Top 10 Favorite Sheriff Andy Taylor Quotes

Andy Taylor was famously portrayed by Andy Griffith.

Played by the iconic actor Andy Griffith, Sheriff Andy Taylor delivered moments of humor, but also of homespun wisdom to his family, friends, and neighbors. If there was ever a problem in the little town of Mayberry, Andy always had an idea of how to figure it out.

In no particular order, here are my Top 10 Favorite Sheriff Andy Taylor Quotes:

01. After Aunt Bee makes Andy a dinner of white beans, she expresses annoyance that he didn’t say anything about it. Andy responds, “Well, I ate four bowls. If that ain’t a tribute to white beans, I don’t know what is. Eating speaks louder than words.”

02. Opie asks to be told the story of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ after which Andy tells him that Juliet gives a soliloquy. When his son asks what that is, Andy explains, “Well a soliloquy is where you kind of look away off and kinda talk to yourself. They used to do that a whole lot back then. You do it today and somebody will take you away.”

03. When his sidekick Deputy Barney Fife questions how the word ‘chicken’ is being spelled on a sign, Andy reminds him of an old school rhyme. “Yeah, it’s i before e except after c and e before n in chicken.”

04. When Andy calls his son Opie, the boy asks for a few more minutes outdoors. Andy gives permission saying, “Daylight’s precious when your a youngen’.”

05. As a sheriff of a small town, Andy chose not to carry a gun on duty, though he grabbed one when he needed it. When asked about this, he replied, “When a man carries a gun all the time, the respect he thinks he’s getting might really be fear. So I don’t carry a gun because I don’t want the people of Mayberry to fear a gun. I’d rather they respect me.”

06. When Opie gets bullied and keeps it a secret, Andy discusses the best way to deal with it and tells Barney, “I don’t want him to be the kind of boy lookin’ for fights, but I don’t want him to run from one when he’s in the right.”

07. Barney and Andy accidentally help Aunt Bee rig a pickle contest before realizing the other contestants take great pride in their cooking abilities. He explains, “What’s small potatoes to some folks can be mighty important to others.”

08. Opie loses a race that he had trained very hard for. He is disappointed, but Andy encourages him not to be a sore loser. “It don’t take courage to be a winner,” he said. “It does take courage to be a good loser. Now, you want to be a good loser, you’ll be proud of your friends that did win and you’ll congratulate them for it.”

09. “You beat everything, did you know that?” This phrase was his go-to when one of his friends would mess something up.

10. Aunt Bee has picked up a boyfriend that she does not particularly like, but thinks getting out of the house is good for Andy, who tells her, ” Among folks that love each other, like WE do, nothin’ can be best for us unless it’s best for you.”

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