Dictionary

as the actress said to the bishop en · X

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the occupation of actress was commonly associated with prostitute. The phrase plays on the contrasting natures of an actress or prostitute on one hand and a presumably (although possibly not actually) chaste bishop on the other.

Meanings

1. (UK, humorous) Used to highlight a sexual ambiguity in an innocent remark.
   • Heavens, that's a big one – as the actress said to the bishop.
   • "Oh, well," offered Andrews wryly, as she peeled a piece of fruit, "nothing like a hot banana — as the actress said to the bishop." She then apologized for the tacky sexual quip, explaining, "It just slipped out — as the actress said to the bishop." 1998, Timothy White, The Entertainers: portraits of stardom in the twentieth century:
   • He has, as the actress said to the bishop, been an unconscionably long time coming,[…] 1999, Michael Sprinker, Ghostly demarcations: a symposium on Jacques Derrida's Spectres of Marx:
   • The important thing was where you do it, not what you do (as the actress said to the bishop) 1976, David Widgery, The Left in Britain:

Forms

Relateds

double entendre · that's what she said · double-entendre · innuendo · oo-er · ooh, matron · nudge nudge wink wink · euphemism