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Glite Dictionary
as the actress said to the bishop

as the actress said to the bishop

9.9
A humorous phrase that points out a sexual double meaning in what was said
  • idiom
  • NSFW
translation icon : como dijo la actriz al obispo
  • "It's quite hard to handle," as the actress said to the bishop.

Examples

  • They all burst out laughing when he casually added, as the actress said to the bishop.

  • Mind the gap, as the actress said to the bishop.

  • He made a joke about the weather, as the actress said to the bishop.

  • She commented on the movie's plot twist, as the actress said to the bishop.

  • "It's quite hard to handle," as the actress said to the bishop.

  • They all burst out laughing when he casually added, as the actress said to the bishop.

  • Mind the gap, as the actress said to the bishop.

Synonyms

that's what she said
vsas the actress said to the bishop
  • NSFW
1 9.9

A joke phrase people say after someone says something that can sound sexual

points out a possibly risque double meaning rather than only sexual joking

Surface Forms

as the actress said to the bishop main

Morphology

as + the + actress + said + to + the + bishop

This phrase is a pragmatic, humorous tag used to signal a risqué double entendre and functions as a conversational discourse marker rather than a literal description of an event. Its meaning depends on cultural/pragmatic knowledge and an awareness of the joking convention; knowing the literal meanings of 'actress', 'said', 'to', and 'bishop' does not allow a B1 learner to predict this idiomatic use.

Etymology

As the actress said to the bishop comes from old British jokes. One popular story says a stage actress would add a cheeky line and pretend she had just said it to a very proper bishop, which made the double idea funny. That's why people now add the phrase after a sentence to show it has a 'double meaning' or is a bit 'naughty'.