Recommend funny, sarcastic, pop culture T-shirts?
July 17, 2014 9:35 AM

My husband likes funny-sarcastic and pop culture T-shirts. I have a completely different sense of humor, and a childhood free of TV. The pop culture T-shirts he likes best are a little subtle, like one for the dojo of the bad guys in Karate Kid, or an Abe Froman Sausage King shirt. I get the shirts, once they're explained, but I don't recognize references to be able to buy other similar! Army of Darkness, Monty Python, Batman, etc are other subjects he likes. Engineer jokes are good too. Please, help me find some great shirts!
posted by lemonade to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (20 answers total) 24 users marked this as a favorite
I had a Big Kahuna Burger t-shirt in high school. I was so cool, guys.

There is also this, which I like for its subtlety and also for its dinosaurs.
posted by phunniemee at 9:41 AM on July 17, 2014


thinkgeek.com
qwertee.com
posted by Wild_Eep at 9:42 AM on July 17, 2014


Snorg tees is the place for this. I'm on my phone otherwise i'd go link crazy. Also think geek carries some apparel
posted by Crystalinne at 9:43 AM on July 17, 2014


Pop culture references are pretty much Woot Shirts stock and trade, along with puns and other silly things, whereas Threadless is more of an artistic/interesting original design site, with a smattering of pop references, though its front page has two pop reference shirt designs up, so perhaps they're getting more of that these days.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:45 AM on July 17, 2014


Blue Sun is one of my favourite "secret" geek shirts.
posted by bonehead at 9:48 AM on July 17, 2014


You can find "Surf Nicaragua" T-shirts from a number of vendors online (reference to the movie Real Genius).
posted by adamrice at 9:59 AM on July 17, 2014


TeeFury is also an excellent repository of funny pop culture designs that are also inexpensive ($11/shirt, give or take). They put up a new design every day and sell it for only 24 hours, and then print to the number of orders received. Especially high-demand shirts get a new printing in their gallery for a few dollars more.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:08 AM on July 17, 2014


Got this WWF Panda wrestling t-shirt for my husband and it still cracks me up.

Training porpoises, Raptored or Training Day
posted by tafetta, darling! at 10:10 AM on July 17, 2014


He wants Day of the Shirt and 6 Dollar Shirts.
posted by Tanizaki at 11:04 AM on July 17, 2014


I've always been a fan of the slightly more obscure Glarkware shirts and related swag. It's not as robust as in the Buffy days, but still has gems.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 11:07 AM on July 17, 2014




Last Exit to Nowhere should see you right.

Particular options to consider:
S-Mart Hardware Dept
United Underworld
posted by zamboni at 11:40 AM on July 17, 2014


Busted Tees is my go-to for these kind of t-shirts.
posted by Falwless at 12:20 PM on July 17, 2014


Literary options: The Affair
posted by zamboni at 12:28 PM on July 17, 2014


If he's in his mid 30s (which I'm guessing he is given the references) a Rad Racing t-shirt might be just the thing (or he'll have never heard of it, in which case the movie itself wouldn't be a bad follow up gift).
posted by snaw at 1:20 PM on July 17, 2014


"Flag It and Move On" is hella ironic and cutting, if you AskMe.

Just scroll down a bit for the link.
posted by notyou at 1:38 PM on July 17, 2014


A friend of mine has one that states "Owls are assholes". I don't know why, but I just love it. I also love owls, so it's not mean.
posted by hippychick at 4:13 PM on July 17, 2014


He's an engineer? If he's between 35 and 45 he'll love this SR-71 shirt (you'll need to click on the the small SR-71 pic). I really wish this shirt was available.
posted by spork at 5:42 PM on July 17, 2014


Not particularly subtle, but he might like this Engineering: Like Math But Louder shirt at Topatoco. Browse the site for other good ones.
posted by MsMolly at 7:36 PM on July 17, 2014


A lot of the sites people are recommending have tons of products, but you have no way of knowing what's appropriate or humorous, because you don't catch the references. It sounds like you want to buy him a birthday present or something like that.

I would recommend ThinkGeek, because they have a curated selection of products (T-shirts and other cool stuff) which they select from other vendors or manufacture themselves. The ThinkGeek catalog tends to explain, or at least hint at, the source for each shirt's funny references, so you have some idea whether he'd like them.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 11:24 PM on July 17, 2014


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