be made available for public vote in early December, so watch this space.

Please send entries and enquiries to Heather Kavan at H.Kavan@massey.ac.nz providing the quote, speaker's name, brief explanation of the context, and – if possible – a link to the source.  

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Quote of the Year organiser and speech writing specialist Dr Heather Kavan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the quote be longer than a single sentence? Yes. Most of the quotes are one-liners, but two or even three sentences together are acceptable.    

Can anyone nominate? Yes. 

Can I nominate more than one quote? Yes. 

I want to nominate a quote, but I don’t want my name associated with the speaker. Should I put the quote forward? We don’t publish the names of nominees. If your quote wins, and you wish to remain anonymous, then we can accommodate that.

What type of quote is most likely to win? Different quotes appeal for different reasons. The judging criteria for the top 10 include:

  • originality
  • brevity
  • wit
  • impact
  • emotional strength
  • memorability
  • vividness of the language.

The final choice of a single winner is decided by public vote and is not easy to predict. People vote for different reasons, including their feelings towards the speaker and the situation in which he or she spoke. 

What if my flatmate says something clever? Can I nominate that? We’re looking for public quotes. If your flatmate, for example, delivers a knock-out phrase in a television interview, send it in. If s/he says something amusing in the kitchen, then – sorry – it’s not eligible.

If a famous American makes a comment about New Zealand, does that qualify? No. We’re looking for the best quotes from New Zealanders.