Literature.The Bible: A few noteworthy ones:"To know" is what they called having sex back then. "Feet" is often used in the Old Testament to refer to something a bit higher. Chapter seven of Song of Solomon describes the wife's navel as "a rounded cup, never lacking in sweet wine." Some scholars argue that "navel" may in fact refer to the vagina.
Theatre.King Lear: 'Pillicock sat on Pillicock hill,' ''I cannot conceive you' (though it is a bit more like verbal irony in I.1.11) Kent: I cannot conceive you. Gloucester: Sir, this young fellow's mother could.
Literature.Max And Moritz: Max and Moritz provoke a tailor by calling him "goat-Böck". Nowadays it just sounds like a pun on his name (well, in German). At this time though, it implied he was doing improper acts with goats.
Literature.James And The Giant Peach: Modern day viewers will hear Grasshopper's infamous "You, sir, are an ass!" line and think he means "ass" as in "asshole". When the movie was made, "ass" was more commonly used to refer to someone who was particularly stubborn.
WebVideo.Le Visiteur Du Futur: A season 4 Running Gag is to have gestures that currently have a sexual meaning losing it in the Visitor's future. This was foreshadowed in season 2, when neither the Visitor nor Judith and Mattéo saw any problem with naming a plan "the threesome" (because it needed three people besides the Visitor himself to work).
Literature.Book Of Ruth: "Feet" was a common euphemism for the genitals at the time, so Naomi directing Ruth to uncover Boaz's feet by night is bolder than it sounds.
Pantheon.Theatre And Spectacle: Portfolio: Poetry, Stage Plays, Olde English, Tragedy, Comedy, Being Ahead of His Time, Rarely does any research, raunchy, lewd and dark comedy that was lost to time, Character Title, coined many words, fans of puns, First Folio
Characters.Card Shark Nobility: Almost; Erdnase's plan had been to give her sleep-inducing tea, then have her carried away and sent to a convent. Instead, he inadvertently murdered her.
Literature.The Father Luke Wolfe Trilogy: When the triplets overhear Senator Wainwright talking about removing his horns, they don't unnastan what he was talking about. But Father Wolfe does.
ComicBook.Transmetropolitan: Channon literally fucks off to a nunnery after she's had enough of being Spider's assistant, joining the Brides of (Fred) Christ, who are essentially his groupie cultists. She leaves mainly because the sex was shit and Fred is really an ass.
InsultBackfire.Music: The song "Yankee Doodle" is thought to have originated from British soldiers in the Colonial Army to mock the colonials. "Doodle" is thought to have originally meant a fool or simpleton. The verse "stuck a feather in his cap and called it Macaroni" mocks a foppish fashion at the time involving feather caps and tall wigs. Essentially the song paints a typical American as a backwoods hick with delusions of sophistication. The insulting meaning was quickly forgotten and it has become perhaps the most classic patriotic song outside of the national anthem.
Series.Will: Played with a lot. For obvious reasons.
Film.Mary Poppins: The "go fly a kite" joke is often lost on modern audiences. The phrase was once used as a family-friendly version of "Go fuck yourself," but is almost never used this way today. (Which, of course, is why Constable Jones apologizes after using it on the telephone.)
Literature.Symposium: Today, the word "symposium" conveys a dull meeting of academic colleagues. In its original meaning, and the one used here, it meant a party with lots of drinking. "Symposium" literally means "drinking together".
Theatre.Loves Labours Lost: There are about four puns on the word "light", the most obscure of which is probably the implication that a "light woman" is promiscuous. Knowing the different meanings makes the argument between Katherine and Rosaline at the beginning of Act 5, Scene 2 funnier, but also hints at cattiness.
Funny.Danganronpa 2 Goodbye Despair: The group is debating whether or not Nagito would have died instantaneously from his spear wound: Sonia: If you got penetrated by something so big and thick, you would die instantly! Kazuichi: ...I'm sorry...I didn't catch all that... Sonia: Like I said, if you got penetrated by something so big and thick, you would die instantly! Kazuichi (blushing): Ah, say it one more time...I need to record it...for reasons... Part of this joke is lost in translation: the word Sonia uses for "die" sounds identical to "come". It helps that "die" is old slang for the orgasm in English, though, as well as "that thing would kill me" being something of a porn meme for huge penises anyway. Not just in English. The French expression "La petite mort" (the little death) also refers to an orgasm.
Creator.William Shakespeare: Hamlet is the Trope Namer. Many of his plays are absolutely bawdy, but language has changed so much that modern audiences don't catch this; which can seriously impact the comedies, in particular, which lose a lot of their humor. There are several versions of the script meant for reading that directly point out the particularly-obscure double meanings to aid modern readers, along with showing stage actions. Of course, most Shakespeare scholars are snickering at nothing. Many modern readers are often shocked to hear that theatre was as low-brow a form of entertainment as it actually was in its day. When you consider that watching a Shakespeare play was basically the equivalent to watching The Hangover in its time, it makes more sense.
Webcomic.Axe Cop: Unusual Euphemism: Flatulence is always described as "gassing" (for example, Baby Man's Fartillery power is described as being able to "fly when he gasses"). The reason being is that Ethan and Malachai's father grew up in a time where the word "fart" was considered offensive, and raised his children accordingly.
WesternAnimation.Robin Hood 1973: "A pox on you" (in this case, on the phony king of England) is a Shakespearean-era insult meaning, "I hope you get a disfiguring and potentially deadly disease, like smallpox or syphilis." It did also have a more general meaning along the lines of "To heck with you," so it might be a milder case of Gosh Dang It to Heck!.
Characters.Spider Man The Animated Series Other Heroes: Whizzer's name gets a fair bit of In-Universe mockery, due to alterations in slang; at the time, it was a fair reference to the whizzing noise he made when moving super-fast, but in modern times, it's a slang term for urination. Not helped by his yellow outfit.
SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion.Theatre: Used by Shakespeare himself in Hamlet: Hamlet: (singing) For thou dost know, O Damon dear, This realm dismantled was Of Jove himself; and now reigns here A very, very—pajock. "Pajock" was a synonym for "peacock", and "was" would have been pronounced to approximately rhyme with "ass". Immediately Lampshaded by Horatio: Horatio: You might have rhymed.
TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney.Tropes D To G: Multiple:The mention of 'strumpets' in "Topsy Turvy". Frollo calling the common crowd "licentious" (a somewhat archaic term for "sexually promiscuous").
Theatre.Othello: Othello angrily telling Desdemona "I am glad to see you mad" has baffled Shakespearean scholars for centuries. No one is sure what that is supposed to mean.
GoshDangIt.Live Action Films: Hocus Pocus: Max tells his mother that his day at school "sucked". He is then told to mind his language. The word originally was vulgar. It referred to fellatio - and in fact still does, although the milder meaning is now more common. Winifred Sanderson tends to say "damn" a few times, except for one scene when she sees that Max has knocked off the head of zombie Billy Butcherson: Winifred: Oh, cheese and crust! He's lost his head! Played with later, when Billy turns against Winnifred and finally gets the chance to speak his mind (after cutting the stitching from his mouth.) Billy: GO TO HELL!!! Winifred: I've been there, thank you. I found it quite lovely!
Literature.Song Of Songs: Chapter 7 describes the Shulamite's navel as "a rounded cup, never lacking in sweet wine." Some scholars argue that "navel" may in fact refer to the vagina. "I sat down in his shadow [i.e., sat down while he was standing up] …and his fruit was sweet to my taste." "My beloved put his hand by the hole [of the door] and my bowels were moved for him." That has to actually mean more than it lets on.
Literature.Joseph Andrews: The part where Joseph was found naked after a highway robbery, an old gentleman who finds him thinks he would "afford him frequent opportunities of showing his wit". "Wit" meant penis in the Elizabethan slang.
DarthWiki.Toon World: Fantastic Racism: Toons and humans often have this type of conflict, and of course, it gets stupid, even having a Toon animal mercilessly beating up a human for being called a "Funny Animal".The Animation Age Ghetto is also seen by Toons as blatant racism, as it's the reason why many Toons are utterly unable speak "offensive" things, although some Toons affected have found certain tricks to get around it, like "(Hoover) dam".Most antiquated Toons will use the former meanings of (nowadays "dirty") slang, leading to more or less of a language barrier, or even public mockery, although at the same time, they find humor and horror in our modern vocabulary.
Theatre.The Merchant Of Venice: Does This Remind You of Anything?: In Shakespeare's time, the rings (and circles in general) were suggestive of female genitalia. Portia: You were to blame, I must be plain with you, To part so slightly with your wife's first gift: A thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger And so riveted with faith unto your flesh.
ComicBook.Back To The Klondike: Scrooge describes Goldie as "the only live one I ever knew." Given his reclusive, asocial attitude towards life, and disdain for everything except money up to that point, it's entirely possible (indeed, in context, there's no other logical interpretation) that he means this in the clinical sense of "know." This, along with a somewhat more overt gag, is an epic case of Demographically Inappropriate Humour; when questioned by observant fans at the exact nature of Scrooge and Goldie's relationship, Barks tactfully insisted it wasn't something his publishers would want to get into.
Fanfic.Side Story Of Support: The word "know" is occasionally used in the biblical sense, such as Vega describing Hachi's exploits, and Kari saying her father "knew too many women" when Vega asks about how many other children he had besides her, Flare, and Norn.
Funny.Pirates Of The Caribbean Dead Mans Chest: Jack bartering with Tia Dalma. Tia Dalma: You know I demand payment. Jack: I brought payment. Look! [he shoots Jack the monkey, smiling like a used car salesman] An undead monkey! Top that! And then when Tia Dalma notices Will Turner. Tia Dalma: You have a touch of destiny about you, Will Turner. Will: You know me? Tia Dalma: You want to know me. Jack: There'll be no knowing here! We've come for help and we're not leaving without it! (to Tia) I thought I knew you. Tia Dalma: Not as well I had hoped. Jack's saying "There'll be no knowin" is even funnier since he clearly meant knowing in the "biblical" sense (especially considering the time-period this movie takes place in).
Radar.Wizards Of Waverly Place: In "Curb Your Dragon", Alex turns herself into a cat, then, when she turns back into her normal state, she's still licking herself. Cue Justin coming over to get an upclose view and comment on the situation, forcing Alex to unwillingly stop, with a guilty expression.Then, moments later: Justin: You're right, I'm sorry, I'm just a little panicked after what happened with Willy. Alex: Let it go, I was five! More lines: Alex: (peeking just her head out from behind the door) JUSTIN. You're gonna love this, close your eyes. Justin: ...okay but I'm not gonna taste anything... (She shiftily looks away.)
Literature.Emma: Non-sexual version. Mrs. Elton is pointedly described as being the daughter of a "Bristol — merchant, of course, he must be called". This was an implication that her £10,000 fortune was dirty money because Bristol was an infamous slave port. (It's also why Mrs. Elton is keen to point out her in-laws' abolitionist views later.) To contemporary readers, it was another indication of how Mr. Elton cared about money and nothing else in his marriage.
Fridge.Carry On Spying: Daphne's ignorance about fun-houses. A fun-house varies between an escorting agency or a brothel, but Daphne has more-likely looked at the name and assumed that it's something juvenile. Of course the men would know what a fun-house was — All Men Are Perverts, after all. They've probably been to one, for goodness' sake.On top of this, this movie has unintentionally referenced the Get Thee to a Nunnery trope. Relating to the juvenile point above, "fun house" is a euphemism that is probably as wide-known as it is implied in the movie (not just men only, as it claims), but it wouldn't be surprising that only a handful of people knew what "fun house" meant in this context, much like how language has developed long enough for many to not know that "nunnery" used to be a nickname for brothels too.
VideoGame.Mabinogi: Spoken, but not word for word. G13 is an adaption of Hamlet, you know.
Funny.The Great Ace Attorney: Pursuing Shamspeare without prompting causes him to regale a story about the time he tried to go to a nunnery once, and then attempt to break into it when it was closed, simply because...well, he can't very well tell people to go to the nunnery without going there once, can he?
Film.Back To The Future Part III: Ever wonder why Buford Tannen kept referring to Marty as "dude"? During that time period, "dude" basically meant City Mouse (hence, a "dude ranch" is a ranch for "dudes", i.e. tourists) — especially one fancily dressed, as Marty was when they first met. Considering Marty is from The '80s, it's odd that he doesn't lampshade how that word changed.
Analysis.Have A Gay Old Time: For a somewhat brief period, the early 1990s until the late 2000s, 'gay' could also be a pejorative term for anything the speaker didn't like, a slightly stronger version of "lame". As in the same period, the LGBTQ+ movement gained new ground in both legal rights and cultural visibility, the Unfortunate Implications of using 'gay' in this fashion became more widely known in the English speaking world. Consequently, this use has fallen out of favor since the late 2000s to early 2010s, and is rarely if ever used in this way even now, making works from the era where it was common half an example of this, and half an example of Get Thee to a Nunnery depending on the context. This example is notable because 'gay' was used to mean "lame" specifically because of the connotations of homosexuality it already had; casual homophobia was quite common in the late 90s, especially among teenagers.
Film.Nineteen Forty One 1979: Bizarrely, and probably unintentionally, used. In a deleted scene, Sgt. Tree says he's going to "ream" Sitarski for vanishing during tank maintenance. The common usage of 'ream', to mean 'rebuke', didn't come into American vernacular until 1950. In 1941, however, 'ream' was just coming into usage as a vulgar slang term for anal sex.
Film.The Sting: The title. In old parlance, it was the final part of a con — the bit where the con men took the mark's money — and could be used metonymically for the whole con itself. Today, people tend to think of police sting operations. (Which is rather circular- the original Operation Sting was named for this movie.)
YMMV.Game Of Thrones: There's a funny one in a Get Thee to a Nunnery kind of way when Ygritte says "You know nothing, Jon Sno-oh-oh!" as he eats her out. Yes, he does know "nothing" — in the Shakespearean sense. "Nothing" was Elizabethan-era slang for female genitalia. And to "know" someone in the Biblical sense was to have sex with them.
AccidentalInnuendo.Theatre: Though William Shakespeare intentionally wrote many Double Entendres into his plays, some of which tend to be lost on modern audiences, Ophelia's line "he comes before me" in Hamlet was probably not meant as innuendo. The Reduced Shakespeare Company, acting with typical Vulgar Humor, presented it as such; a footnote in the published edition of The Complete Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) suggests two X-rated interpretations.In the following dialogue of Hamlet, the Prince's words bring about a momentary laugh from Rosencrantz: Hamlet: Man delights not me— no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so. Rosencrantz: My lord, there was no such stuff in my thoughts. Hamlet: Why did you laugh, then, when I said "Man delights not me"? Rosencrantz: To think, my lord, if you delight not in man, what lenten entertainment the players shall receive from you.
Trivia.Rebel Without A Cause: The Red Stapler: T-shirt sales soared after James Dean wore one in this film. At the time, they were mostly considered underwear, to keep sweat stains off a collared dress shirt; this gave Dean's outfit an offensive quality totally lost on later audiences precisely because Dean wore it so very well. The movie pushed the 1949-50 Mercury from just another used car into one of the most popular customizing platforms of the mid/late '50s.
Fanfic.Remnants Reclaimer: Noodle Incident: Several are mentioned with varying levels of detail.Future!Ruby tells Present!Ruby she knows adding a flamethrower to Crescent Rose is a bad idea. The morning after seducing Glynda, Rose jokes to Taiyang that she'd been to a nunnery, but the nuns just couldn't keep up with her. Taiyang's response implies that he really did do such a thing, to Rose's surprise. Qrow says he had never seen a seventy-year-old woman so angry. Taiyang once used his Malwr to hammer some nails. 3/4 of a dorm barracks had to be rebuilt from the ground up. Future!Ruby wants to check on Crescent Rose on her way to the Dust mine mission, but doesn't want to risk it falling out of the dropship "again, once was more than enough."
Theatre.As You Like It: The meaning of Touchstone's speech punning on "hour" takes on a quite different meaning once you realize that in Elizabethan English, hour and whore were homophones. 'Thus we may see,' quoth he, 'how the world wags: 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine, And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe,note ripe and rape was also pronounced the same back then And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot; And thereby hangs a tale.' Ganymede, Rosalind's name when she was disguised as a man, was the name of the Greek god Zeus' male lover. It was basically the Renaissance equivalent of uke.
ASongOfIceAndFire.Tropes E To I: Used deliberately, due to the story's medieval setting. A man having "horns" means his wife is cheating on him. And there's the occasional Double Entendre that could have come straight out of a Shakespeare comedy; Varys: "You can match the queen coin for coin, but she has a second purse that is quite inexhaustible."
Theatre.Hamlet: The play contains many double entendres that go over the heads of modern audiences; among the best known are the "nunnery" and the "fishmonger" (terms for a brothel and a pimp, respectively).
Radar.Horrible Histories: Some of the Flowery Insult Shakespeare uses is this via Get Thee to a Nunnery. The better you understand Elizabethan English, the less it is Inherently Funny Words and the more it is rather dirty and un-PC words that couldn't be translated for a kids' show.
Film.Singin In The Rain: "Lemme guess: you're a dashing aristocrat, and she's a simple girl of the people, and she won't even give you a tumbril. Hah!"
UsefulNotes.Hardanger Fiddle: Some dance tunes have names connected to "the act". A rather elegant example of this is the tune called "the boy and the girl in the haybarn". Nuff said. Two other tunes have names that tells exactly what the business is about (funny in Norwegian, and one example is only named halfways. This particular one is translated as "the cunt-shaker". Really!) Also getting into the area of small ditties of text that were made to the dance tunes. You Do Not Want To Know.
Trivia.Thief: Several overheard conversations were removed from the final releases, but probably the most interesting is one that actually describes what "taffer" means, at least in the Thiefverse. Apparently, it's yet another name for the Trickster that entered the common parlance without people realizing it.
Radar.Video Games: In SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos:Kyo's pre-fight talk with Goddess Athena is laced with Double Entendres: Kyo: A battle with a babe? I must be in Heaven! Goddess Athena: Don't let your hormones go wild. You don't want to peak too soon, right? Kyo: When it comes to battle, I last a long time. Iori's "If you wish not to die, Get Thee to a Nunnery" line to Chun-Li. Iori may have just called Chun-Li a whore, with Shakespeare!
Film.Kingdom Of Heaven: Your Mom: Guy: If I had fought you when you were still capable of making bastards... Godfrey: I knew your mother when she was making hers. Fortunately you're too old to be one of mine.
JustForFun.Everybody Knows That: Hamlet "To be, or not to be. That is the question." "Alas, Poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio." A brooding young man speaks to a skull in his hand. Everybody dies at the end. "Good night, sweet prince." "Get Thee to a Nunnery!" "The Melancholy Dane"
ShoutOut.Capcom Vs: Iori apparently is a closet Shakespeare fan, judging by how he quotes Much Ado About Nothing when facing Chun-Li. "If you wish not to die, Get Thee to a Nunnery."
Theatre.Much Ado About Nothing: Double Entendre: Even in the title, which is possibly a sextuple entendre. As noted under Get Thee to a Nunnery, "nothing" was Elizabethan slang for the female genitalia, and noting (a homophone with nothing in the Elizabethan period) was Elizabethan slang for sex. Noting was also used to refer to singing (especially sight-reading). Shakespeare also used noting as a synonym for noticing in multiple passages (1.1.131-132 and 4.1.154-157), and the meaning of a note as a written message is referred to at various points in the play as well.
Characters.The Folk Of The Air: Sexual Euphemism: Possibly combined with Get Thee to a Nunnery due to Faerie being in a type of Medieval Stasis, but in The Cruel Prince Cardan provokes Jude by taunting her about Taryn being green gowned by anyone who asks her, which is an old expression for a woman who has engaged in illicit sexual activity.note In the 1600's it made reference to a girl's dress turning green from "rolling around" on the grass, usually related to the loss of virginity. Then it turns out he was not just provoking her.
Theatre.Doctor Faustus: Tons and tons. One of the minor characters mentions that he'd use magic to transform into a flea and crawl into women's plackets, quite literally slits in skirts.
Theatre.Ruddigore: Ruddigore was considered a very naughty name at the time — "ruddy" and "gore" are two synonyms for "bloody", a cussword that was more offensive even than "dammee," apparently.
Theatre.The Importance Of Being Earnest: Does This Remind You of Anything?: The whole play is supposedly full of elaborate puns on male homosexuality (though Wilde's contemporaries and John Gielgud have denied it), most of them are examples of Get Thee to a Nunnery now. Still, the whole 'double life' subtext is effective as ever today, and nothing could ever stop "Bunburying" sounding dirty.
DarthWiki.Project Alter: Jekyll is unpleasantly surprised by how stuffed to the gills Shakespeare’s work is with Get Thee to a Nunnery or even hardly disguised dirty puns and Double Entendre (with Shakespeare even making a bit of a game out of how many dirty puns he could cram into a sentence and still make it coherent just to test his own skill - and simply because he has an immature sense of humor, even if not to Mozart levels), as Jekyll grew up with the Victorian censored versions of his work. Shakespeare is pretty disappointed yet amused by this fact. Shakespeare: It actually takes quite a bit of effort to compose such sentences, mind thee! It was not as if I wrote the Lord’s name in vain!
Characters.The King Of Fighters Iori Yagami: Hidden Depths: If SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos is anything to go by, he's well-versed in the works of Shakespeare, particularly Hamlet. Iori (to Chun-Li): "If you wish not to die, Get Thee to a Nunnery." He also has his own Jazz band, which is reflected in his various themes over the years.
Literature.Tipping The Velvet: "Tipping the velvet" sounds like theatrical lingo, fitting for a story that has a focus on the stage. Historically, it meant cunnilingus.
Headscratchers.Azumanga Daioh: Speaking of Kimura. ...what's gonna happen when his daughter enters High School?ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Heehee, nothing. Twenty bucks says that Kimura is actually a very good father.
