A catchphrase from the 1993 film Jurassic Park, spoken by hunter Robert Muldoon just before a Velociraptor ambushes him. Online it works as a wry compliment for something unexpectedly cunning.

Where did Clever Girl come from?

The line was said by Bob Peck's character in Jurassic Park as a second raptor flanks him during a jungle hunt. It began circulating as an image macro after a March 2007 YTMND page titled "Philosoraptor" paired the phrase with a raptor image.

What does Clever Girl mean?

It is a sarcastic compliment paid to someone or something that has outmaneuvered you, from an animal doing something smart to a person pulling a clever trick.

How do you use Clever Girl?

Post the two words as a reaction under any clip of a surprisingly smart move, often alongside a still of Muldoon or a raptor peering out of the bushes.

Is Clever Girl still popular?

It is a classic reaction line that still surfaces in comment threads on animal-outsmarting-human videos and gets fresh use whenever the Jurassic Park franchise releases new trailers or sequels.

Clever Girl

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Published August 17, 2026

"Clever Girl" is a catchphrase from the 1993 film Jurassic Park, spoken by hunter Robert Muldoon right before a Velociraptor ambushes him. Online, the two words became shorthand for sarcastic respect toward anyone or anything showing unexpected cunning, spreading through YTMND in 2007 and Reddit rage comics in 2010.

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Overview

"Clever Girl" is a catchphrase pulled from the 1993 film Jurassic Park, spoken by hunter Robert Muldoon just before a Velociraptor jumps him from the flank1. Online, the two words became shorthand for sarcastic respect toward anyone or anything showing unexpected cunning, from a house pet outsmarting its owner to a rival pulling off a smart move4.

The line works because Muldoon delivers it calmly, almost admiringly, right as he is about to be killed. That gap between the deadly moment and the polite tone is what makes it easy to drop into everyday situations where someone gets outmaneuvered. Posts using the meme often pair the phrase with a still of Muldoon staring into the bushes or a close-up of the raptor's face2.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Jurassic Park (1993 film) / YTMND, Reddit (viral spread)

Date

1993

The scene comes near the end of Jurassic Park. Muldoon, played by British actor Bob Peck, tracks a raptor through the jungle carrying a SPAS-12 shotgun1. Just as he lines up the shot, a second raptor pushes out of the brush to his left, having circled around behind him. Muldoon looks at it, mutters "Clever girl," and gets tackled to the ground2.

How It Spread

The earliest documented online remix appeared on March 30, 2007, when a YTMND page titled "Philosoraptor" put the "Clever Girl" text over an image of a raptor from Jurassic Park holding Plato's Complete Works3. That mashup helped fuse the phrase with the Philosoraptor image macro that spread more widely a few years later.

Reddit picked up the line for rage comics starting in mid-2010, where it usually capped a strip about a man being outsmarted by a woman or an animal doing something surprisingly smart. A still image of Muldoon from the ambush was posted to Reddit on June 6, 2010 in a thread titled "Clever girl," and a rage comic face using the same image followed three days later on June 93.

Google search interest for "clever girl" paired with "jurassic park" started climbing in March 2009 and hit its peak in April 2010, well before the phrase settled into a general-purpose reaction line3. The two words still show up under any clip of an animal outwitting a human, and get pulled out again whenever the Jurassic Park franchise puts out a new sequel or trailer4.

How to Use This Meme

Drop "Clever girl" in the comments after a video or post where an animal or person pulls off something surprisingly smart, especially when it comes at the poster's expense. It typically works best delivered flat, matching Muldoon's calm tone in the film, and is often paired with a screenshot of his face or a raptor peeking out from foliage.