The dreaded question. "So, what's your Ph.D. research about?"

You could bore them with an explanation.

Or you could dance.

Garrison Keillor, quoting you:

I could have done that. Why didn't I?

An exchange:

Decius: This looks good!

k: This is gonna be sooo bad.

Decius: I don't have a solution for the problem of bad taste.

Joss Stone:

Don't tell me that I won't
I can

Marge Simpson:

Bart, don't make fun of grad students! They just made a terrible life choice.

Sarah Silverman:

You're very free if you don't love money.

Cormac McCarthy:

Anything that doesn't take years of your life and drive you to suicide hardly seems worth doing.