War of the words: All the best quotes from Game of Thrones

As we all now know — far too well — when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.

Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) may have been the finest wordsmith in Westeros, but he wasn't the only one. After eight seasons, Game of Thrones, has left behind a slew of iconic quotes that continue to resonate. Some will only make sense within the context of George R. R. Martin's medieval world, while others are surprisingly applicable to our own, too. We scoured the Seven Kingdoms to find the 15 best quotes from Game of Thrones.

"Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you."

—Tyrion's sage advice to Jon Snow (Kit Harington) about being a bastard

"Any man who must say, 'I am the king,' is no true king. I'll make sure you understand that when I've won your war for you."

—Patriarch Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) putting his grandson, Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson), in his place after he threw a tantrum when Tyrion spoke to him disrespectfully

"The things I do for love."

—Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to his sister Cersei (Lena Headey), while pushing Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) out of a tower when he sees the two siblings, um, getting intimate

"There is only one thing we say to death: Not today."

—Swordsman extraordinaire Syrio Forel (Miltos Yerolemou) to Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), while teaching her how to fight

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Helen Sloan/HBO

"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention."

—A sadistic Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) to the subject of his torture, Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen)

"You're going to die tomorrow, Lord Bolton. Sleep well."

—Sansa Stark's (Sophie Turner) drop-the-mic promise to her horribly abusive husband, Ramsay, ahead of the Battle of the Bastards

"That's what I do: I drink and I know things."

—Tyrion on how he knows dragons won't fare well in captivity (his reason's good enough for us)

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Macall B. Polay/HBO

"Yes. All men must die, but we are not men."

—A feminist-as-hell Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) offering an upside to Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) on the impending war

"The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword."

—The honorable Ned Stark (Sean Bean) explaining to Bran why he had to kill a Night's Watch deserter

"Chaos isn't a pit. Chaos is a ladder."

—A devilish Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) to Varys (Conleth Hill) on power and his intention to seize it

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HBO

"Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me."

—Shade queen Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) asking Jaime, upon her death, to inform Cersei that she was the mastermind behind Joffrey's murder

"I don't plan on knitting by the fire while men fight for me. I might be small, Lord Glover, and I might be a girl, but I am every bit as much a Northerner as you…and I don't need your permission to defend the North."

—Lyanna Mormont (Bella Ramsey) shutting down Lord Glover (Tim McInnerny) when he opposes Jon's plan to train everyone from 10 to 60 to fight

"You know nothing, Jon Snow."

—Ygritte's (Rose Leslie) catchphrase of sorts for her sometimes enemy/sometimes lover

"Winter is coming."

—Anyone who's anyone

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

—Cersei telling Ned he made a big mistake by not taking the Iron Throne when he had the shot

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