as the actress said to the bishop

[n8talie]

Where does this expression come from, I read an article the otherday which implied to me that it might date from the scandal of Jessie Yates 1970's 'stars on sunday' presenter known as the Bishop having an affair with an actress. But does it date back further?

[woofgang]

no, its way older than that. There are a whole string of "carry on" type one liners with that as the punchline. When I was young.... it was considered highly witty repartee to add this line to almost any comment but all the examples that I can think of would not pass the AB ed!! I am sure that one of our erudite contributors will be able to fond a website with more info and put it up for us all to see....

[anthomson]

No the phrase was in use well before then. This link says it was in common usage in the 1940's and probably originates early in the 1900's: http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayings
.htm#As%20the%20actress%20said%20to%20the%20bishop

[Maudlettice]

"For what I am about to receive, the Lord make me thankful" as the actress said to the Bishop is in Chaucer.

[Quizmonster]

The earliest-recorded use of the word actress in English was in 1589. At that point, Chaucer had been dead for almost 200 years! In the given format..."as the actress said to the bishop"...its first appearance was in a Leslie Charteris 'Saint' book in 1935.

[Maudlettice]

No, Chaucer. Canterbury Tales. "Bend down, woman, and pick up your Bible" said the Pardoner. "For what I am about to receive, may the Lord make me truly thankful" said the Prioress.

[Maudlettice]

And so the joke was born. As the Prioress said to the Pardoner, Virgin/Summoner, Nun/Friar, Actress/Bishop, and on to the current Bill/Monica. "If you swallow that, you'll swallow anything" as Bill said to Monica.