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Subversion of the Double Entendre. Classically, a Double Entendre is used because the people who shouldn't be exposed to the content won't even notice it's there. If You Know What I Mean is a follow-up to a Double Entendre used to ensure that the audience "gets" that it's there.

This can either be because the writer thinks that the audience is very stupid, or because the character is.

Typical phrases used this way include "That's what she said," (very British variant - "...as the bishop said to the actress," apparently the punchline of a joke long since lost to the mists of time), "Hee hee, you said '<insert Double Entendre here>'," and, of course, "If you know what I mean." sometimes plus "-and I think you do." British viewers and Monty Python fans may know this best as "Wink-wink nudge-nudge say no more."

See also Dont Explain The Joke. Has a distinct familiarity with Does This Remind You Of Anything

If the person being talked to doesn't know what you mean, it becomes Entendre Failure.

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Examples:

Anime and Manga

• The dark anime Paranoia Agent was not without its humor:
  Maniwa: For women like her, who subconsciously act repressed, you have to have patience and delicacy. Like peeling a ripe apple.
  Ikari : So you wanna peel her apple?
  Maniwa: Ya'know, women hate dirty jokes.
• Yu-Gi-OhTheAbridgedSeries:
  Joey: "Man, that is one girl I'd like to play card games with. And by "play card games" I mean "have sex"."
  • The "And by X, I mean Y" delivery could be a Clone High homage.
  • This trope was spoofed in The Abridged Movie. Joey's standing in the way of Yugi, who says "Joey, get your butt out of my face!" Joey comes back with "Yeah, that's what she said." Doesn't quite work, does it?
  • This same style is also in the Christmas special, where the first 'ghost' to visit Kaiba is Yugi. Kaiba eventually gets pissed off and tells Yugi to "get the hell out of my bedroom." Yugi responds with an incredibly witty: "Yeah, that's what she said."
• In the billiards (seriously) manga Breakshot, one of Chinmi's early opponents has a... his... his right arm is very muscular and doesn't seem quite in proper proportion with the rest of his body. While this isn't commented on (beyond "Wow, what a muscular arm"), the implications speak for themselves.

Comic Books

• Finbarr Saunders of the controversial "adult" comic Viz was a parody of this. He would react to any even marginally suggestive line with spluttered laughs ( written 'Fnarr fnarr') eyeball rolling, nudges ('Eh? Eh?'), and silly catchphrases ('As the actress said to the bishop'), but would put innocent interpretations on the words of his mother and Mr Gimlet the lodger as they went off to have sex.
  Mrs. S: How about a little shag, Mr Gimlet?
  Mr. G: Righto, Mrs. Saunders, I'll just get me pipe out.
  Finbarr assumes she's offering him some tobacco.

Fan Fic

• In Pokegirls, the Tamers' primary objective is to catch the monster girls and... tame them, if you get my drift. Yup.

Film

• Subverted in the film BASEketball, in which Baxter Cain repeatedly utters this line, but each time is referring to the purely literal meaning of the Double Entendre, rather than the lewd one.
• The murder-mystery spoof Murder By Death:

  Twain: No, don't look at each other! Look at me! I’m the greatest! I'm number one!

  Sam Diamond: To me, you look like number two. Know what I mean?

  Dora Charleston: ... What does he mean, Miss Skeffington?

  Miss Skeffington: I'll tell you later. It's disgusting.

• In the third Spider Man movie with Eddie Brock/Venom and Mary Jane

  Venom: Oooh, my spider sense is tingling... if you know what I'm talking about.

Literature

• "As the actress said to the bishop" is actually the Catch Phrase of the Gentleman Thief, The Saint.
• Oddly, since the author is American, in Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun, one character an android Jonas is fond of inserting "as x said to y" comments in his speech, although unlike most examples, they don't always have a bawdy connotation.
• Nanny Ogg quite often used double entendres (though, as the books note, hers were single entendres and proud of it.)
  "Just twist the first thing you can grab", as the High Priest said to the vestal virgin.
• In Vision of the Future when a crazily unlikely event ends with Luke Skywalker landing on top of Mara Jade, she asked him: "Are you going to get off me? Or are you just getting comfortable?" Hee hee.

Live Action TV

• The "Nudge, Nudge" sketch from Monty Python is, as the quote above indicates, one of the most famous examples of this gag.
• The Frantics' "Dirty Words" sketch, in which a man does this with neutral words from newspaper headlines.
  Dirty Words Man: Areas!
  Man Reading Newspaper: That's not a dirty word.
  Dirty Words Man: It is if you say it right.
  • It is if you're a Bowie fan. Then again, that's Area. There can be only one!
• On Friends it was a running gag that when Joey said something raunchy, he'd follow up with an explanation in case the others didn't catch his meaning, which they always did. Once he said, "If you know what I mean," to which Monica replied, "Joey? We always know what you mean."
  • In an earlier episode the Friends were comparing sex to a concert, comparing foreplay to a comedian, and penetration as the band. The women say that they should bring back the comedian for a second go a bit more often otherwise they might just end up listening to the album of the band instead. Joey responds with: "...We're still talking about sex, right?"
• An entire game on Whose Line Is It Anyway, using the trope name, is devoted to If You Know What I Mean jokes. It features the performers turning every single line into a double entendre by ending every sentence literally with, "If you know what I mean." The game's comedic value comes from the players thinking up ever more elaborate metaphors, often going to the point where they don't make any sense eg. the infamous: "Can I help you fluff your Garfield?"
  • Some people do this in real life, if you know what I mean.
  • It's pretty hard huh huh, you said hard to come up with something if you know what I mean that can't somehow be interpreted as a euphemism. Try it some time. that's what she said! (See what I mean?)
• In an episode of NewsRadio, Bill hastily informs Dave of Lisa's potential sexual endeavors using a euphemism. Dave, who was no longer dating Lisa, doesn't have a strong reaction to the news, which causes Bill and Mr. James to assume he didn't catch the euphemism:
  Bill: You know what that means, don't you?
  Dave: Yes.
  Mr. James: That means sex.
  Dave: I know.
• In Scrubs, Todd, who commonly uses the Double Entendre, will also use more obvious references, such as the classic "That's what she said!" or when a character (usually female) mentions they're looking for something, he'll pop up and say "I got your 'object sought for' right here!" and motion to his crotch. He'll also explain his references from time to time.
  • Todd has even turned the word "innuendo" into a double entendre by saying it as "inYOURendo".
• Michael Scott, of the US version of The Office, frequently adds "that's what she said" to statements. In the episode Dunder Mifflin Infinity, it was revealed that he keeps a list of things he can say just to be able to add those four words.
  Pam: "That job looks hard." "You should put your mouth on that." How can you even use that one naturally?
  Michael: Blowing up balloons, I thought.
• As noted above (and I can't believe so much was posted on this topic without someone noting this before me), "If you know what I mean, and I think you do." is the catch-phrase of famed drive-in film critic and monster-movie show host Joe Bob Briggs, who wasn't allowed to describe most of the events of the movies he reviewed in his original position as a newspaper film critic.
• House provides an inversion when a physical therapist orders Dr. House to use a quad cane:
  Cameron: Nice cane.
  House: ...if I know what you mean!
  • Similarly...
  House: Dr. Cuddy! LOVE the outfit! Says "I'm professional, but I'm still a woman." Actually, it kinda yells that second part.
  Cuddy: Yeah, and your big cane doesn't mean anything either.
• On Titus, Chris Titus's special brother Dave once had a sequence where he repeatedly made very obvious references to the fact that he and his new girlfriend were having sex, ending each line with "If you know what I mean!" Chris: "We've all cracked your little code, Dave."
• On Night Court, when Dan catches Bull in a hotel room with his little sister:
  Dan Fielding: "You guys didn't sleep together did you?"
  Bull Shannon: "Of course not!"
  Dan: *sighs in relief*
  Bull: "We just had sex!"

Music

• Physical
• "Love Sex Magic" by Ciara.
  "So let me drive my body around you / I bet you know what I mean"
• Likewise, "Shut Up And Drive" by Rihanna.
• Spinal Tap has a song called "Big Bottom," where a few blindingly obvious Double Entendres are punctuated with "You Know What I Mean!"
• Stephen Lynch's song "If I Were Gay".
  "It's not that I don't care; I do / I just don't see myself in you / Another time, another scene / I'd be right behind you, if you know what I mean!

New Media

• Done many times on this wiki alone. If You Know What I Mean.
  • Hee hee, they said "insert double entendre here"
• There is a Harry Potter bumper sticker on Facebook that says, "Polishing my wand in the common room is okay. "Polishing my wand" is not."
• Very common on many gaming forums where someone will pounce at the chance to make a sexual joke once someone mentions they want a video game that is "hard and long."

Newspaper Comics

• My Cage features a strip were Norm mentions to Rex that even though he wasn't able get a dinner reservation he and Bridget still have "plans" for the night (complete with ribbing and winking)
  • Rex correctly guesses that said "plans" are eating mac and cheese in front of Heroes

Theater

• Sweeney Todd contains the following discussion of what to do with a dead body. Note that the script manages to use "if you get it" as a double-entendre:

  Mrs. Lovett: Think of it as thrift, as a gift, if you get my drift!

  Todd: No.

  Mrs. Lovett: Seems an awful waste... I mean, with the price of meat. What it is, when you get it, if you get it...

  Todd: Ahh...

  Mrs. Lovett: Good you got it.

Video Games

• Speaking of "Wink wink nudge nudge say no more" one of the Might And Magic games went just a few steps farther, with a thieves guild saying "wink wink nudge nudge casual looks and glances, need I say more, know what I mean know what I mean?"
• Shenmue: "Sailors, Well, I always see them near bars. Well, you know what I mean. I just see them hanging out. Most of them are pretty big, so you can't miss them. Umm, I heard that there's a bar where sailors hang out, but I don't know the place because I never wanted to go to such a bar, you know. It's best to stick to your regular drinking hole, if you know what I mean." I am very afraid that I do know what you mean, Komine.
• Black & White: On the first island, one of the tasks involves finding supplies for sailor explorers. They ask for wood (to finish their ship), grain (to eat) and meat (because grain gets boring). If you give them a sheep, the sailor responds with, "Oooooh. Sheep have many uses."

Webcomics

• Seen in this xkcd strip.
  • And taken to its logical conclusion here.
  • Inverted here, where she actually said it. "It" being a request for sex.
• Penny Arcade uses this a lot, but in particular exemplified by their recurring newscaster, Randy Pinkwood (whose name in its own right is not so much a Double Entendre as a single one).
  "I don't know whether she was serious [about Communism], but she certainly seized the means of production, if you know what I'm talking about. And I think you know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about my penis."
• The webcomic Stuff Sucks had this. "I think she wants to be his buddy. (short pause) His sex buddy. (short pause) If you know what I mean."
• Outside Interference: The following conversation, after Kate explains to Hollie about her broken arm:

  Kate: Sucks, though, 'cause now I have to do everything left-handed.

  Hollie: (opens her mouth to speak, grinning broadly)

  Kate: NO. Shut up.

  Hollie: But-

Western Animation

• Beavis And Butthead would go into hysterics over any use of the word "wood", "hard", or the like. You can imagine the conversations they had in the movie when they visited the petrified forest.
• Family Guy occasionally features characters wandering completely off subject to point out a double entendre to anyone nearby (such as the fact that the lead character's name is "Peter"). And let's not forget this exchange when Peter and Brian are assembling a crib:
  Brian: Okay, now just insert support rod "A" into slot "B".
  Peter: That's what she s-
  Brian: If you say "that's what she said" again, I'm going to pop you!
  • Or for that matter....
    Quagmire: That one is also sexual.
  • And, in a rather protracted example:
    Lois: The big meet is today, and I thought you were...
    Peter: Did you just say "big meat"?
    Lois: Oh, my God! I did.
    (they laugh)
    Lois: We almost missed that one.
    Peter: I know. That was a close one.
  • And lest we forget this classic:
    Peter: Just don't forget our deal, Lois. I sit through this and later tonight I get anal. You hear me? No matter how neat I want the house you have to clean it.
• King Of The Hill once featured a (villainous, as far as the show has villains) character who would insert, "That's what she said" in response to anything that could even remotely be considered a Double Entendre.
• Fosters Home For Imaginary Friends: Bloo tells Mac that one of the games going on during a wild house party is "Ring around the Rosey, if you know what I mean". Mac says he doesn't know, Bloo admits that he doesn't either. A conjoined trope with Parental Bonus.
• Pick a Phil Ken Sebben scene in Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law. "Ha ha! Dangly parts!", "Ha ha! Not to Scale!", "Ha ha! Multiple entendre." etc...
• Clone High's JFK provides us with many such examples, in addition to the page quote.
  • "Some of us are trying to nail Catharine the Great. And by great, I mean SO-SO!"
  • "Don't worry, Cleo. I can help you stay up all night long. Notice how I accentuated the words "up" and "long". Now let's bone up for the PXJT test. Guess what the P stands for? PENIS!"
• The Simpsons episode "The New Kid on the Block" subverts the subversion:
  Laura's mother: Well, I know what you're thinking, and the answer is yes. I want to be fixed up with one of your friends as soon as you can arrange it. After all, Homer, I do have the normal... appetites.
  Homer: Heh, heh, heh... I know what you mean. (pause) Just let me make sure we're not talking about food.
  Laura's mother: I'm not.
  Homer: Right! Me, neither. (pause) We're talking about sex, right?
  Laura's mother: Right.
  Homer: I hear you loud and clear.
• Animaniacs: Pretty much any time a double entendre comes up in the dialog of the show, Yakko would say "Good night everybody!", generally drawing attention to it for those in the know (children probably still didn't get it).

Web Original

• Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog

  Captain Hammer: [*raises fists*] And these are not The Hammer. [*exits*] [*returns*] The Hammer is my penis.

• Mike Mozart just loves making cracks at toys that look more sexual than they appear.

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