Meanings
phrase
- A male equivalent of that's what she said, in which the joke draws attention to something a male lover might say.
Oscar, would you reach over and touch his thing? That's what he said! Right, guys? Cause of gay?
2009 February 1, Paul Lieberstein, “Stress Relief”, in Jeffrey Blitz, director, The Office, season 5, episodes 14-15, spoken by Michael Scott (Steve Carell)1 more example
It became such a staple that meta-jokes were tacked on to prolong its life, like non-verbal TWSS winks and attempts at the gender-balanced "That's what he said."
[2014 January 24, Daniel A. Gross, “That's What She Said: The Rise and Fall of the 2000s' Best Bad Joke”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 07 Jul 2022
Cite this entry
APA
that's what he said. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that's%20what%20he%20said
MLA
“that's what he said.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that's%20what%20he%20said. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “that's what he said,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that's%20what%20he%20said.
Source: that's what he said on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.