Double Entendre: Definition & 25+ Examples
A double entendre is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase has two meanings — one innocent and one suggestive, risqué, or subversive. The power of the double entendre lies in the gap between the two readings: the speaker can always claim the innocent meaning while the audience catches the second.
How It Works
The term comes from French: double entente, meaning "double meaning." A true double entendre requires that both meanings work simultaneously — the innocent reading must be grammatically and contextually valid, not just a fig leaf for the second meaning.
Double Entendre vs. Pun
A pun plays on words that sound alike or have multiple dictionary definitions. A double entendre specifically involves one innocent meaning and one suggestive or taboo meaning. All double entendres are a type of wordplay, but not all puns are double entendres — a pun about "thyme" and "time" has no suggestive layer.
Examples from Shakespeare
"Do you think I meant country matters?"
Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 2
Hamlet's line to Ophelia carries an innocent surface meaning about rural concerns — and a bawdy second meaning that Elizabethan audiences would have caught instantly.
"My naked weapon is out."
Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 1
Sampson refers to his drawn sword, but the phallic double meaning is unmistakable — and intentional. Shakespeare used this kind of wordplay to entertain the groundlings.
"I am a pretty piece of flesh."
Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 1
Another from the Capulet servants. The surface meaning is self-compliment; the second meaning is sexual boasting.
"Graze on my lips; and if those hills be dry, / Stray lower, where the pleasant fountains lie."
Venus and Adonis
Venus invites Adonis to kiss her. The pastoral imagery — hills, fountains — maps elegantly onto the body, making the double meaning both poetic and unmistakable.
"The bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon."
Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 4
Mercutio's clock reference. "Prick" referred to a mark on a clock face, but the secondary meaning was well established even in the 1590s.
Examples from Oscar Wilde & Victorian Literature
"I have nothing to declare except my genius."
Oscar Wilde (attributed, at US customs)
Not a classic double entendre but demonstrates Wilde's mastery of dual meaning — "declare" as customs procedure and as public announcement.
"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."
The Importance of Being Earnest
Lady Bracknell's line works on two levels: the literal absurdity and the implied suspicion that Jack may have murdered his parents.
"The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means."
The Importance of Being Earnest
The surface meaning is a naive literary observation. The deeper meaning is a devastating critique of Victorian morality and its relationship to storytelling.
"I can resist everything except temptation."
Lady Windermere's Fan
The paradox works as a witty aphorism and as a confession — Wilde's characters often reveal truths about themselves through apparent jokes.
Examples from Modern Film & Television
"I'm afraid I just blue myself."
Arrested Development — Tobias Fünke
Tobias means he painted himself blue for the Blue Man Group. The writers built an entire character around oblivious double entendres.
"That's what she said."
The Office — Michael Scott
Michael's catchphrase takes any innocent statement and reframes it as a double entendre. The humor comes from the forced reinterpretation, not the cleverness.
"I'd like to kiss you, but I just washed my hair."
Cabin in the Cotton (1932) — Bette Davis
On the surface, a practical excuse. Underneath, a flirtatious admission of desire — the refusal is itself a come-on.
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."
Commonly attributed to Mark Twain
Appears to be motivational advice. Depending on context, it can carry a second meaning about compensating for physical shortcomings.
Examples from Music & Songwriting
"If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?"
The Bellamy Brothers, 1979
A textbook double entendre: "hold it against me" means both "be offended" and the physical act. The song title IS the joke.
"Let's spend the night together."
The Rolling Stones, 1967
Ostensibly about companionship. The Ed Sullivan Show famously asked Jagger to change the lyric to "let's spend some time together."
"I want your ugly, I want your disease."
Lady Gaga, "Bad Romance"
The surface meaning is accepting someone completely. The double meaning — wanting the raw, unpolished, even dangerous parts of a person — gives the lyric its edge.
Examples from Everyday Language
"That's a tall order."
Common expression
Literally about a large request. Can be used suggestively depending on context and delivery.
"I need to get off."
Common expression
Innocently means departing a bus or train. The second meaning is obvious — and the gap between the two creates the comedy.
"He really knows how to handle his equipment."
Common expression
Perfectly innocent in professional contexts (construction, photography, sports). The second meaning depends entirely on delivery and context.
"She's got great assets."
Common expression
In business, it means financial resources or valuable skills. Outside that context, the meaning shifts — and the speaker can always claim the innocent reading.
Using Double Entendre in Your Writing
Use it to reveal character
A character who speaks in double entendres tells you something about themselves — they're witty, evasive, or flirtatious. Shakespeare's Mercutio, Wilde's characters, and Arrested Development's Tobias all use double meaning to define their personalities. The device does characterization and humor at the same time.
Both meanings must work
A weak double entendre has an innocent reading that feels forced or unnatural. The line has to work perfectly at the surface level — a reader who misses the second meaning should still find the dialogue coherent. The best double entendres reward attentive readers without punishing casual ones.
Use it sparingly
A single well-placed double entendre in a scene is memorable. A character who speaks in nothing but double meanings becomes a one-note joke (unless, like Tobias Fünke, that one note is the point). Let the device punctuate your dialogue, not dominate it.
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