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The last word always goes to Betty White

On "Hot in Cleveland," Betty White plays Elka, who looks after the place three younger women are renting. They hand her setups all day long, and she sends every one back. more

She rarely needs more than a few words. When someone planning a Star Trek night promises to "boldly go where no man has gone before," Elka needs one word: "Unlikely." When she hears that Victoria Chase is known all over show business as a difficult actress, Elka asks, "To watch?"

One of the women is hunting for investors for her first production. In the theater, she explains, they have a nicer name for them. Elka has her own: "In real life, they call them suckers." Even an old saying gets turned around. "Imitation is the highest form of flattery," someone offers. "Not in this case."

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One of the women goes looking for investors and gets Elka's opinion of them instead.

Then comes the first meeting of Project Oscar. The ballots go out this weekend, and someone at the table is determined to be nominated. Elka has the first order of business ready: "Get a time machine and give a better performance?"

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The first meeting of Project Oscar gets off to a rough start once Elka weighs in.

Some of the best lines are about age, which is Elka's home turf. One of the women looks at old pictures of herself in her 20s and wishes she could tell that girl to relax. Elka feels the same about her pictures from her 70s. "Well, that gives me hope." "It shouldn't. I started out prettier than you."

Nobody's love life is safe either. One woman needs a date to go perfectly so she can live out her high school fantasy. "Not graduating in a maternity dress?" Elka asks. Even a baby's name turns into a fight, and one rude pick is defended as "still better than Wilbur."

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Picking a name for a new baby turns into one more round of jokes.

Even a bad joke can't slip past her. "What's Irish and stays outside? Patty O'Furniture." A lone cricket chirps, and the joke teller wants to know, "How come it only chirps when I tell a joke?" Elka has the answer: "Something's gotta fill the dead air." Golden Girls fans keep saying the same thing, that she has turned into this show's Sophia.

The line fans quote most is one of the shortest. "Hey guys, guess what? I have a date with my gynecologist." Elka corrects her: "They're called appointments, dear."

An older adult female wearing a light green zip-up cardigan with small sequins and a heart pendant necklace, sitting at a wooden table in a cozy kitchen setting with red placemat and various home decor items. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
On "Hot in Cleveland," Betty White plays Elka, who looks after the place three younger women are renting.

Then, right at the end, Elka does something new. She tells Joy to choose a good one, because she deserves it. "Okay, I'm waiting," Joy says. "Where's the insult?" Elka has that covered too: "I'm saving those for your wedding toast."