Grover! Tell me you didn’t just say that! A Sesame Street clip doing the rounds of social media has sparked a debate as to whether or not Grover has acquired a right potty mouth.
the new Yanni v. Laurel? — some people swear they hear Grover saying, “that’s a f**king excellent idea.”
i’m one of those people and i can’t stop laughing pic.twitter.com/b3OdPpvtYn
— J.D. Durkin (@jiveDurkey) December 27, 2018
The power of suggestion
Unlike the infamous Yanny or Laurel internet debate which was convoluted to be heard differently by people with varying hearing sensitivities, this appears to be completely by accident. Of course, Grover is actually saying, “that sounds like an excellent idea”. But with a slightly unclear pronunciation and plenty of suggestion from headlines, the phrase can be easily misinterpreted.
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What do you hear Grover say? Have you misheard something your child is trying to pronounce? Join the discussion in the comments below.
This blog was written by Julie Scanlon, Editor for Kidspot NZ.
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I have often misheard my children saying what I thought was a swear word but it wasn’t. I wonder how much of this is down to adults hearing what they want to hear rather than what is actually said.
It sounds like the f word to me 🙄😂 however I doubt that a kid watching would pick up on it if it actually was a swear word though. When my nephew was younger he used to talk about the Falcon on a programme he liked, but he would pronounce it the fuckin 😂🤣.
I did hear the F word there. But when I was trying to hear it clearly again… it’s not there. But I think since we do get to hear the F word around other conversations in shows, it’s just commonly heard. Yeah, I’m sure there show got some earful of complaints about this slip. Script wise the word isn’t there but it’s what everyone hears I’m sure.
I definitely heard the F bomb, I listened so many times. I hope its just a sound thing, there is enough swearing in the world without it appearing on kids show. How did the editor not pick it up
I myself do not think he dropped the f-bomb. I mean kids hear these words all the time though it’s no point in trying to hide potty mouth people away from children. I mean I could teach my children nothing of the sorts and then their uncles and aunties and randoms would still swear around them so what’s the point. I tell my children not to swear and that it’s bad language but I guess that’s all you can do. When someone says that’s a fucking great idea though are you really going to tell them off or just agree that it is a fucking great idea lol??
It’s definitely a yanni/laurel sound issue. If I look at the video I hear ‘sounds’ and if I don’t look directly at it I hear the f bomb. Ekk. I feel for the producers honestly. It’s such an important show, educational. They don’t need anyone thinking ill of them.
Honestly it did sound like Grover dropped the f-bomb and it could very well have been a mistake or mispronounciation but its pretty clear in my mind… i have definitely misheard my daughter at times and had to ask for a repeat and when she does…i cant believe how off i was… i guess ears can be just as decieving as eyes…