The phrase "said the actress to the bishop" is a colloquial British exclamation, offering humour by serving as a punch line that exposes an unintended double entendre. An equivalent phrase in North America is "that's what she said".[1] The versatility of such phrases, and their popularity, lead some to consider them clichéd.[2]
The term, or its variant "as the actress said to the bishop", is British in origin. It supposedly originated from a conversation between the actress Lillie Langtry and the Bishop of Worcester. They were at a country house weekend party and on Sunday morning before church, they went for a stroll in the garden. On their walk, the bishop cut his finger on a rose thorn. Over lunch, Lillie enquired about his injury, asking: "How is your prick?" To which, the Bishop replied: "Throbbing", causing the butler to drop the potatoes.[3]
The supposed association of actors with amorality and the incongruity of what a cleric and actor could legitimately have in common to discuss explains its ribald connotation. The phrase was in popular usage in the Royal Air Force c. 1944–47, but may originate from the Edwardian era.[4]
The phrase is frequently used by the fictional character Simon Templar (alias "The Saint") in a long-running series of mystery books by Leslie Charteris. The phrase first appears in full in the second Saint novel Enter the Saint, published in 1930; abbreviations of both the phrase ("as the actress said on an auspicious occasion") and of the alternative version ("as the bishop said") appear in the 1928 Meet the Tiger.[1]
The version "as the girl said to the soldier" appears in a recorded sound test for Alfred Hitchcock's 1929 film Blackmail.[5]
Kingsley Amis uses the line in his 1954 novel Lucky Jim, where a woman offering relationship advice to Jim Dixon says "I can't show you, as the actress said to the bishop."[6]
The title character on the US TV show Archer, after several seasons of using "phrasing!" to draw attention to double entendres, briefly toyed with "...said Ripley to the android Bishop", a reference to both this phrase and the 1986 film Aliens.[citation needed]
By 1973, "that's what she said" had already been characterized as an "ancient one-liner".[8] In the early 1990s, it was a recurring joke in the Saturday Night Live sketch "Wayne's World". In the movie of the same name, the character, Wayne Campbell, uses the phrase after his partner Garth says, "Hey, are you through yet? 'Cause I'm getting tired of holding this", in regard to a picture he is holding.[9]
In the original BBC version of The Office, Ricky Gervais's character David Brent frequently used the phrase "as the actress said to the bishop" as an inappropriate joke. When the show was adapted for American audiences, also under the title The Office, the phrase was translated to "that's what she said" for Steve Carell's character Michael Scott. "That's what she said" (with an emphasis on the word "she") became a catchphrase of The Office and was used for the show's "That's What She Said" Sweepstakes.[10][11] On several occasions, the phrase was adapted to "that’s what he said".
Referencesedit
^ abHiskey, Daven (30 December 2010). "The British Equivalent of 'That's What She Said". todayifoundout.com. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
^Bans, Lauren (3 August 2010). "That's What She Said? Yeah, Give It A Rest". GQ. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
^White, Roland (2 August 2020). "Chancellor got up the king's nose". The Times. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
^Partridge, Eric (1982). A Dictionary of Catch Phrases (2 ed.). London: Routledge. p. 31. ISBN1134929986.
^Graham, Nicholas (10 June 2010). "Hitchcock's 'That's What She Said' Joke Is Its First Known Recording! (video)". HuffPost.
^Addeo, Edmond G.; Burger, Robert E. (1973). EgoSpeak: Why No One Listens to You. Chilton Books. ISBN0801958938. Retrieved 28 September 2012. The cheapest shot of all, of course, is the ancient one-liner, "That's what she said." This reply can be used after virtually any remark, however innocent, and the speaker can summon up some hint of double-entendre.
^Spring, Corey (15 February 2007). . Newsvine. Archived from the original on 17 February 2007.
^The Office US (15 July 2017), Every That's What She Said Ever - The Office US, archived from the original on 22 December 2021, retrieved 27 November 2017
^Diaz, Glenn (16 February 2010). "The Office Launches 'That's What She Said' Sweepstakes". Buddy TV. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
External linksedit
The dictionary definition of as the actress said to the bishop at Wiktionary
The dictionary definition of that's what she said at Wiktionary
January 01, 1970
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The phrase said the actress to the bishop is a colloquial British exclamation offering humour by serving as a punch line that exposes an unintended double entendre An equivalent phrase in North America is that s what she said 1 The versatility of such phrases and their popularity lead some to consider them cliched 2 Contents 1 History and variations 2 That s what she said 3 References 4 External linksHistory and variations editThe term or its variant as the actress said to the bishop is British in origin It supposedly originated from a conversation between the actress Lillie Langtry and the Bishop of Worcester They were at a country house weekend party and on Sunday morning before church they went for a stroll in the garden On their walk the bishop cut his finger on a rose thorn Over lunch Lillie enquired about his injury asking How is your prick To which the Bishop replied Throbbing causing the butler to drop the potatoes 3 The supposed association of actors with amorality and the incongruity of what a cleric and actor could legitimately have in common to discuss explains its ribald connotation The phrase was in popular usage in the Royal Air Force c 1944 47 but may originate from the Edwardian era 4 The phrase is frequently used by the fictional character Simon Templar alias The Saint in a long running series of mystery books by Leslie Charteris The phrase first appears in full in the second Saint novel Enter the Saint published in 1930 abbreviations of both the phrase as the actress said on an auspicious occasion and of the alternative version as the bishop said appear in the 1928 Meet the Tiger 1 The version as the girl said to the soldier appears in a recorded sound test for Alfred Hitchcock s 1929 film Blackmail 5 Kingsley Amis uses the line in his 1954 novel Lucky Jim where a woman offering relationship advice to Jim Dixon says I can t show you as the actress said to the bishop 6 The title character on the US TV show Archer after several seasons of using phrasing to draw attention to double entendres briefly toyed with said Ripley to the android Bishop a reference to both this phrase and the 1986 film Aliens citation needed British comic artist Brian Bolland has produced a comic inspired by the joke The Actress and the Bishop 7 That s what she said edit That s what he said and That s what she said redirect here For other uses see That s what she said disambiguation By 1973 that s what she said had already been characterized as an ancient one liner 8 In the early 1990s it was a recurring joke in the Saturday Night Live sketch Wayne s World In the movie of the same name the character Wayne Campbell uses the phrase after his partner Garth says Hey are you through yet Cause I m getting tired of holding this in regard to a picture he is holding 9 In the original BBC version of The Office Ricky Gervais s character David Brent frequently used the phrase as the actress said to the bishop as an inappropriate joke When the show was adapted for American audiences also under the title The Office the phrase was translated to that s what she said for Steve Carell s character Michael Scott That s what she said with an emphasis on the word she became a catchphrase of The Office and was used for the show s That s What She Said Sweepstakes 10 11 On several occasions the phrase was adapted to that s what he said References edit a b Hiskey Daven 30 December 2010 The British Equivalent of That s What She Said todayifoundout com Retrieved 6 January 2021 Bans Lauren 3 August 2010 That s What She Said Yeah Give It A Rest GQ Retrieved 6 January 2021 White Roland 2 August 2020 Chancellor got up the king s nose The Times Retrieved 6 January 2021 Partridge Eric 1982 A Dictionary of Catch Phrases 2 ed London Routledge p 31 ISBN 1134929986 Graham Nicholas 10 June 2010 Hitchcock s That s What She Said Joke Is Its First Known Recording video HuffPost Amis Kingsley 1998 1954 Lucky Jim London Penguin p 121 ISBN 0 14 027870 2 OCLC 60220440 Bolland Brian May 2005 The Actress and the Bishop An Introduction Bolland Strips Knockabout Comics ISBN 9780861661503 Addeo Edmond G Burger Robert E 1973 EgoSpeak Why No One Listens to You Chilton Books ISBN 0801958938 Retrieved 28 September 2012 The cheapest shot of all of course is the ancient one liner That s what she said This reply can be used after virtually any remark however innocent and the speaker can summon up some hint of double entendre Spring Corey 15 February 2007 International That s What she Said Day Newsvine Archived from the original on 17 February 2007 The Office US 15 July 2017 Every That s What She Said Ever The Office US archived from the original on 22 December 2021 retrieved 27 November 2017 Diaz Glenn 16 February 2010 The Office Launches That s What She Said Sweepstakes Buddy TV Retrieved 13 September 2022 External links edit nbsp The dictionary definition of as the actress said to the bishop at Wiktionary nbsp The dictionary definition of that s what she said at Wiktionary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Said the actress to the bishop amp oldid 1214558888, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
