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This is in the drama Psych. I am an English learner and I can't understand why the man suddenly says this.

Juliet and Shawn are couple and they are a kind of policeman. I wonder the bold part. It looks like a joke but I am really confused why Shawn say like that. Please help me.

Juliet: So, why are you so on fire to help Lassiter with this case?

Shawn: It’s not just Lassie, Jules.

Shawn: It’s “Rufus Sewell”. It’s “Sophie B. Hawkins”. I mean, they’re all born in sixty-seven.

Juliet: (sighs) I love me some Sophie “B”.

Shawn: Damn, I wish I was your lover.

Juliet: You are.

Shawn: (gasps) Well, then I guess I must be doing this…

Shawn: (cont’d)… for us. Because you’ll be bumped up to Head Detective when Lassie gets promoted to Chief. Naturally, I’ll get a title bump as well. Something like, uh, First Lover in the Nighttime. Hmm? Maybe a little bit of bacon?

Juliet: You don't know this for sure.

Shawn: Okay, I suppose I don't. We’ll workshop the title. But it's moot. Because you are gonna be in and we're gonna get a hot tub. And I'm gonna buy you a dolphin…

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  • Can you link to a clip?
    – DyingIsFun
    Commented May 3, 2016 at 1:32
  • @Silenus I don't have the link to a clip, sorry. Instead of, I added more lines before it. could you read it one more time?
    – julialee
    Commented May 3, 2016 at 6:59
  • This scene seems to contain one non-sequitur after another so it's quite hard to try to analyse the meaning.
    – Max Williams
    Commented May 3, 2016 at 13:40
  • 1
    "a little bit of bacon" seems to come from a MadTV sketch called Ms. Swan on episode 507, Ms. Swan on an airplane. m.imdb.com/title/tt0639116/?ref_=m_ttep_ep_ep7 Shawn references "little bit of bacon" in numerous episodes, seems to be one of the more obscure references. Many of his references are from pop culture and film media, especially from the 80s and 90s
    – Psych-o 89
    Commented Aug 29, 2022 at 16:37
  • Here’s Sophie B. m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt6r-k9Bk6o
    – user205876
    Commented Aug 30, 2022 at 1:33

5 Answers 5

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When someone in the US holds a public office (Mayor, Governor, President), their spouse is given the title "First (Gender)." So the president's wife is called "First Lady". Shawn is making a play on words, saying that if Juliet were to receive a promotion, he would be the "First Lover" essentially. And getting "a little bit of bacon" is getting more money.

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  • Welcome. Could you expand on your last sentence, please? We like answers with references. That sentence introduces new information not included in other answers; the first part of your answer repeats other answers, so it's only the last sentence which is useful, and that really needs a bit more.
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Commented Apr 22, 2021 at 15:51
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A rough translation:

Shawn: (cont’d)… for us. Because you’ll be bumped up to Head Detective when Lassie gets promoted to Chief. Naturally, I’ll get a title bump as well. Something like, uh, First Lover in the Nighttime. Hmm? Maybe a little bit of bacon?

Shawn:... Because you [Juliet] will get a promotion. [...] When you do I will too. What will they call me? First Lover in the Nighttime? Or [alternately] your little bit of bacon? [a play on words - police have often been referred to as 'pigs']

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    'First Lover in the Nighttime' is given title case capitals, while 'a little bit of bacon' isn't. My interpretation was (and I've never seen this show) that 'little bit of bacon' was referring to some financial recompense or other perks which might go with this notional title. (as in bringing home the bacon).
    – Spagirl
    Commented Jun 2, 2016 at 15:26
  • @Spagirl this may actually be part of the joke, as in the previous episode it is revealed that Juliet is the sole breadwinner in the relationship, as she pays for their apartment and he essentially makes no money.
    – cowbert
    Commented Jan 6, 2018 at 20:50
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It seems to me that Shawn is joking about being Juliet's lover and the possibility of her cooking him bacon in the morning after they sleep together.

When he says "I'll get a title bump... something like First Lover in the Nighttime," he is saying (roughly) "If I help you get promoted, you'll declare me the best lover."

This is not the first time Shawn has used the phrase "lover in the nighttime." In the final episode of season 6, "Santabarbaratown", he jokes about him and Gus being "lovers in the nighttime... (like The Insiders except even more gay)".

When he says "Maybe a little bit of bacon," he is probably referring to the practice of a lover making breakfast for their partner who slept over.

The character Shawn often references bacon. I do not think this is a play on words related to the convention of calling law enforcement "pigs," as suggested by @Icy. Such a play on words would be inconsistent with the reference to being lovers who slept together.

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  • If Shawn is British, then that is how I would interpret his words. If Shawn is American, then I'm not so sure. Do Americans typically eat bacon for breakfast? It's more like waffles, pancakes, cereals..., isn't it? I know Americans are particularly fond of the smoked meat, and will eat it in hamburgers, at lunch, dinner and in snacks, but for breakfast with fried eggs...?
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jul 3, 2016 at 8:02
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    @Mari-LouA, Lots of Americans eat bacon for breakfast. It is claimed here (washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/27/baconforbreakfast) that it was always popular among Americans, although it temporarily fell out of favor in the early 20th C. Regardless, the character on the show who says the line loves bacon and is always joking about it.
    – DyingIsFun
    Commented Jul 3, 2016 at 12:05
  • Thanks for the link, the marketing strategy used was enlightening and slightly unnerving too.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jul 3, 2016 at 12:22
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In American English, the partners (usually spouses, as it is exceedingly rare in the US for such a high office holder to be unmarried) of heads of state are called "First Lady" or "First Gentleman". For example, First Lady of the United States is the title for the wife of the President of the United States. This designation may also be adopted by smaller political subdivisions, such as "First Lady of New York City", for the wife of the Mayor of New York City.

In the context of the show, since if Juliet chooses to stay in Santa Barbara, she will be promoted to Head Detective, Shawn jokes that he would like to be referred to as the First Lover in the Nighttime, as he has been shown to use the phrase "lover(s) in the night time" throughout the show to refer to significant others, and in this case the "First" implies he is the significant other to the highest-ranking police official (the running gag being "Lassie" doesn't count).

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The entire exchange is a phrase soup consisting of pseudo-jargon and confusing metaphors.

All references go to sex and money. The conversation appears to be happening while the couple are having sex. Hence, the "you are (my lover)".

"First Lover in the nighttime" is a coarse reference to the courtesy title normally awarded to spouses of higher government dignitaries.

Some users are suggesting that "bacon" is an indirect reference to policeman: that is totally believable. "Pig" (as a euphemism for police) has been re-appropriated by the very agencies that once found it a slur.

That said, in this case it is a double entendre: given the context, the meaning is more than obvious in its crude and sexual intent.

It is a reference to...

pork (verb) slang

to have sex with a person.

-The On-Line Slang dictionary

In this case it means... "to have sex with a policeman"

On the other hand, we also have the saying to

bring home the bacon

to earn money for a family to live on:

Writers of these types of programs can spend hours discussing nuance after nuance, but conversation during intimate or emotional encounters does not usually achieve a level of "witty repartee".

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