English Grammar English Composition Literary Devices. "What Is a Double Entendre?" A triple entendre is a phrase that can be understood in any of three ways, such as in the back cover of the 1981 Rush album Moving Pictures which shows a moving company carrying paintings out of a building while people are shown being emotionally moved and a film crew makes a "moving picture" of the whole scene.[7]. Examples of sexual innuendo and double-entendre occur in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (14th century), in which the Wife of Bath's Tale is laden with double entendres. double entendre synonyms, double entendre pronunciation, double entendre translation, English dictionary definition of double entendre. By one interpretation, the person being talked to is asked if they would be offended; by the other interpretation, they are asked if they would press their body against the person doing the talking. I shall be stroking it for the rest of the evening. Moneypenny responds by pointing out that Bond was known as "a cunning linguist", a play on the word "cunnilingus". What does double-entendre mean? A double entendre is a literary device that can be defined as a phrase or a figure of speech that might have multiple senses, interpretations, or two different meanings, or which might be understood in two different ways. In the UK, starting in the 19th century, Victorian morality disallowed sexual innuendo in the theatre as being unpleasant, particularly for the ladies in the audience. My pussy got soakin' wet. 2 – that there be no wrongdoing involved. A pretty girl walks into a bar. During the 1940s, Benny Bell recorded several "party records" that contained double entendre including "Everybody Wants My Fanny". What Is a Double Entendre? A double entendre is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase can be understood in two ways, especially when one meaning is risqué. Swallows, "It Ain't the Meat" Another meat song, this delivered by Irving Turner's baritone fronting … For example, in the 1970s TV comedy series Are You Being Served?, Mrs. Slocombe frequently referred to her pet cat as her "pussy", apparently unaware of how easily her statement could be misinterpreted, such as "It's a wonder I'm here at all, you know. The double entendre – French for “double meaning” – is synonymous with puntastic rap. sexual) innuendo came from servicemen's jokes, which most of the cast understood (they all had been soldiers) and many of the audience understood, but which passed over the heads of most of the Senior BBC producers and directors, most of whom were "Officer class". . In the United States, innuendo and double entendre were only lightly used in radio media until the 1980s when the Howard Stern Show began to push the envelope of what was acceptable on the radio through use of double entendre and ironies. Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia, M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester, B.A., English, State University of New York, "Rebecca Kordecki . The word civil is the Double … In the early 20th century restrictions were placed on lewdness in performances, including some prosecutions. which suggests the answer "a penis" but has the correct answer "an onion".[8]. Double entendres are popular in modern movies, as a way to conceal adult humour in a work aimed at general audiences. Examples of Double Entendre: A double entendre is a word or phrase that can be interpreted in two ways. The definition of a double entendre is a word that can have two meanings, usually with one being risqué. An alien cookbook with the title To Serve Man is featured in the story which could imply that the aliens eat humans. A double entendre is a word or phrase that has two meanings -- a surface meaning and a second meaning that can be intentional or unintentional. The word "masturbate" was in use when the book was written, and Dickens often used colourful names related to the natures of the characters. https://www.thoughtco.com/double-entendre-meaning-1690472 (accessed April 24, 2021). Sometimes a homophone can be used as a pun. In fact, double entendre has a long history in England, going back to Shakespear who had a particular fondness for using double entendre and innuendo in his plays. “Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean; In this phrase lies the Double-Entendre. Her eye will be wet.") Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks. Particularly significant in this respect were the Carry On series of films and the BBC radio series Round the Horne; although some of Round the Horne appeared to be nonsense language, the protagonists were sometimes having "rude" conversations in Polari (gay slang). In 1968, the office of the Lord Chamberlain ceased to have responsibility for censoring live entertainment, after the Theatres Act 1968. Also called innuendo. Round the Horne depended heavily on innuendo and double entendre, the show's name itself being a triple entendre, a play on the name of its central actor Kenneth Horne and those around him, the sailor's expression "going round the horn" (i.e. Max Miller had two books of jokes, a white book and a blue book, and would ask his audience which book they wanted to hear stories from. Double entendres generally rely on multiple meanings of words, or different interpretations of the same primary meaning. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/double-entendre-meaning-1690472. We say a sentence is a TWSS if it is funny to follow that sentence with that's what she said . One of the meanings is clear and straightforward. A double entendre rhetorical device that consists of a word or group of words that has more than one meaning and that can be understood in more than one way. A person who is unfamiliar with the hidden or alternative meaning of a sentence may fail to detect its innuendos, aside from observing that others find it humorous for no apparent reason. The James Bond films are rife with such humour. Modern comedies, such as the US version of The Office, often do not hide the addition of sexual innuendos into the script; for example, main character Michael Scott often deploys the phrase "that's what she said" after another character's innocent statement, to turn it retroactively into a sexual pun. https://examples.yourdictionary.com/double-entendre-examples.html [4][5][6] The phrase has not been used in French for centuries and would be ungrammatical in modern French. Robert Herrick (an ancestor of mine and romantic poet) was very saucy with his double entendres. citizens of a town). A double entendre may exploit puns or word play to convey the second meaning. The clichéd phrase "Said the actress to the bishop", as well as "that's what she said" can be used to remark on a sentence said by another which was not intended as a double entendre but nevertheless could be interpreted with a double meaning, one of them sexual. Nordquist, Richard. ", which leads the other Cyclopes to take no action under the assumption that Polyphemus blinded himself by accident, allowing Odysseus and his men to escape. When three or more meanings have been constructed, this is known as a "triple entendre", etc. a double entendre. Nordquist, Richard. 12 & 35", repeats the line "Everybody must get stoned". Some riddles were double-entendres, such as Riddle 25 ("I am a wondrous creature: to women a thing of joyful expectation, to close-lying companions serviceable. In Britain, innuendo humour began to transfer to radio and cinema from the late 1950s on. And when Brosnan speaks, it's the sorts of double entendre that usually serve as the punchlines of jokes in a Moose Lodge. One of the most famous double entendres in American advertising is the slogan created by Shirley Polykoff to promote Clairol hair coloring: "Does she or doesn't she?". 1 Answer David P Jul 17, 2016 It is a phrase which can be interpreted two different ways. Sometimes, it is unclear whether a double entendre was intended. Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit"; or is told the time by Mercutio: "for the bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon"; and in Hamlet, Hamlet publicly torments Ophelia with a series of sexual puns, including "country matters" (similar to "cunt"). She assaults my red self and seizes my head and clenches me in a cramped place. These phrases … Bawdy double entendres, such as "I'm the kinda girl who works for Paramount by day, and Fox all night", and (from the movie Myra Breckinridge) "I feel like a million tonight – but only one at a time", are typical of the comedy writing of Mae West, for her early-career vaudeville performances as well as for her later plays and movies. The double entendres of the Bond films were parodied in the Austin Powers series. Double entendres can arise in the replies to inquiries. … Nevertheless, some comedians still continued to get away with it. On The Scott Mills Show on BBC Radio 1, listeners are asked to send in clips from radio and TV with double meanings in a humorous context, a feature known as "Innuendo Bingo". Basically, it refers to a phrase or sentence with two meanings; an obvious meaning that matches the context and another meaning which may require some thought. Double entendre refers to when a person means something other than the apparent meaning of the words. ing double entendres in text or speech. Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night says of Sir Andrew's hair, that "it hangs like flax on a distaff; and I hope to see a housewife take thee between her legs and spin it off"; the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet says that her husband had told Juliet when she was learning to walk that "Yea, dost thou fall upon thy face? A double entendre is a word or phrase which has dual meanings, one of which is often sexual in nature. A double entendre is a subtle literary device that uses one statement to convey two very different meanings. One of the most famous double entendres in American advertising is the slogan created by Shirley Polykoff to promote Clairol hair coloring: "Does she or doesn't she?" 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