Double entendre

A double entendre is a figure of speech similar to the pun, in which a spoken phrase can be understood in either of two ways. The first, literal meaning is an innocent one, while the second meaning is often risqué and requires the hearer to have some additional knowledge. Although a French term, the French generally say double entente or double sens for such phrases.

British comedy

Sexual innuendo is common in British sitcoms and radio comedy such as I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. For example, in Are You Being Served?, Mrs Slocombe makes frequent references to her "pussy", such as "It's a wonder I'm here at all, you know. My pussy got soakin' wet. I had to dry it out in front of the fire before I left." A child might find this statement funny simply because of the references to her pussy cat, whereas an adult would detect the innuendo ("pussy" is sexual slang for vagina).

Related Topics:
British sitcom - Radio comedy - I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue - Are You Being Served? - Sexual slang - Vagina

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Innuendos were not only used in modern times — they have existed since Shakespearean times. Indeed, Sir Toby in "Twelfth Night" is seen saying, in reference to Sir Andrew's hair, that "it hangs like flax on a distaff; and I (Sir Toby) hope to see a housewife take thee (Sir Andrew) between her legs and spin it off."

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Attitudes to this kind of humour have changed enormously since the 19th century. In the Victorian theatre, innuendo was considered unpleasant, particularly for the ladies in the audience, and was not allowed. In the Music Hall, on the other hand, innuendo was in constant use in songs.

Related Topics:
19th century - Victorian - Music Hall

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In the 20th century there began to be a bit of a crackdown on lewdness, including some prosecutions. It was the job of the Lord Chamberlain to examine the scripts of all plays for decency.

Related Topics:
20th century - Lord Chamberlain

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Nevertheless, some comedians still continued to get away with it. Max Miller, famously, 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. If they chose the blue book, it was their own choice and he could feel reasonably secure he wasn't offending anyone.

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The blue, innuendo type of humour didn't transfer to radio or cinema at that time, but eventually and progressively it began to filter through from the late 1950s and 1960s. Particularly significant in this respect were the Carry On films and the BBC radio series Round the Horne.

Related Topics:
Radio - Cinema - 1950s - 1960s - Carry On films - BBC - Round the Horne

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In 1968 the office of the Lord Chamberlain ceased to have responsibility for censoring live entertainment. By the 1970s innuendo had become widely pervasive across much of the British media.

Related Topics:
1968 - Entertainment - 1970s

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