double entendre
A phrase that has two meanings, especially where one is innocent and literal, the…A phrase that has two meanings, especially where one is innocent and literal, the other risqué, bawdy, or ironic; an innuendo.
» Mary explained to Tom that the joke relied on a double entendre.
Maria erklärte Tom, dass der Witz auf einer Zweideutigkeit beruhte.
Мэри объяснила Тому, что шутка основана на двусмысленности слов.
Мері пояснила Тому, що цей жарт базується на подвійному сенсі.
Meaning
1 senses(rhetoric)A phrase that has two meanings, especially where one is innocent and literal, the other risqué, bawdy, or ironic; an innuendo.
Doppeldeutigkeit, Zweideutigkeit
двусмы́сленностьdvusmýslennostʹ
- an ambiguity with one interpretation that is indelicate
Examples
3 sentencesMary explained to Tom that the joke relied on a double entendre.
Мері пояснила Тому, що цей жарт базується на подвійному сенсі. — deniko
ruМэри объяснила Тому, что шутка основана на двусмысленности слов. — Karok
deMaria erklärte Tom, dass der Witz auf einer Zweideutigkeit beruhte. — Manfredo
This joke relies on a double entendre.
ruЭта шутка построена на двусмысленности. — shanghainese
Many Mexicans understand "double entendre" or "doble sentido" like Japanese, but unlike most Westerners.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
According to Merriam-Webster and OED, from rare and obsolete French double entendre, whichAccording to Merriam-Webster and OED, from rare and obsolete French double entendre, which literally meant "double meaning" and was used in the senses of "double understanding" or "ambiguity", but acquired its current suggestive twist after being first used in English in 1673 by John Dryden. From French double (“double”) + entendre (“to understand, to mean”). The phrase has not been used in French for centuries and would be ungrammatical in modern French, therefore making it a pseudo-Gallicism. The closest modern equivalents are double sens, which often has (but not always) the suggestiveness of the English expression, and sous-entendu which implies a subtext.
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Forms
plural: double entendres| Singular | double entendre |
|---|---|
| Plural | double entendres |
regular
Word family
6 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Plural nouns — Because its plural is irregular