Talk:Said the actress to the bishop

Attempt to Move to That's what she said

After five years, I reopened the topic of moving this to "That's what she said." The majority of the page talks about that's what she said rather than said the actress to the bishop and it's popular context. As I have seen, there's only one sentence that describes the history behind this and there are almost little to no quotes of said the actress to the bishop. UrbanDictionary has victored over us in website trafficking (they get 40,000 more views monthly)!DoctorSpeed (talk) 21:32, 27 November 2017 (UTC)

Support Don't make this harder than it has to be. (No pun intended). DoctorSpeed (talk) 21:32, 27 November 2017 (UTC)

Which part of the subject accounts for more of the article's current content has no bearing on what the title of the article should be. I'm not impressed with the "support" arguments in the previous proposal, either. It's just a lot of anecdotal claims, which are even more meaningless in this case than usual because, as the article itself notes, the two expressions are used regionally.--Martin IIIa (talk) 01:51, 1 June 2018 (UTC)

@Martin IIIa: Keep it respectful and professional. Don't think that I can't report you. We all have a voice. You are no longer welcome onto my talk page.DoctorSpeed (talk) 19:47, 28 July 2018 (UTC)

@Martin IIIa: Also, I've been seeing that you have a tendency to be a hothead and love to be disrespectful to others, especially on your talk page. I suggest you watch it, before someone decides to take further action towards your behavior. To reiterate— do not bring that behavior to my talk page. Thank you.DoctorSpeed (talk) 19:47, 28 July 2018 (UTC)

You clearly have me confused with someone else.--Martin IIIa (talk) 13:32, 11 August 2018 (UTC)

Oppose This was always a British English phrase, and while less common now it is still used in a tongue in cheek manner. Americans have a different sense of humour and TWSS means nothing at all to me. Each page can link to the other.78.16.70.89 (talk) 07:18, 14 August 2019 (UTC)

It's like Bob's your uncle, meaningless in the USA.78.16.70.89 (talk) 07:21, 14 August 2019 (UTC)

As usual, another one of those pages where somebody with a British bias decides to make even something that is universally popular like ‘That’s why she she said’ into something that is British. I thought Big 4 in tennis was bad but this is insanity. StaySafe2020 (talk) 12:33, 27 November 2020 (UTC)

Deletion

This article should NOT be deleted. This is a very common British expression indicating the 'double entendre'.

I agree. It's a common turn of phrase in Britain. Doubtless American Admins find it hard to believe we people in Merrie England have our own aspects of the language. But there you go. 86.130.3.57 17:46, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

I disagree. Its completely irrelevant, and if anything it should be a subsection in "That's What She Said" 76.65.20.250 (talk) 01:43, 11 June 2010 (UTC)

I also disagree. As an English person, I never once in my entire childhood heard "Said the actress to the bishop". For comparison "That's what she said" was so common in my school and area it was so overused it was almost unbearable. "That's what she said" is definitely more common even in Britain, and "Said the actress to the bishop" is used only in Britain. Google trends probably doesn't count as any kind of source, but just to illustrate my point take a look: https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=that%27s%20what%20she%20said,%20said%20the%20actress%20to%20the%20bishop Urban dictionary also has almost 200 times as many thumbs up for "That's what she said" than "Said the actress to the bishop". It's completely ridiculous that Wikipedia has a page for "Said the actress to the bishop" and "That's what she said" is merely redirected here when it is far more common. Anon12356 (talk) 02:51, 22 October 2012 (UTC) I've never heard "That's what she said" being used, but the reference to the actress and bishop is well known here in Scotland. I think it's a regional thing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 149.5.89.190 (talk) 09:26, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

That's what she said

I think it might be interesting to note it's crass American equivalent. "That's what she said!" 68.190.234.55 16:08, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

I think this should be stressed much more. "Thats what she said" is a very popular American joke. "said the actress to the bishop" doesnt really make much sense to someone who lives in America and has never heard the British version. --Blake (talk) 17:21, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

However, perhaps to your surprise, "that's what she said" probably doesn't really make much sense to someone who doesn't live in America, which is probably a larger number than those who does. Is there really a great need to stress on this any more than now? Just a single sentence stating as such should be adequate.218.103.142.61 (talk) 14:06, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

doesn't really make much sense? it might not "ring a bell" of familiarity, but if somebody threw a "that's what she said" into a conversation with you, it would make a great deal of sense, to you. "said the actress..." is the more obscure, in the sense of "making sense", one of those too clever by half sorts of things 68.174.97.122 (talk) 14:01, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

Crass it may be, but at least "that's what she said" is, y'know, funny. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.250.63.98 (talk) 00:39, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

On TV, "thats what she said" usually seems to be spoken by someone other than the joketeller. But "as the actress said to the bishop" is said by the joketeller themself. So they are not directly equivalent.Eregli bob (talk) 08:38, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

Note: That's what she said is at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/That's what she said (3rd nomination), where a merge to here has again been suggested. -- Quiddity (talk) 20:41, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Born-again atheist

The phrase appeared as recently as 1991 in the lyrics of Carter USM's "Billy's Smart Circus". Asat (talk) 10:38, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

Non vulgar references.

Can someone supply the context for this quote (probably an English movie ca 1940): "My dear, I believe you are flaming, as the actress said to the bishop."

Probably English, since most Americans haven't the faintest idea what flaming bishop is... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.232.150.40 (talk) 12:53, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

== Merger ==

Any objections to proceeding with the proposed merger? --Nuujinn (talk) 13:17, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

• Yes, this one should be merged into TWSS not the other way around. Who says "Said the actress to the bishop" in the 21st century? --208.38.59.163 (talk) 23:16, 26 November 2010 (UTC)
  • I don't know to what extent that matters, but presumably speakers of British English do. Anyone else have an opinion? --Nuujinn (talk) 23:21, 26 November 2010 (UTC)
  • Not in that form but as 'as the bishop said to the actress' (sometimes adding 'while stirring her tea with her left hand' -I've no idea why) it's still used on a regular basis in the UK in my experience. Mikenorton (talk) 22:16, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

I have heard "Said the actress to the bishop" used in Australia. Also used in Australia is/was "I'll look that up in my Funk & Wagnalls." Now that I think of it, I don't think I've actually heard these used much lately, but certainly heard them in the 1980s/1990s. Format (talk) 22:43, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

"I'll look that up in my Funk & Wagnalls." is a consequence of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In being VERY popular in Australia ca. 1970-1975. (Prior to that, few Australians had any idea who/what "Funk & Wagnall" referred to). It was in the same show that Goldie Hawn made "You bet your bippy!" a popular expression, along with "Blow in my ear and I'll follow you anywhere". Pdfpdf (talk) 13:43, 6 July 2012 (UTC)

Move to That's what she said

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

The result of this discussion was no consensus to move. Which form is more common apparently varies greatly by country, and there no evidence seems to have been presented to objectively judge the most common usage worldwide. Those in favour of two separate articles can of course consider starting a deletion review for that's what she said. Jafeluv (talk) 20:23, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

---

I think "That's what she said" is a lot more common than "Said the actress to the bishop". I am british, and I had never even heard of "Said the actress to the bishop" (the socalled british counterpart) until I was redirected here when I clicked on a link for TWSS. Harry Blue5 (talk) 15:48, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

Support. 74.190.26.47 (talk) 07:30, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

Oppose. history, cultural imperialism, redirect worked just fine didn't it? - Aaron Brenneman (talk) 23:25, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Support That's what she said is obviously way more common. I have heard "That's what she said" quite often in daily life yet I have never ever heard anyone said "Said the actress to the bishop" in my entire life! I'm an American. Redirect works just fine but yea we should follow the rule! Whichever title is "most" common should be the title of the article. "Said the actress to the bishop" could be redirect to "That's what she said". Redirect will work just fine, won't it? Plus "Said the actress to the bishop" has a tone of degrading Christian since it is involving a bishop in it! A bishop is an important position in Christianity! For all of the reasons above it is best to move this page to "That's what she said".Pendragon5 (talk) 21:40, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

• Why do you say "That's what she said is obviously way more common."? Is your statement based on your experience and opinion, or is it based on fact? Pdfpdf (talk) 15:14, 4 July 2012 (UTC)
• As for "degrading Christians", to quote the article, "The term may have been used as far back as Edwardian times" ... Pdfpdf (talk) 15:14, 4 July 2012 (UTC)

Support. for all the reasons above, i think this is a no-brainer. the article should be reversed, with That's What She Said as top-billing, then referencing the historic/British analogue.184.57.8.102 (talk) 01:36, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Support. That's what she said is almost certainly what people will be looking for. Dtm1234 (talk) 20:00, 29 June 2012 (UTC)

• Why do you say "That's what she said is almost certainly what people will be looking for."? Pdfpdf (talk) 15:14, 4 July 2012 (UTC)

Should this page be a redirect to That's what she said rather than the other way around? Dtm1234 (talk) 20:34, 29 June 2012 (UTC)

• Comment. My preference would be to split the pages. They are far apart enough in usage that the most logical way to cover them would be to have two separate articles. However, Wikipedia is not a dictionary, so both the articles would need to be well-sourced, show the history of the phrases, and generally cover things above and beyond a mere definition. Does anyone want to do the research to find out whether this would be possible? We would need to find several high-quality sources. — Mr. Stradivarius ^{(have a chat)} 01:38, 30 June 2012 (UTC)

  p.s. I know that the previous AfD discussion closed as "merge", but there may well be new sources published since then that would make separate articles possible. — Mr. Stradivarius ^{(have a chat)} 01:41, 30 June 2012 (UTC)

• Oppose both switching the redirect and switching the pages as that would run contrary to the consensus of Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/That's what she said (3rd nomination). Angr (talk) 14:57, 30 June 2012 (UTC)

• True, but that was 2 years ago. It's worth it to look at this again. Dtm1234 (talk) 16:04, 1 July 2012 (UTC)

• Oppose - I'm Australian and I've never heard the phrase "That's what she said". Until 10 minutes ago, I wouldn't have known what it was referring to. (As I have watched Wayne's World more than once, this suggests that I have completely missed the significance of the expression more than once.) On the other hand, "said the actress to the bishop" has a long history of use in Commonwealth countries, and is still in frequent use in Australia in the second decade of the 21st century - I've even experienced an Indian gentleman say it to me, so presumably it's in use there, and there are a lot more Indians than Americans and British combined. I don't know, nor do I care, if one phrase is supposedly "way more common" than the other - that seems irrelevant. What is clear to me from this discussion is that different sub-cultures use different expressions, and may not have heard of others. So what? The question is about having one article, and what its name should be. Like some of the gentlemen above, it would appear to me that the two expressions, although similar, are not identical, and that there is a case for separate articles that cross reference each other. Therefore I oppose the proposal. Pdfpdf (talk) 14:55, 4 July 2012 (UTC)
• Oppose per Mr. Stradivarius. There may be a case for a WP:DRV to get the TWSS article resurrected, if there is sufficient encylopaedic content to justify it. But we can't just stick it in a slot that's already occupied (as the actress etc). Formerip (talk) 17:31, 4 July 2012 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Removed material, 15 March

"As the Actress Said to the Bishop - Star-studded stories from stage and screen is the title of a book published in 1989, written by English character actor and comedian Derek Nimmo. "

This doesn't go to understanding of the topic, so I removed it. Perhaps in the see also, at best. Thoughts? - Aaron Brenneman (talk) 23:25, 14 March 2012 (UTC)

Pause

This is similar to the use of the word "pause" in some American cultures, though I guess that's not a Wellerism. Worth mentioning, or too different? -KaJunl (talk) 12:06, 21 January 2018 (UTC) KaJunl (talk) 12:06, 21 January 2018 (UTC)

That's what she said

I have no real problem worn the article title, but the whole article is about "that's what she said," even in the history & variants section. This makes no sense and someone should at least do a rewrite to make the article about the right topic.

Another issue worth noting with combining these articles is they're not used the same - the British term seems like it's said by the original speaker, while the American term is said by someone else - that's almost the whole point, being called out on a vulgar meaning behind something you said innocuous. -KaJunl (talk) 12:16, 21 January 2018 (UTC) KaJunl (talk) 12:16, 21 January 2018 (UTC)

She said, smiling

Another British variant from my personal knowledge, dating back to 1980 or earlier. Possibly worth adding if it can be WP:RSed. Narky Blert (talk) 22:47, 22 March 2020 (UTC)

As the Bishop said to the actress

Elderly Australian here. FWIW, the formulation “said the actress to the bishop” sounds very stilted to me. I’ve always said, “as the bishop said to the actress”, although it seems from the article that this might be the wrong way round. I was just chatting with a woman friend in her 50s who says she “started using it when she went to uni[versity]”, which I guess would be 30-40 years ago. Presumably young Australians were using it then. Few if any young Australians would use or understand it now. 01:43, 21 May 2022 (UTC) TC — Preceding unsigned comment added by 1.147.74.206 (talk)