"I still don't know what Episcopalian means"
About this Quote
Episcopalian is a word that signals class, region, and a particular kind of American respectability; it’s the denomination you’re supposed to recognize if you grew up adjacent to certain schools, certain dinners, certain codes. Apple’s "still" matters. It implies she’s had plenty of chances to learn it, that the term has floated around her life like background music in a room she never asked to be in. The joke is that she’s not embarrassed. The embarrassment is outsourced to the listener who realizes how many social systems run on casually dropped identifiers.
There’s also an artist’s craft buried in the bluntness. Apple’s songwriting often pulls drama out of small, unpretty admissions, the kind people edit out to sound adult. Here, the comedy is anti-authority: if the word is meant to confer legitimacy, her not knowing it punctures that power. It’s a tiny act of cultural demystification, turning religious label into mere syllables, and turning the speaker into someone you trust precisely because she won’t fake the password.
Quote Details
| Topic | Faith |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Apple, Fiona. (2026, January 16). I still don't know what Episcopalian means. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-still-dont-know-what-episcopalian-means-119462/
Chicago Style
Apple, Fiona. "I still don't know what Episcopalian means." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-still-dont-know-what-episcopalian-means-119462/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I still don't know what Episcopalian means." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-still-dont-know-what-episcopalian-means-119462/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.





