It's a phrase to highlight someone missing the point, purposefully or otherwise. It doesn't matter how good the play was, Mary Todd Lincoln watching her husband and then President of the United States Abraham Lincoln get shot in the head right beside her overshadows everything. It could have been the best acting ever but that's not what she was focusing on or what she'll remember.
In reference to the Aurora shootings
Person 1: "Oh my God, that's awful! Was the movie any good, at least?"
Person 2: "Besides that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"
In reference to a controversial person
Person 1: "Yeah, Mike's an alcoholic, a tax cheat, beats his kids, and is a pathological liar – but other than that, he's pretty cool."
Person 2: "Besides that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"
Person 1: "Oh my God, that's awful! Was the movie any good, at least?"
Person 2: "Besides that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"
In reference to a controversial person
Person 1: "Yeah, Mike's an alcoholic, a tax cheat, beats his kids, and is a pathological liar – but other than that, he's pretty cool."
Person 2: "Besides that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"
by ResOrbis December 4, 2023
Get the Besides that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?mug. by mateobrotato December 7, 2018
Get the lincolnmug. Person 1: Are you addicted to perianal abscesses?
Person 2: Yes.
Person 1: Nolan Sorento Is Lincoln March: The First Juvenile Release.
Person 2: Yes.
Person 1: Nolan Sorento Is Lincoln March: The First Juvenile Release.
by Maternal-Fetal-Medicine February 10, 2025
Get the Nolan Sorento Is Lincoln March: The First Juvenile Release.mug. by wellheyn8 November 6, 2025
Get the Lincoln Twistmug. by pussypopstar July 3, 2023
Get the thinkin’ lincolnmug. A type of masturbation where you shoot a load on the back of someone's head and run out of the theater before they notice.
by Ze Asshatth May 6, 2017
Get the Abraham Lincolnmug. Bob: I bought the same suit as Brad Pitt so I can look like him!
Tom: Bob, you can’t put a hat on a mouse and call it Abraham Lincoln.
Tom: Bob, you can’t put a hat on a mouse and call it Abraham Lincoln.
by Beigepuppy01 June 14, 2025
Get the You can’t put a hat on a mouse and call it Abraham Lincoln.mug.