The author goes on to point out that that's exactly what the joke there is supposed to be—Scott making a mess of attempts to deploy a tired joke is the joke.

A poster in these very comments admitted to having believed that the joke originated with The Office. I suppose the author's "citation" is that they've personally witnessed this enough times to make an educated guess that it's a fairly widespread belief.

No one in these comments has said they thought that. The closest was someone saying 'he may not have invented it, but he brought it back.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find even a few instances out of the millions of viewers who would have thought Michael Scott invented the phrase.

I just assumed it was hyperbole.

> Yeah, I appreciated this article -- will confess I definitely thought the joke originated with The Office.

- kevin___

I'd not be a bit surprised if a double-digit percentage of viewers thought the joke originated there.

I don't know how I missed it.

I guess these days not everyone hears it growing up?

Seems I need to widen my view.

> I don't know how I missed it.

Haha, I was sure I'd read that post, but had to look for quite a while to find it again, myself, for some reason.

> I guess these days not everyone hears it growing up?

I'm actually not sure I heard it until after it was on The Office and it was suddenly everywhere, constantly. If I did, it wouldn't have been long before that. "Your mom" was big (LOL, yeah she was) when I was a kid, though.

Didn't expect my first comment to be so controversial!

I just asked a few friends if they thought it came from the show or not. The first person that responded thought it had come from the show as well. The second knew the joke hadn't originated from there, but attributed its popularity to appearing on the show.

It makes sense when you think about it. There are probably a lot more 10-12 y.o.s watching The Office vs being told racy jokes by adults.

> I don't know how I missed it

That's what she said

It certainly had a fad run as 90s slang, thanks to Wayne's World, before the Office was even a glimmer.

Yea, I'm 41 now, so I guess there goes me being old, but I guess its old enough now that people confuse the origin.

Like when artists cover a song and younger folks don't realize it wasn't the original.

I'll make a mental note to keep in mind I'm old now so as not to become the old man on the porch screaming at kids.

Oh man, I distinctly remember being in grade school in the early 90's and fellow students trying to convince me that "We Will Rock You" was a New Kids on the Block original. Me and my dad's vinyl collection knew better, but no one really believed me.

Oh shit I forgot about it being in Wayne's World. That's very likely the first place I heard it.

I know lots of family members in their twenties and teens who thought this was a joke Michael invented. I had to tell them it was lame and old even when the show first aired.

Indeed, I am not a fan of the office myself but since it was on the air in the mid-late 00's (USA) I have heard several people assume that "that's what she said" was a joke invented by the show's writers.

``I've noticed'' is the citation. It's a personal anecdote, not a thesis paper.

I know, it's just condescending implying that all these office fans don't get the underlying joke.

I think this idea (that the phrase originated with The Office) entered the zeitgeist because of 30 Rock https://youtu.be/Z2DGHRMJQLw

I’m guessing you watched the office (or were at least sentient) during its original run.

It’s “classic” TV now, and it’s always hard for kids to parse what’s new and a allusion in “classic” TV.

The very next sentence says as much.