Trademarks: Pack up the hankies and wine, Boehner's leaving

At news conferences, Boehner's responses can be curt, humorous or downright odd.

Asked about a possible scenario for ending the 2013 partial government shutdown, he said: "If 'ands' and 'buts' were candy and nuts, then every day would be Christmas."

When a reporter noted that Boehner appeared overcome with emotion while meeting Pope Francis on Thursday, the speaker deadpanned, Really?

At another dinner, Obama joked that Boehner's fellow Republicans were giving the speaker a harder time than they give me.

"Listen, I play golf, I ride a bike, I cut my own grass, my mother is dark-complected, so I'm a little dark," he told Jay Leno last year.

All you need to know about the differences between the president and myself is that I'm sitting there smoking a cigarette, drinking merlot, and I look across the table and here is the president of the United States drinking iced tea and chomping on Nicorette.

Boehner frequently reminisces about the life lessons he learned as a kid who "grew up in a bar" — a Cincinnati-area tavern called Andy's Cafe, opened by his grandfather and run by his father for decades.

The second-oldest of 12 kids, Boehner says he was put to work at an early age mopping floors, washing dishes, waiting tables, even pouring drinks.