That's What She Said

That's what she said.

The phrase existed long before Michael Scott. The British had "said the actress to the bishop" since Edwardian times. Mike Myers deployed it in Wayne's World (1992). But it took Steve Carell's portrayal of Dunder Mifflin's most inappropriate regional manager to transform a crude comeback into a cultural phenomenon.

The Office premiered on March 24, 2005, and Michael Scott made "that's what she said" his signature move. The beauty of the joke was its versatility—any statement that could remotely be interpreted as suggestive became an opportunity. "It's too hard." That's what she said. "I can't fit it all in." That's what she said. "This is taking forever." That's what she said.

The joke was juvenile, obvious, and somehow never stopped being funny when delivered with Michael's particular blend of obliviousness and desperation for approval. It was the humor equivalent of comfort food—predictable, satisfying, and impossible to resist.

By the late 2000s, the phrase had escaped The Office and infected everyday conversation. Offices across America (and beyond) echoed with the refrain. An iTunes app played the audio clip on demand. Twitter accounts catalogued usage in the wild.

Michael Scott left The Office on May 16, 2013. The show continued, but something essential departed with him—including the joke's cultural dominance. TWSS faded from ubiquity to nostalgia, a relic of mid-2000s humor.

But in our hearts, any vaguely suggestive statement still triggers that Pavlovian response. We hear the setup. We know what's coming.

That's what she said.