"Love is an ice cream sundae, with all the marvelous coverings. Sex is the cherry on top"
About this Quote
Then he makes sex the cherry on top, and the hierarchy snaps into focus. The line sells a reassuring moral: sex is pleasurable and celebratory, but it’s not the meal. That’s the intent - to reframe physical intimacy as garnish rather than foundation, a corrective to both puritan dread (sex as sin) and a more transactional modern script (sex as the main event). Dean’s wit works because it’s domestic and nonthreatening; no one feels lectured by dessert.
The subtext is even more pointed: he’s policing priorities without sounding like a scold. “Cherry on top” is a cliché, but here the cliché is the weapon - instantly understood, instantly disarming. Coming from a mid-century male entertainer, it also reads like a performance of respectable masculinity: experienced enough to joke about sex, wholesome enough to put love first.
Contextually, it fits an era when public talk about sex was loosening, but still needed a sugar coating. Dean offers permission, with boundaries, served in a glass dish.
Quote Details
| Topic | Love |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Dean, Jimmy. (2026, January 14). Love is an ice cream sundae, with all the marvelous coverings. Sex is the cherry on top. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/love-is-an-ice-cream-sundae-with-all-the-168960/
Chicago Style
Dean, Jimmy. "Love is an ice cream sundae, with all the marvelous coverings. Sex is the cherry on top." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/love-is-an-ice-cream-sundae-with-all-the-168960/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Love is an ice cream sundae, with all the marvelous coverings. Sex is the cherry on top." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/love-is-an-ice-cream-sundae-with-all-the-168960/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.









