Meaning

At first glance this observation makes no logical sense: if a place is too crowded, plenty of people clearly are going there. That contradiction is exactly the point, and it is also what makes the line so memorable. Berra was expressing a feeling many people recognize, the sense that a once-special spot has lost something intangible precisely because it became popular. The humor works because the feeling is real even though the logic is broken.

Context

Berra reportedly made this remark about a restaurant that had become fashionable and therefore packed with diners. Whether the exact setting was precisely as described in various retellings is hard to confirm, but the sentiment fits a pattern in his speech: he would reach for a simple observation and accidentally fold a contradiction into it. The result was something funnier and more thought-provoking than a straightforward complaint would have been. It has since been used to comment on everything from trendy bars to popular vacation spots.

About the author

Yogi Berra built his reputation first as a catcher for the New York Yankees during one of the franchise's most successful eras, earning recognition as one of the finest players at his position in the history of the sport. He later managed and coached at the major league level. Outside of baseball, he became a cultural institution, celebrated for the stream of paradoxical, funny, and oddly wise remarks that came to be known as Yogi-isms, collected and quoted long after his playing career ended.