Did Grover Really Say “F*ck” on ‘Sesame Street’?

The internet barely survived the whole Yanny or Laurel debacle earlier this year. Can it survive another auditory illusion–this time involving a beloved Muppet?!

The new “WTF did I just hear?” moment comes courtesy of a Sesame Street clip posted to Reddit and reported on by Boing Boing. The clip is quick and straightforward: the polite and pleasant blue monster Grover, decked out in workout gear, enthusiastically agrees to a plan. It’s an excellent plan! But as you can hear in the video clip above, is it an excellent idea or a “fucking” excellent idea?

It’s… okay, obviously Grover did not just say the F-word on Sesame Street. It’s not a live show, and there’s no way a team of writers and producers and editors would just let an actual curse word slip through all of production and make it onto air. And once you realize that he’s saying “that sounds like an excellent idea,” it’s really easy to hear it that way.

But still, it sounds so much like “fucking excellent idea” that you have to wonder how they didn’t just go with another take. Surely they noticed this! It sounds so clear! Or maybe they all missed it because if you know he’s saying “that sounds like” instead of “that’s a fucking,” you hear it the G-rated way. Still, this being the internet, you bet people are gonna claim sides and debate about this until the next divisive sensory trick comes along.

Where to stream Sesame Street