The phrase "said the actress to the bishop" is a colloquial British exclamation, offering humor by serving as a punch line that exposes an unintended double entendre. An equivalent phrase in North America is "that's what she said". The versatility of such phrases, and their popularity, lead some to consider them

cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

History and variations

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 A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. 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. Its form is well known as a " Wellerism", acquiring that name from Charles Dickens' character Sam Weller, who regularly employs it in ''The Pickwick Papers''. The phrase was in popular usage in the Royal Air Force c. 1944–47, but may originate from the Edwardian era. 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 ''Enter the Saint'' is a collection of three interconnected adventure novellas by Leslie Charteris first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in October 1930, followed by an American edition by The Crime Club in April 1931. T ...

'', 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''. The version "as the girl said to the soldier" appears in a recorded sound test for

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's 1929 film ''

Blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

''. 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." 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 Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

''. British comic artist

Brian Bolland Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' (Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology '' 2 ...

did a comic about these two characters since 1985.

That's what she said!

By 1973, "that's what ''she'' said" had already been characterized as an "ancient one-liner". 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. In the original BBC version of '' The Office'',

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

'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. On several occasions, the phrase was adapted to "that’s what ''he'' said".

References

External links

* *{{Wiktionary-inline, that's what she said English phrases Quotations from film Comedy catchphrases