10 of the zingiest zingers from the first presidential debate

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last updated 27 September 2016

Audiences hoping the first presidential debate would be a knock-out, drag-down fight between candidates were not disappointed: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump went toe-to-toe on everything from NAFTA to race relations to birtherism and missing emails. While most pundits seem to agree Clinton rose above her rival by the end of the night, the debate was not without a number of biting lines from both sides of the stage.

Zinger-hunters might have been nervous in the beginning, though, with Clinton quipping that Trump's tax plan was "trumped-up trickle-down."

Thankfully, it only got better from there. Here are the top 10 zingers from the first presidential debate:

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10. Clinton sure knows how to shut someone down: "Donald, I know you live in your own reality, but that is not the facts."

9. Clinton called Trump out for his sexist language about women, most memorably in the example of the former Miss Universe winner, Alicia Machado, whom Trump once called "Miss Housekeeping." While Trump vehemently denied such allegations on the debate stage, Clinton's campaign released a no-nonsense ad as soon as the debate ended — featuring Machado herself:

8. Trump's campaign may have delivered one of the candidate's biggest burns on Twitter, but it's hard to imagine what Clinton would have replied to this fiery zinger:

7. Sticks and stones:

6. They say 93 percent of communication is body language, and Clinton has got the forward facing side-eye down to an art:

5. "I will release my tax returns — against my lawyer's wishes — when she releases her 33,000 e-mails that have been deleted."

4. Clinton: "I have a feeling that by the end of the evening, I will be blamed for everything that's ever happened." Trump: "Why not?"

3. When in doubt, remind people that you're smart:

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2. Shake, shake, shake it off:

1. And the zingiest zinger of all: "Donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate. Know what else I prepared for? To be president."

Ten oofs out of 10.

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.