as the actress said to the bishop
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word as the actress said to the bishop. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word as the actress said to the bishop, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say as the actress said to the bishop in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word as the actress said to the bishop you have here. The definition of the word as the actress said to the bishop will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofas the actress said to the bishop, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
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.
Pronunciation
Phrase
as the actress said to the bishop
- (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.
- 1976, David Widgery, The Left in Britain:
- The important thing was where you do it, not what you do (as the actress said to the bishop)
- 1998, Timothy White, The Entertainers: portraits of stardom in the twentieth century:
- "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."
- 1999, Michael Sprinker, Ghostly demarcations: a symposium on Jacques Derrida's Spectres of Marx:
- He has, as the actress said to the bishop, been an unconscionably long time coming, […]