Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Innuendo
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Short description|A suggestive remark}} {{Other uses}} [[File:Animal Flyer.jpg|thumb|A male cat paying a "call" on a female cat, who then serves up kittens, insinuating that the "results" of children is [[Flashforward|predicated]] on a male "catcall"]] An '''innuendo''' is a [[wikt:hint|hint]], [[wikt:insinuation|insinuation]] or [[wikt:intimation|intimation]] about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called '''insinuation'''), that works obliquely by [[allusion]]. In the latter sense, the intention is often to [[insult]] or accuse someone in such a way that one's words, taken literally, are innocent.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Implication and Innuendo|url=https://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/business_computer_ethics/truth%20in%20advertising.html|access-date=2021-06-30|website=www.csus.edu|archive-date=2021-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511142425/https://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/business_computer_ethics/truth%20in%20advertising.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-01-02|title=Innuendo - Examples and Definition of Innuendo|url=https://literarydevices.net/innuendo/|access-date=2021-06-30|website=Literary Devices|language=en-US}}</ref> According to the ''[[Advanced Oxford Learner's Dictionary]]'', an innuendo is "an indirect remark about somebody or something, usually suggesting something bad, mean or rude", such as:'' "innuendos about her private life" ''or'' "The song is full of sexual innuendo".''<ref>[http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/innuendo?q=innuendo ''Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094326/http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/innuendo?q=innuendo |date=2015-05-18 }} (7th Edition; electronic version)</ref> ==Sexual innuendo== [[File:Strechit ca1800-1810 non-sidesaddle sailor caricature.jpg|thumb|A cartoon using sexual innuendo to imply the lady is stretching her [[vagina]] by not riding [[sidesaddle]]]] The term '''sexual innuendo''' has acquired a specific meaning, namely that of a "risqué" [[double entendre]] by playing on a possibly sexual interpretation of an otherwise innocent uttering. For example: "We need to go deeper" can be seen as either a request for further inquiry or allude to [[sexual penetration]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hartwig|first=Melinda K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gF24BQAAQBAJ|title=A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art|date=2014-12-01|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-32509-4|language=en}}</ref> ==Defamation law== In the context of [[Defamation|defamation law]], an innuendo meaning is one which is not directly contained in the words that are illustrated, but which would be understood by those reading it based on specialized knowledge.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Language of Comedy - Innuendo|url=https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/english-language/language-comedy-innuendo|access-date=2021-06-30|website=OpenLearn|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sexual Harassment {{!}} Sexual Offense Support (S.O.S.)|url=https://sites.udel.edu/sos/sexual-harassment/|access-date=2021-06-30|language=en-US}}</ref> ==Film, television, and other media== [[File:Rocko's Modern Life - Washing Machine Innuendo.png|thumb|left|In an episode of the [[Nickelodeon]] animated series ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'', a washing machine is displayed among multiple other unconventional carousel horses as a reference to female masturbation.]] Comedy film scripts have used innuendo since the beginning of sound film itself. A notable example is the ''[[Carry On (franchise)|Carry On]]'' film series (1958–1992) in which innuendo was a staple feature, often including the title of the film itself. [[British sitcoms]] and comedy shows such as ''[[Are You Being Served?]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/264230.stm|title=Going down: 'Grace Bros' store closes|publisher=BBC News|date=February 1, 1999|quote=The innuendo was loud and clear|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227013009/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/264230.stm|archive-date=February 27, 2009}}</ref> and ''[[Round the Horne]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3605608/A-return-to-unalloyed-joy.html|title=A return to unalloyed joy|author=Dominic Cavendish|date=31 Oct 2003|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|quote=...a censor-baiting mixture of absurd spoofs, yarns, links and character-turns, laced with end-of-the-pier innuendo and erudite-infantile wordplay.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924212749/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3605608/A-return-to-unalloyed-joy.html|archive-date=2015-09-24}}</ref> have also made extensive use of innuendo. Mild sexual innuendo is a staple of British [[pantomime]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/12/25/144248303/only-the-brits-not-christmas-without-pantomime|title=Only The Brits: Not Christmas Without Pantomime|publisher=NPR|date=December 25, 2011|quote=No panto is complete without a dose of smutty innuendo for the adults and some contemporary political jokes.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101101932/http://www.npr.org/2011/12/25/144248303/only-the-brits-not-christmas-without-pantomime|archive-date=January 1, 2012}}</ref> Numerous television programs and animated films targeted at child audiences often use innuendos in an attempt to entertain adolescent/adult audiences without exceeding their network's censorship policies.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schreiber |first1=Hope |date=March 29, 1997 |title=A History of Weird Sexual Innuendo in Children's Movies |url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2014/01/sexual-innuendo-childrens-movies/ |website=Complex |access-date=5 December 2020}}</ref> For example, ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'' employed numerous innuendos over its run, such as alluding to [[masturbation]] by naming the fictional [[fast food]] chain in the show "Chokey Chicken".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Scibelli |first1=Anthony |title=The 6 Creepiest Things Ever Slipped Into Children's Cartoons |url=https://www.cracked.com/article_18672_the-6-creepiest-things-ever-slipped-into-childrens-cartoons_p2.html |website=Cracked |date=6 August 2010 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref> Over 20 percent of the show's audience were adults as a result.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Scott |title=CARTOON KINGDOM |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1997-03-29-9703280244-story.html |website=South Florida SunSentinel |date=29 March 1997 |access-date=2 December 2020}}</ref> On ''[[The Scott Mills Show]]'' on [[BBC Radio 1]], listeners are asked to send in clips from radio and TV with innuendos in a humorous context, a feature known as "Innuendo Bingo". Presenters and special guests fill their mouths with water and listen to the clips, and the last person to spit the water out with laughter wins the game.<ref>{{cite web|title=Innuendo Bingo|date=21 June 2011 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00hq228|access-date=15 October 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102185555/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00hq228|archive-date=2 January 2013}}</ref> ==See also== {{Wiktionary}} * [[Blind item]] * [[Doublespeak]] * [[Euphemism]] * [[Roman à clef]] ==References== {{reflist}} {{Figures of speech}} [[Category:Comedy]] [[Category:Rhetorical techniques]] [[Category:Sociolinguistics]] [[Category:Harassment and bullying]]
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page
(
help
)
:
Template:Cite book
(
edit
)
Template:Cite news
(
edit
)
Template:Cite web
(
edit
)
Template:Figures of speech
(
edit
)
Template:Other uses
(
edit
)
Template:Reflist
(
edit
)
Template:Short description
(
edit
)
Template:Webarchive
(
edit
)
Template:Wiktionary
(
edit
)