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double entendre

What is Double Entendre? Definition, Usage, and Literary Examples

Double Entendre Definition

A double entendre (DUH-bull ahn-TAHN-druh) is a figure of speech that involves two different meanings or interpretations of a word, phrase, or sentence, wherein one meaning is readily apparent and the other is more risqué in nature.

While the term double entendre has origins in French, with entendre meaning “to hear” or “to understand,” the term is almost exclusively used in English today.

Examples of Double Entendre

Double entendres have existed in literature, media, and everyday life dating as far back as Ancient Greece. Some common double entendres are as follows:

  • “If I said you have a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?” One interpretation of this question is that the speaker’s wondering if they will be judged for commenting on the recipient’s physical appearance. But in the secondary meaning, the speaker is asking for the recipient to embrace them intimately.
  • The phrase That’s what she said is often used to turn an innocuous statement into something suggestive. For example, responding to the statement “That’s too big.” with “That’s what she said.” alludes to a sexual encounter.
  • “Is that what we’re calling it now?” is another phrase used to turn benign statements into suggestive ones. For example, replying to “I’ve been staying on top of his schedule.” with “Is that what we’re calling it now?” alludes to a sexual encounter.

William Shakespeare is well known for double entendres, as he included many witty, suggestive statements throughout his plays and poetry. One common example comes from Romeo and Juliet:

NURSE: God ye good morrow, gentlemen.
MERCUTIO: God ye good den, fair gentlewoman.
NURSE: Is it good den?
MERCUTIO: ‘Tis no less, I tell you; for the bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon.
NURSE: Out upon you! What a man are you!

Juliet’s nurse is angry because Mercutio’s statement is a double entendre; he uses the words “bawdy” and “prick,” which also mean “lustful” and “penis,” respectively.

Why Writers Use Double Entendres

Authors tend to use double entendres for humorous effect, stating something suggestive or slightly inappropriate in an indirect way. However, to use this device effectively, authors must calculate the statement’s subtlety so that it’s a clever play on words without being so ambiguous that the reader misses the joke.

The use of this figure of speech can backfire. In addition to readers not catching on to the double entendre’s secondary meaning, an author must be familiar with their audience’s predispositions to avoid offending those not comfortable with this brand of humor.

Double Entendre and Other Literary Devices

Double Entendres vs. Innuendos

An innuendo is close to a double entendre because it also indicates something inappropriate, suggestive, or scandalous. However, innuendos don’t rely on word play; their true meaning is simply implied. For example, in the sentence “Alison’s been spending a lot of time studying with Alex lately,” nothing has a secondary, salacious meaning. But the speaker or writer’s tone could imply they believe something other than studying is going on, thus making the statement an innuendo.

Double Entendres vs. Euphemisms

A euphemism uses double meanings to obscure inappropriate or sensitive words with something more socially acceptable. An example would be using “passed away” when discussing death. In some ways, it is like the opposite of a double entendre; rather than create a lewd secondary meaning, a euphemism hopes to avoid one.

Double Entendres vs Puns

Unlike the double entendre, a pun is a silly, rather than suggestive, play on the meaning and connection between words. An example of a pun is the Douglas Adams quote, “You can tune a guitar, but you can't tuna fish. Unless, of course, you play bass.”

Double Entendres Outside of Literature

Double entendres are present in all manner of media, such as Michael Scott’s catchphrase “That’s what she said” in The Office and the use of phrases like “soggy bottoms” and “moist ladyfingers” in The Great British Bake Off.

Double entendres are also used in memes and internet culture. Memes are pieces of humorous media that often express relatable sentiments. Many memes rely on double entendres to reach their audience, such as the FBI agent meme, which emphasizes societal privacy concerns in a comical fashion. Memes, as a result, can serve to humorously spark conversation, even if they are questionable sources of information.

Examples of Double Entendre in Literature

1. Homer, The Odyssey

When Odysseus is stranded on an island, he gets captured by the Cyclops Polyphemus. Odysseus tells Polyphemus that his name is “no man,” which leads to a humorous exchange between Polyphemus and the other cyclops when Odysseus attacks him:

“What ails you, Polyphemus,” said they, “that you make such a noise, breaking the stillness of the night, and preventing us from being able to sleep? Surely no man is carrying off your sheep? Surely no man is trying to kill you either by fraud or by force?”
But Polyphemus shouted to them from inside the cave, “No man is killing me by fraud; no man is killing me by force.”
“Then,” said they, “if no man is attacking you, you must be ill; when Jove makes people ill, there is no help for it, and you had better pray to your father Neptune.”

Because Polyphemus says that “no man” is harming him, the others dismiss his pleas for help because they believe he’s saying that there’s no one attacking him.

2. William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Here is another example of Shakespeare’s double entendres:

HAMLET: Lady, shall I lie in your lap?
OPHELIA: No, my lord.
HAMLET: I mean, my head upon your lap?
OPHELIA: Ay, my lord.
HAMLET: Do you think I meant country matters?
OPHELIA: I think nothing, my lord.
HAMLET: That’s a fair thought to lie between maids’ legs.
OPHELIA: What is, my lord?
HAMLET: Nothing.

During Shakespeare’s time, “country matters” and “nothing” were both innocent statements and slang for “sex” and “vagina,” respectively.

Further Resources on Double Entendre

Kidskonnect has worksheets and examples on the literary device.

Maik Goth explores the use of double entendres in late-17th and early 18th-century comedies in a chapter of Wordplay and Metalinguistic/Metadiscursive Reflection: Authors, Contexts, Techniques, and Meta-Reflection.