that's what she said

phrase

A joking retort that draws attention to the possibility of sexual innuendo in what was just said.

“Coordinate term: that's what he said”

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Meanings

phrase
  1. humorousidiomaticA joking retort that draws attention to the possibility of sexual innuendo in what was just said.

    Coordinate term: that's what he said

    3 more examples

    Arthur: "That assignment took me all week to finish. It was so long and hard." Bob: "That's what she said."

    Some seemed bored and irritated by the priapic yahooism and overwillingness of peers to read a sexual double entendre into the most innocuous remark. "No matter what you say," said one student, "someone is going to respond with ‘That's what she said.’ "

    2008 March 2, Ron Fletcher, “In the Internet Age, a few lessons about bad jokes, good taste”, in Boston Globe, retrieved 07 Apr 2009

    So this morning we pulled up a pumpkin-pancake recipe on the kitchen laptop. Just one problem: My wife couldn't read it from where she was mixing. "Can't you make it bigger?" she asked. (Go ahead, insert your own "that's what she said" joke here. No class.)

    2008 November 24, Rick Broida, “Quick Tip: Increase the Font Size in Your Browser”, in PCWorld.com, retrieved 07 Apr 2009

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
ooh, matron

Origin

First attested in the early 20th century. She refers to the speaker's imagined sexual partner.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Danish det sagde hun også i går
  • det sagde hun også i gårretort
Dutch dat zei mijn vrouw vannacht ook
  • dat zei mijn vrouw vannacht ookretort
Finnish ...sano entinen likka!
  • ...sano entinen likka!retort
German das hat sie gesagt, das hat sie auch gesagt
  • das hat sie gesagtretort
  • das hat sie auch gesagtretort
Norwegian Bokmål sa brura
  • sa bruraretort
Spanish eso fue lo que ella dijo
  • eso fue lo que ella dijoretort
Swedish ...sade flickan.
  • ...sade flickan.retort
Cite this entry
APA

that's what she said. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that's%20what%20she%20said

MLA

“that's what she said.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that's%20what%20she%20said. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “that's what she said,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that's%20what%20she%20said.

Source: that's what she said on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.