That's What She Said

“That’s what she said” is a only a meme in the larger sense of the word, in that it’s a catch-phrase with a long history IRL,and although it has widespead usage on the internet, it’s not an internet meme.

“That’s what she said was first popularized by Canadian comedian Mike Myers in the 1992 blockbuster comedy Wayne’s World.

This is perhaps one of the most flexible jokes around, as it can be added to almost anything and turn the phrase into a simple double-entendre.

Person 1: “I didn’t feel a thing.”
Person 2: “That’s what she said.”

The flexibility of the phrase is noticeable in the many ways it can be used. In the above example, Person 2 used TWSS to “burn” Person 1. In the next example, we’ll see how it can be used to “give props.”

Person 1: It’s so big!
Person 2: That’s what she said.

Plain. Simple.

Somewhere around the mid-nineties most people stopped quoting Wayne’s World as it had become dated and socially irrelevant. It is implicitly for this reason that it was chosen as a favorite catch-phrase for the socially-feeble character of Michael Scott for the US version of The Office which aired in March of 2005.

Michael Scott is known for often behaving in ways that are viewed by others as inappropriate, ignorant, and/or dated.

Because of the popularity of The Office a new generation was hearing “That’s what she said” completely unaware of the context with which the joke was now intended, in much the same manner as “In Soviet Russia.”