# "Lie back and think of England"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lie-back-and-think-of-england/410938>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 8, 2007, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lie-back-and-think-of-england/410938 "2007-07-08T03:43:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2007, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lie-back-and-think-of-england/410938/1 "2007-07-08T03:43:14Z")

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Where did this phrase come from and did Victorians actually tell it to their daughters?

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**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2007, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lie-back-and-think-of-england/410938/2 "2007-07-08T04:21:43Z")

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It’s probably apocryphal, but the idea behind the phrase is that the woman, when her husband wanted sex, the wife just had to lie back and put up with it.

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2007, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lie-back-and-think-of-england/410938/3 "2007-07-08T04:31:25Z")

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Wikipedia’s [article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie_back_and_think_of_England).

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**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2007, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lie-back-and-think-of-england/410938/4 "2007-07-08T05:39:56Z")

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I’ve been using this phrase a lot lately, mostly when a player (poker) goes all in.

What? It cracks me up. It’s a great phrase.

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**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2007, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lie-back-and-think-of-england/410938/5 "2007-07-08T09:23:17Z")

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[QUOTE=tomndebb]  
Wikipedia’s [article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie_back_and_think_of_England).  
[/QUOTE]

No way did Victoria say that! She was a **FREAK** , and was all about Albert. She hated kids though she had plenty, calling them “beastly little things”.