| 1 | [[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guybrush_meets_elaine_2.png]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350: Does this count as a Romance language?]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->'''Calvin:''' What's it like to fall in love?\ |
| 5 | '''Hobbes:''' Well... say the object of your affection walks by... First, your heart falls into your stomach and splashes your innards. All the moisture makes you sweat profusely. This condensation shorts the circuits to your brain, and you get all woozy. When your brain burns out altogether, your mouth disengages and you babble like a cretin until she leaves. |
| 6 | -->-- ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Bob sits at a booth in a pub, looking around. Everyone seems to have someone to talk to, and he spots Alice at the bar. Putting on his best smile, he heads over, desperate to just make some conversation. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | And then Alice turns around. The screen goes [[GaussianGirl soft and hazy]], romantic music starts up. Bob is amazed and realizes that this may well be the single most momentous thing to happen in his life. He imagines minivans. He imagines children. Even a little white picket fence. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Bob opens his mouth and tries a romantic line: "[[{{Nonsequitur}} Lemons in Spain are very nice, especially in the summertime."]] |
| 13 | |
| 14 | He has been struck by gibberish of love. Sometimes caused by DistractedByTheSexy or a HeadTurningBeauty, it doesn't even have to be a sentence using words --plain noises work just as well. Occasionally happens if TwiceShy-style love interests attempt conversation. If the man is TheCharmer--or even TheCasanova--it often indicates LadykillerInLove; sincerity of feeling kills his fluency dead. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | When the gibberish is coherent, but {{unfortunate|Implications}}, they're often [[DiggingYourselfDeeper Digging Themselves Deeper]] afterward. If they're struck utterly dumb, they CannotTalkToWomen. [[AlwaysMale Usually male,]] and often happens to EndearinglyDorky characters. Sometimes immediately [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] with something along the lines of "[[CantBelieveISaidThat X... smooth...]]". May also be a habit of the ShrinkingViolet. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Subtrope of EmotionallyTongueTied. Compare LoveMakesYouDumb and LoveMakesYouCrazy. Compare and contrast {{Angrish}}. May lead to EvenTheSubtitlerIsStumped. May overlap with ThinksOfSomethingSmartSaysSomethingStupid. See also IUhYouToo (for when the relationship's evolved a bit before the gibberish), CannotSpitItOut, and CrushBlush. Has definite overlaps with TongueTied. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | ---- |
| 21 | !!Examples: |
| 22 | |
| 23 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 26 | * ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'': Ichikawa turns into a stuttering mess to point where his speech bubbles turn squiggly when speaking to Yamada. It happens less the more they spend time together... at least normally anyway. |
| 27 | ** He's rendered speechless and his ''[[InnerMonologue very thoughts]]'' devolve into jumbled, broken sentences and words when he first sees Yamada [[spoiler: with her hair dyed blonde for a live drama role.]] |
| 28 | * In ''Hakaima Sadamitsu'', the gang once runs into a Kamishiro wearing only underwear (she was chasing an Exile that stole her top and lost her skirt when she jumped off the roof after the creature). As they're being DistractedByTheSexy, one of them squeals "Meet to nice you..." |
| 29 | * In ''Manga/MarchComesInLikeALion'', this happens to Hinata a couple of times when it comes to meeting Takahashi. Upon first seeing him, her words come out as either indecipherable symbols or squiggles. |
| 30 | * ''Manga/MyDressUpDarling'' has one instance where Marin Kitagawa is watching an anime series with her crush, Wakana Gojo, at her appartment. Or at least, Gojo is watching it while Marin looks at him longingly and then spouts some random gibberish, unable to contain the excitement of having a home date with the guy she loves. |
| 31 | * ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': When Ranma and Akane's relationship isn't in BelligerentSexualTension mode, Ranma occasionally gets hit with the Gibberish of Love in his romantic moments with her. |
| 32 | -->'''Ranma:''' Th-That's the only... I'm not... If it weren't... I wouldn't... You got that?!\ |
| 33 | '''Random guy:''' I didn't get it, did you? |
| 34 | [[/folder]] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | [[folder:Comedy]] |
| 37 | * Creator/EddieIzzard had this: |
| 38 | --> "I had to chat up girls, and I'd only tagged them before. I didn't have the verbal power to be able to say, "Susan, I saw you in the classroom today. As the sun came from behind the clouds, a burst of brilliant light caught your hair, it was haloed in front of me. You turned, your eyes flashed fire into my soul, I immediately read the words of Dostoevsky and Karl Marx, and in the words of Albert Schweitzer, 'I fancy you.' " But no! At 13, you're just going, " 'Ello, Sue. I saw you in the room... I've got legs, have you? Oh yeah... Do you like bread? I've got a French loaf. ''[mimes smacking her with the loaf and dashing off]'' Bye! (I love you!)" |
| 39 | [[/folder]] |
| 40 | |
| 41 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 42 | * This happens to Obelix in ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} the Legionary'' when he tries to talk to Panacea. |
| 43 | * DependingOnTheWriter, Peter Parker (i.e. ComicBook/SpiderMan) struggles to talk to girls unless the topic is science. One notable occasion was during the opening chapter of ''American Son'', where he and Harry Osborn try to pick up two girls, but all he can say is he takes photos, then babbles how he doesn't mean he takes pornographic photos. Harry has to guilt trip the girls into giving him their numbers and excuse Peter's dorkiness. |
| 44 | * ''ComicBook/MilesMoralesSpiderMan2018'': In #42, when Miles sees his love interest Tiana in formalwear, he is momentarily reduced to babbling. |
| 45 | -->'''Miles:''' I... I... I...\ |
| 46 | '''Tiana:''' Speechless, huh?\ |
| 47 | '''Miles:''' Me? No! I can--I can talk... I know... words. |
| 48 | * Shining Armor falls victim to this in the ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' storyline "Neigh Anything" (issues 11 and 12), for that's the storyline that tells us how he met Cadance. |
| 49 | ** When she comes over to foalsit his little sister Twilight Sparkle, he takes the chance and makes himself known to her, but awkwardly so: |
| 50 | --->'''Shining Armor:''' hE'''L'''L''o'' |
| 51 | ** It gets even worse at the fall formal when he first beholds her in her ballgown: |
| 52 | --->'''Cadance:''' Hello, Shining Armor.\ |
| 53 | '''Shining Armor:''' Hur derp werp?\ |
| 54 | '''Cadance:''' [[LampshadeHanging I think, by the end of the night, we'll be able to work you all the way up to coherent sentences.]] |
| 55 | * [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Renee Montoya]] has had a few instances of getting tongue-tied when talking to women, perhaps most notably her very first chronological interaction with [[ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} Kate Kane.]] |
| 56 | [[/folder]] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 59 | * When ''Comicstrip/{{Dilbert}}'' is introduced to an attractive new coworker, he begins to sweat and says, "It's a pleasure to meet me. I hope you never find a live turtle in your soup." |
| 60 | * In ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', when Charlie Brown meets Peggy Jean at camp, he introduces himself as "Brownie Charles", which is what she calls him from then on. |
| 61 | * In one strip of ''Radio Gaga'', Martin encourages his friend Owen to talk to a cute girl. The attempt goes something along the lines of "Hi, you remind me of my mom, but you're much younger, but she had bigger boobs!" Martin then whispers to Owen to back up a bit and just tell her his name, with Owen whispering back that he has forgotten who he is. |
| 62 | [[/folder]] |
| 63 | |
| 64 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 65 | * ''Fanfic/LastChildOfKrypton'': When he met Asuka for the first time, Shinji got so lovestruck that he had no idea what saying... so he resorted to talking to her about flight security. |
| 66 | * ''[[FanFic/TheNowakverse Under the Bridge]]'': Chip falls victim to this upon beholding Gadget in his afterlife dream. |
| 67 | -->He had to say something to express his love.\ |
| 68 | "Hominahominahomina..."\ |
| 69 | [[LampshadeHanging That wasn't it]]. |
| 70 | * In ''Fanfic/MyHuntsmanAcademia'', [[SociallyAwkwardHero Izuku]] wants to say something romantic and suave after his FirstKiss to [[spoiler:his girlfriend Yang.]] His response? "... Hu... buh..." |
| 71 | * When Jaune sees [[spoiler:his date]] Pyrrha wearing her dress for the dance in ''Fanfic/BoldoresAndBoomsticks'', his "smooth line generator" fails and he can barely let out a "wow". Fortunately, that expression of awe is more than enough to make Pyrrha blush. |
| 72 | [[/folder]] |
| 73 | |
| 74 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 75 | * In ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'', Tony Toponi is reduced to staring and jibbering when he first meets Bridget. She fares little better, reduced to giggling and repeating the word "cats" until Fievel causes their AccidentalKiss. |
| 76 | * In ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', Kida takes off her sarong before getting in the water, rendering Milo a babbling mess when she asks him if he can swim: |
| 77 | -->''"I know how to swim pretty girl — good! Pretty good, I swim pretty good."'' |
| 78 | * In ''WesternAnimation/AGoofyMovie'', Max mostly jibbers and stammers when he first meets Roxanne and is very concerned about keeping a good image...and then comes the fatal "A-''hyuk!''". |
| 79 | * In ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania3SummerVacation'', Dracula often devolves into this around Ericka, the cruise ship captain. [[spoiler:It becomes a BrickJoke towards the end of the movie, where ''Ericka'' is the one babbling when Drac proposes to her.]] |
| 80 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', Shang acts like this, more than once, after he learns that Mulan is female. |
| 81 | * In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'', Flash Sentry, Twilight's love interest in the human world, bumps into Twilight at a pre-Battle of the Bands party. After he catches her from falling, they stare at each other for a second, and Twilight starts descending into this. |
| 82 | -->'''Flash Sentry:''' Twilight?\ |
| 83 | '''Twilight Sparkle:''' Heh heh... bumped... into... always... doing! |
| 84 | [[/folder]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 87 | * ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'': Downplayed, but Okoye teases him for "freezing" in front of his ex Nakia, which mostly consists of him being unable to do much more than say "hi" and smile at her. He's able to articulate his feelings better later on. |
| 88 | * In ''Film/DumbAndDumber'', when he finally has a moment alone with the woman he's been chasing for the entire movie, Lloyd rehearses a long speech about being giddy as a schoolboy and desperately wanting to make love to her. |
| 89 | -->'''Lloyd:''' I desperately want to make love to a schoolboy. |
| 90 | * ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'' features the following love confession: "I'm in lesbians with you."[[note]]A BrickJoke from earlier when Wallace advised Scott to "break out the L-word." [[ComicallyMissingThePoint "Lesbian?"]] "The ''other'' L-word." "Lesbian''s?"''[[/note]] |
| 91 | * Hobart Frisbee has a severe stutter around Honey Swanson in ''Film/ASongIsBorn'', and it turns into gibberish when she kisses him. |
| 92 | * ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'': When Princess Vespa and Lone Starr meet face to face, they're both briefly stunned by each other's good looks before Lone Starr tells the princess "On this ship, you are to refer to me as [[{{Malaproper}} 'Idiot', not 'You Captain'!]] I mean... you know what I mean!" |
| 93 | * ''Spider-Man'': While the [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy original Raimi films]] merely had Peter too shy to really talk to MJ until the night after he gained his spider-powers, the [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan reboot]] instead depicts Peter [[RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic somewhat mumbly and messy with words]], which becomes worse when trying to talk to Gwen Stacy, to the point that he's almost unable to have a proper conversation with her at first; she finds it endearing and ends up asking him out. |
| 94 | [[/folder]] |
| 95 | |
| 96 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 97 | * This happens to Agnes Nitt in ''Literature/CarpeJugulum'' when she meets Count de Magpyr's son, Vlad. Her SplitPersonality Perdita presses her to say something clever, and much to Perdita's frustration all Agnes comes out with is "Wstfgl?!" |
| 98 | * ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'': Harry asking Cho to the Yule Ball comes out as roughly "Wangobawimme?" |
| 99 | * In Creator/PatriciaAMcKillip's "The Kelpie", Wilding insults women's ability to paint to Emma. Later, he begs her pardon and explains that he was so struck by her looks that he could have said any number of idiocies; she must let him paint her. |
| 100 | * Befalls Gussie Fink-Nottle in ''Literature/RightHoJeeves'' when he attempts to propose to Madeline Bassett. |
| 101 | -->'''Jeeves:''' Mr. Fink-Nottle was overcome by a sudden nervousness, sir... He began to deliver a dissertation on the newt, its care in sickness and in health... |
| 102 | * This is [[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians Percy Jackson's]] response to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love in ''The Titan's Curse''. His response isn't even composed of words; it's pure gibberish. |
| 103 | * Poor Jerin Whistler in ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' manages to stay on topic when ambushed by a princess, but he still babbles and knows it. |
| 104 | * Creator/DaveBarry recalls asking a girl out with words to the effect of "Hello, Dance? This is Sally. Do you want to go to the Dave with me?". |
| 105 | * In ''Literature/HeartOfSteel'', Alistair's reaction to an AccidentalKiss from Julia -- that soon turns into the real thing -- is a stammered series of abortive attempts at a sentence, of which every third word is "wow". |
| 106 | * Scobie in ''Literature/DontCallMeIshmael'' is reduced to this when he meets [[TeenGenius Prue]] for the first time. This happens right after he was brilliantly debating. |
| 107 | * Dolores in "Literature/ClockpunkAndTheVitalizer" is prone to this, though she noticeably just [[CrushBlush blushes]] at the end of the story when [[spoiler:The Vitalizer compliments her]]. |
| 108 | * ''Literature/InCryptid'': In "The Lay of the Land", Alice suddenly becomes unable to speak in complete sentences (and then starts rambling) when she sees Thomas [[HeCleansUpNicely when he's not coming off a day-long bus ride]]. She doesn't think of him romantically yet, though. |
| 109 | [[/folder]] |
| 110 | |
| 111 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 112 | * The first time ''Series/TheGoodies'' meet their dancing partners in the episode "Come Dancing", this ensues. Simultaneously. To both trios. How else to explain this exchange? |
| 113 | -->'''Girls:''' We are Norma. We are a hair artiste.\ |
| 114 | '''Goodies:''' We are Cyril. We are a bank clerk.\ |
| 115 | '''Girls:''' That's interesting.\ |
| 116 | ''[{{beat}}]''\ |
| 117 | '''Girls:''' ''[awkwardly]'' Our vision is to own our own hairdressing salon.\ |
| 118 | '''Goodies:''' How interesting. Our ambition is to own our own bank. |
| 119 | * An episode of ''Series/RedDwarf'' features a dream sequence where they all don sparkly jackets and sing [[http://www.ladyofthecake.com/reddwarf/html/tongue_tied_.html Tongue Tied]], a song about this experience. |
| 120 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': |
| 121 | ** Xander does this when he meets Buffy. He [[SarcasmMode wittily]] remarks, "Maybe we could... hang out at school since we both... go there." He [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it immediately afterwards: "'We both go to school.' Smooth." |
| 122 | ** In "Inca Mummy Girl", Xander becomes completely incoherent when he sees Ampata in her dress for the dance. Fortunately, Buffy "can translate salivating boy talk". |
| 123 | ** In "Hush" Buffy complains that she has an urge to start babbling whenever she's about to kiss Riley Finn. Fortunately for her, the MonsterOfTheWeek steals everyone's voices, so they cut to the chase. |
| 124 | ** [[StuffyBrit Giles]] tries to ask out Jenny Calender, only to end up with incoherent stuttering. Jenny doesn't have time to sort out what Giles is saying, but says they can talk about it after the NotADate she invites him on. |
| 125 | * Jeff from ''Series/{{Coupling}}'' talks a lot of gibberish normally, but it gets oh-so-much worse when an attractive woman is involved. In fact the trope DiggingYourselfDeeper used to be called "Bucket of Ears" after the following attempt at picking up an attractive girl at the bar: |
| 126 | -->'''Jeff:''' Ah! You can read... I mean, you are reading. Sorry. It's nice to see people reading. Not a lot of people read these days. People prefer to... hear. But all this "hearing" is just reading for lazy people. Kids today should be prepared to pick up a book, and not just go around the whole time with all these modern... ears. Sometimes I just wanna rip people's ears off and say 'Read a book, for God's sake!'... Well, actually I'd probably say "Read a book" first and then rip their ears off, otherwise, they wouldn't hear me, hehehe... Actually, I probably wouldn't rip their ears off at all, I'm not a violent person. I like ears! Especially women ears, they're my favorite. I don't mean I collect them or anything! I don't have a big bucket of women ears hidden away somewhere. No, No, No, I'm not after your ears really. Not that there's anything wrong with your ears! You know if I was some kind of mad ear person, your ears would be the pride of my... ear bucket. |
| 127 | * Steven Moffat, writer of ''Series/{{Coupling}}'', also practiced this technique in his previous show ''Series/PressGang'', with character Colin Mathews: |
| 128 | -->'''Colin:''' Goodbye... Hang on, sorry, said that wrong. I didn't mean to say "goodbye" like that... I mean, don't be alarmed. It's not because I think you're about to die or anything... No, truly. I think you've got years yet! I mean, you look really healthy - and I'm sure you have regular check-ups in case you've got one of those terminal illnesses with no visible symptoms! Though who can tell these days, right? I saw a friend of mine once, looked the picture of health. A week later I went to see him being cremated - not that I'm going to go and see you being cremated, of course - Though, I mean, I would go to your funeral if you suddenly died for any reason. I'd love to... So, how are you...? |
| 129 | * Ross in the ''Series/{{Friends}}'' episode called, appropriately enough, "The One Where Ross Can't Flirt" has trouble flirting with the cute pizza girl: |
| 130 | -->'''Ross:''' Hey, uh, you know that smell gas has? They put that in. The gas is odorless, but they add the smell so you know when there's a leak. A lot of other gas smells. Methane smells...\ |
| 131 | ''[afterwards, Rachel tries to explain it to the Pizza girl]''\ |
| 132 | '''Rachel:''' I am so sorry for Ross's flirting.\ |
| 133 | '''Pizza Girl:''' ''[stunned]'' Oh my God! That was flirting?! |
| 134 | * ''Series/{{Chuck}}'': Happens a lot since the titular character and his best friend Morgan are quintessential nerds in dead-end retail jobs who just so happen to find themselves in close proximity to beautiful spy ladies, though even [[HollywoodHomely normal]] women are too much for them to handle. A prime example of this happens in the very first conversation between Chuck and Sarah with Morgan in tow when [[SelfDeprecatingHumor discussing]] the men's names by way of small talk. |
| 135 | * ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'': |
| 136 | ** When Michael Bluth met Rita for the first time, he very unreassuringly reassured her that his interest in her was not to stalk and kill her like Jack the Ripper. Fortunately, (or perhaps not,)[[spoiler: Rita was mentally retarded, and only followed the gist of the conversation]]. |
| 137 | ** George Michael was never that bad with Maeby, but he seemed to lose control of his stream of thought whenever they talked. |
| 138 | * In ''Series/BlackBooks'' Bernard attempts to ask a woman out with the words below. It actually works, in that she, after confirming that he was trying to ask her out, accepts. |
| 139 | -->'''Bernard:''' Do you eat? I do. Do you want to do it in the same room, sometime?\ |
| 140 | '''Kate:''' Umm well...\ |
| 141 | '''Bernard:''' You're busy! You're probably seeing one of your four million friends. Never mind. |
| 142 | * This happened to Series/{{Sherlock}} when [[{{Dominatrix}} Irene]] says brainy is the new sexy. John's face after Sherlock's verbal keyboard smash is priceless. |
| 143 | * ''Series/{{Bottom}}'': In "Digger", when Richie's date is outside his bedroom door, he starts babbling incoherently, then apologises, saying that he's "forgotten how to talk." Once she's inside, he starts talking about Eskimos. |
| 144 | --> '''Richie:''' I've always found it rather fortunate that there isn't an animal called an "Ig" because it'd keep going to the toilet in their houses. |
| 145 | * In an episode of ''Series/That70sShow'', a cheerleader keeps calling Eric "Uh-bluh" because years ago, that's how he responded when she asked his name. |
| 146 | * In the ''Series/LizzieMcguire'' episode "The Greatest Crush Of All", when the girls in the class meet [[HotTeacher Mr. Keith]], this, for example, happens: |
| 147 | -->'''Miranda:''' Frac... tions?\ |
| 148 | '''Gordo:''' We're in ''English'' class. |
| 149 | * Discussed in ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' after Rory says "thank you" in response to being kissed by a boy she likes. |
| 150 | -->'''Rory:''' I just don't want to do or say anything else that's gonna be remotely moronic.\ |
| 151 | '''Lorelai:''' I'm afraid once your heart's involved, it all comes out in moron. |
| 152 | * ''Series/YediYuz'': Pınar of "Hayatın Musikisi" is reduced to stammering and gibberish in the presence of her crush Eray, whose gaze alone renders her confidence trigger useless. |
| 153 | * ''Series/HannahMontana'': When giving Oliver advice for wooing a girl, Robbie Ray insists this trope isn't important, in the interest of "work up the courage to say ''anything at all''". |
| 154 | -->'''Robbie:''' You wanna know how I got my first date? I walked right up to her, I looked her straight in the eyes and said, "My Robbie name is hi."\ |
| 155 | '''Oliver:''' And that ''worked''?\ |
| 156 | '''Robbie:''' Like a charm. I mean, sometimes with women, you just got to keep in mind it's not a matter of ''what'' you say, but having the guts to ''say anything''. |
| 157 | [[/folder]] |
| 158 | |
| 159 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 160 | %%* Music/ThePolice: |
| 161 | %%** In the song, "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da". |
| 162 | %%** Implied in "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic". |
| 163 | * Two Music/SteveMiller songs ("The Joker" and "Enter Maurice") had the phrase "Pompatus of love". 'Pompatus' is a made-up word. (Fun fact: A film called 'Pompatus of Love' was also made, discussing the meaning of this made-up phrase.) |
| 164 | %%* Barnes and Barnes (of "Fish Heads" fame) had the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDSn5k7gW7c "Ah A"]]. |
| 165 | %%* Creator/HughLaurie's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKquPKZAgbo "Sophistication Song"]]. |
| 166 | * "Tongue Tied", originally from ''Radio/SonOfCliche'', and recycled for TV by the lads from ''Series/RedDwarf''. |
| 167 | -->''I tried to say "I love you" (love you)\ |
| 168 | But it came out kind of wrong, girl (wrong girl)\ |
| 169 | It sounded like "nunubididoo" (tongue tied) Nuh-mur-nuh-murh-ni-nong-nurl'' |
| 170 | * "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pr-xzajQo0 Herp de Derp]]" by Music/TheGregoryBrothers is this: |
| 171 | -->''Herp herp herp herp herp de derp\ |
| 172 | I'm not this awkward all the time\ |
| 173 | Only when love is on the line\ |
| 174 | Herp de derp de derp de derp de derp derp derpy'' |
| 175 | * This is the premise of "Nonsense" by Music/SabrinaCarpenter: |
| 176 | -->''But I can't help myself\ |
| 177 | When you get close to me\ |
| 178 | Baby, my tongue goes numb\ |
| 179 | Sounds like bleh, blah, blee'' |
| 180 | * "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAeqf_ip_Ms STUTTA]]" by Bentley Jones is this trope with a heavy layer of DramaticIrony. (The remix "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=588RG1xGwEM SUTTA 2.0]]" slows down the main verses but keeps the general point). Bentley describes the trope as a prelude to the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4Sa61KXZIA STUTTA Speed Challenge]]" thusly: |
| 181 | -->'''Bentley:''' The whole concept of "STUTTA" was that when you're insanely attracted to someone and they walk into the room, your mind goes blank, you have no idea what to say to them, and you just, you just stumble. You just fail, words fail you. And to emphasize the irony of that, I wanted to come up with [[MotorMouth this really fast syncopated chorus that is just the opposite of that]]. Just cram in as many fast and articulate words as possible, and see how it goes. And because this was for one of my Japanese albums, and I was working in Japan at the time, I decided to take it one step further and [[GratuitousJapanese put the whole chorus in Japanese]], because why the hell not. |
| 182 | * The song titled Girl From Ipanema, particularly the [[https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/amywinehouse/thegirlfromipanema.html version by Amy Winehouse]]:\ |
| 183 | “That when she passes, each one she passes\ |
| 184 | Goes daboo-du-daa”\ |
| 185 | [[/folder]] |
| 186 | |
| 187 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 188 | * Cecil in ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' is very embarrassed when, despite his usual eloquence, he can only say "Neat!" when Carlos calls him with concerns of temporal anomalies. |
| 189 | [[/folder]] |
| 190 | |
| 191 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 192 | * The TongueTied song used in ''Series/RedDwarf'' was first aired in the ensemble radio comedy ''Radio/SonOfCliche'', which was ''Red Dwarf'''s radio predecessor, also written by Grant Naylor and starring Chris Barrie. |
| 193 | [[/folder]] |
| 194 | |
| 195 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 196 | * ''Theatre/AllShookUp''. Jim sees Sandra for the first time. After an outburst of song, he stutters a few "I--I--Uh--"s and runs away. And the next time he meets her, he doesn't even get out that much. |
| 197 | * ''Theatre/HelloDolly''. Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker sputtering at Irene Molloy the hatmaker: "Uh, see, we're two ladies about town lookin' for hats to Molloy--" "We're hats, you see, and wondered if we could buy a lady or two to Molloy with for..." |
| 198 | * ''Theatre/InTheHeights'': |
| 199 | ** When Usnavi and Vanessa go on a date, he raps as fast as he does when he's running the store during the first big rush of the day -- that is, [[MotorMouth extremely fast, with almost no pauses to breathe]], and Vanessa has to interrupt to tell him to slow down. |
| 200 | --->'''Usnavi:''' [[BlatantLies Relax? Que relaxed? I'm relaxed!]] |
| 201 | ** When he later dances with Yolanda, he again raps so fast she can't get a word in edgewise, leading him to believe she's "the strong and silent type". In reality, she just doesn't speak English. |
| 202 | [[/folder]] |
| 203 | |
| 204 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 205 | * Guybrush Threepwood is reduced to gibberish in ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'' when he first meets Elaine. He gets over it (barely) on his second chance. |
| 206 | * ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' has our hero Shirou working with this in just about every route once the girl chisels through his [[ObliviousToLove sheer thickness.]] |
| 207 | * ''Videogame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has Genis' behavior toward Presea, somewhat justified by the fact that he's twelve and she's clearly his first crush. It's not helped in the least by the fact that she's an EmotionlessGirl and ObliviousToLove. |
| 208 | * If you opt to romance [[WrenchWench Tali]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', she spends the first couple of conversations stammering like a kid. |
| 209 | * In ''VideoGame/RuneScape'''s Daemonheim Sagas, DumbMuscle barbarian Thok is smitten by the CuteMonsterGirl [[HealingHands Divine Skinweaver]], whom he calls "Pretty Lass". Thok's ''normal'' speech is YouNoTakeCandle... when he sees Pretty Lass, he becomes ''completely'' unintelligible, while imagining that he's spouting PurpleProse. |
| 210 | * In ''Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', if you play as Jack's Body Double when told to talk to Moxxi he immediately starts to crumble into a gibbering mess. It gets even worse when he finds her in mechanic overalls singing in her natural Appalachian accent. |
| 211 | * ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda:'' If Sara Ryder tries to flirt with Dr. Suvi Anwar, her attempts come out as unintelligible gibberish, before she tries extricating herself (much to the suffering of Kallo Jath, who has to sit and listen to this). It might be inherited, since her dad tried putting on the bad boy act to impress his future wife, and totally blew it. Fortunately, she thought it was cute. |
| 212 | [[/folder]] |
| 213 | |
| 214 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 215 | * ''Webcomic/TheNoordegraafFiles'''s Akila when questioned on her [[LesYay feelings for Katrina]]. |
| 216 | -->'''Akila''' What? No! No, we're just... [[BlatantLies just friends]]. I mean, I can see why you thought that... but no. Just friends. [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend Nothing more.]] |
| 217 | * ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'': Black Mage sees White Mage for the first time, and the first things out of his mouth are "Hubba flubba wabba zabba." He collects his thoughts to attempt to woo her but fails again. "I am the Black Mage! I casts the spells that makes the peoples fall down!" |
| 218 | * ''Webcomic/DumbingOfAge'': When Walky first meets Dorothy, his intelligence drops from "smart ass" to "buffoon", culminating in ''throwing a toy at her'' screaming "[[http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/throw/ I GIVE IT TO YOU!"]]'' |
| 219 | * In early pages of ''WebComic/MyLifeAsABackgroundSlytherin'', the eponymous character (Emily) is reduced to a "ermagerd" or a panel of "hlgrblr" noises when Draco Malfoy directly addresses her. After a certain point, she seems to give up on the matter and recognizes him with (if it doesn't sound much better of context, it ''reads'' as casual) "Yar". |
| 220 | * ''Webcomic/UndeadFriend'': Orrick, when Haley suggests there's romantic tension between him and Mahalah. |
| 221 | * In ''Webcomic/PeterParkerForeignExchangeStudent,'' Peter is perfectly fine when talking to Momo out of costume, but when they're all in-costume, he gets distracted by her form-fitting and {{Stripperific}} clothing and becomes tongue-tied. |
| 222 | * ''Webcomic/SandraAndWoo'': [[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2010/03/08/0144-the-first-impression-counts/ Woo is not very articulate]] the first time he meets Lily. |
| 223 | [[/folder]] |
| 224 | |
| 225 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 226 | * ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' has this during the song "My Freeze Ray". |
| 227 | -->'''Billy:''' Love your hair.\ |
| 228 | '''Penny:''' What?\ |
| 229 | '''Billy:''' N-no, I love the, uh, air... heh... |
| 230 | * Creator/{{Tobuscus}} has "Hothothothothothot" as a catchphrase. In one of his videos, he [[BlatantLies claims]] to have tried out for the cheerleader squad but been kicked out when instead of the chants, all he could say was "Hothothothothothot". |
| 231 | * ''Series/TheCallOfWarr'': Glintz-Terry struggled to even talk around Ashes, due to his immediate crush on her. |
| 232 | * ''WebVideo/VisionOfEscaflowneAbridged'': Van's EndearinglyDorky way of asking Hitomi out in the surprisingly heartwarming ending. [[spoiler:And unlike the [[ButNowIMustGo canon]] [[BittersweetEnding series]], [[RelationshipUpgrade it works out]]]]. |
| 233 | -->'''Van:''' Y-y-you mean you... y-you and me, we...? W-we can..? Oh! Mm! ''(pulls her into a hug)'' Van do good?\ |
| 234 | '''Hitomi:''' ''(smiles and hugs him back)'' [[ShoutOut Face it, Tiger.]] [[ComicBook/SpiderMan You just hit the jackpot.]] |
| 235 | * WebVideo/TheMysteriousMrEnter, being an UsefulNotes/{{Asexual}}, derides this trope as "mopey-dopey love talk." |
| 236 | [[/folder]] |
| 237 | |
| 238 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 239 | * ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperheroGirls2019:'' A moment's exposure to Steve Trevor will turn Diana into a drooling idiot incapable of making a coherent statement, much to the confusion of her friends, given Steve has ''no'' discernible personality whatsoever. |
| 240 | * Often in ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' when the Eds are around Nazz. Most noticeable in "Boys will be Eds": |
| 241 | -->'''Ed:''' Double D, my tummy feels all wiggly and crawly inside...\ |
| 242 | '''Edd:''' That's nice, Ed.\ |
| 243 | '''Eddy:''' I feel like the Nazzes on the back of my Nazz are standing on Nazz.\ |
| 244 | '''Edd:''' [[NotListeningToMeAreYou That's nice, Ed.]] |
| 245 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': In "He's Too Sexy for His Fat", Lois is watching a post-plastic surgery, more muscular than usual Peter walk away and Brian tries to talk to her. |
| 246 | -->'''Lois:''' ''[still distracted]'' Oh, I was just seeing if the... driveway...\ |
| 247 | '''Brian:''' That wasn't even a sentence! |
| 248 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'' episode "To Tell The Truth", Mr. Spacely is so attracted to Bubbles Blastoff that he can’t talk right: |
| 249 | -->'''Mr. Spacely: ''' (after hearing that she likes people) You are? Oh, wonderful I’m into people too, in fact I used to be one my, my, duh, duh, that, that is I still am a, buh, buh, I am a per, a pizza, a purple, a per, a person yeah! |
| 250 | * One example in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'': when Flash suddenly finds himself with an up-close view of his crush and fellow League member Fire, the usually-talkative Flash is reduced to an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcVUCidRUhU incoherent whimper.]] (around 3:05 in the clip.) |
| 251 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': When Mako first meets Asami, he's so stunned by her beauty that, for a moment, he can't do anything but [[CrushBlush blush]] and stutter. |
| 252 | -->'''Asami:''' Oh no! I'm so sorry. I didn't see you!\ |
| 253 | '''Mako:''' How could you ''not'' see me? I mean, I was ''[sees her face]'' ju- ju-... I was- I- I- Wow. ''[coughs]'' That was- ''[clears throat]'' |
| 254 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS1E26StudyMuffinHomespun Study Muffin]]", Lincoln's sisters (minus Lily) all, at first, just stammer "Ba... ba... ba..." when they meet Hugh. Later on, Lincoln and his male classmates do the same thing when they see Ms. [=DiMartino=]. |
| 255 | * ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Marinette gets incredibly tongue-tied around her crush Adrien, to the point that she can barely form a coherent sentence around him. |
| 256 | * In the Creator/{{Teletoon}} show ''WesternAnimation/NedsNewt'', Ned always did this around his crush Linda, only able to speak gibberish whenever she was near him. |
| 257 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Once she develops a crush on [[spoiler:Luz Noceda]], [[LovableAlphaBitch Amity Blight]] frequently descends into a [[CrushBlush blushing mess]] who can barely form coherent sentences around her. Best exemplified in the episode "Wing It Like Witches". |
| 258 | -->'''Amity:''' ''[When her crush offers to carry her after having broken her leg]'' I'm fine! Ahahaha! Who's Amity?! ''[Gets picked up into her crush's arms bridal style]'' Haha. Oh. Wow. ''Sports.'' |
| 259 | * Happens to Candace sometimes in early episodes of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', when she tries to work up the nerve to talk to her crush Jeremy. |
| 260 | * Happens to Professor Utonium in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', first with [[spoiler:Sedusa in disguise]], then his beautiful new neighbour. He freezes on stuttering "I, I, I" until the girls come to his rescue. |
| 261 | * ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': While Jack and Ashi battle a dangerous monster with monstrous leeches, the leeches tear away at Ashi's leaf outfit. Jack sees her naked and is completely mortified, blushing like mad and stammering; he stammers even more when she tells him that he's not making sense. |
| 262 | -->'''Jack:''' ''[very embarrassed and blushes deeply]'' Ashi! ''[[[InopportuneVoiceCracking voice squeaks]]]'' You're naked!\ |
| 263 | '''Ashi:''' So?\ |
| 264 | '''Jack:''' W-Well, you see... men and women are... you know... d-different and some things are private and umm... well, p-personal.\ |
| 265 | '''Ashi:''' You're not making any sense!\ |
| 266 | '''Jack:''' Here! ''[he covers her with his gi]''\ |
| 267 | '''Ashi:''' Jack, what are you doing?!\ |
| 268 | '''Jack:''' Uh... you need protection--from the creature!\ |
| 269 | '''Ashi:''' And your ''robe'' is going to protect me?\ |
| 270 | '''Jack:''' Actually, it's a gi. And ''yes!''\ |
| 271 | '''Ashi:''' ...You're acting weird.\ |
| 272 | '''Jack:''' ''[sheepishly and blushing madly]'' Me? Weird? ''Me??'' ''[chuckles nervously]''\ |
| 273 | '''Ashi:''' ''[awkwardly smiles]'' Ooookaaaaaaaay? |
| 274 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', when Bart met his new next door neighbor. |
| 275 | -->'''Bart's brain:''' ''She's beautiful! Say something clever.''\ |
| 276 | '''Bart's mouth:''' ''[meekly]'' I fell on my bottom.\ |
| 277 | '''Bart's brain:''' ''D'oh!'' |
| 278 | * Not exactly gibberish, but whenever Stan tries to talk to Wendy in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', he vomits a little. |
| 279 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', "Krusty Love": Mr. Krabs can't ask Mrs. Puff on a date without [=SpongeBob=] translating for him, and even he has a hard time making out what Krabs is saying. |
| 280 | * In the episode, "The Date" of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', Robin chokes up when he tries to ask Starfire out. She takes his babbling as a type of game and also starts babbling. |
| 281 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Pahkitew Island'', this is a RunningGag with Rodney -- [[InLoveWithLove he falls in love with at least one girl every episode]], and then becomes a sputtering mess around them. As a result, [[ObliviousToLove they never figure it out]] and just think that he's weird. |
| 282 | * ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'': On three separate occasions. |
| 283 | ** From "The Incredible Bulk": |
| 284 | --->'''Alex:''' ''[to the gym instructor]'' I'm... Alex, and I don't know anything! |
| 285 | ** From the credits of "Mime Of Your Business": |
| 286 | --->'''Sam:''' ''[to us]'' Today's topic is... how a smart girl can impress a boy! {{As you know}}, the brain is the major organ of the central nervous system and the control center for all of the body's activities. The brain is ''also'' an important tool that can be used to show that special someone that there is more to you than meets the eye!\ |
| 287 | '''Clover:''' ''[offscreen, to Sam]'' Sammy, it's your new hunky boyfriend Vincent!\ |
| 288 | '''Sam:''' ''[on the phone]'' V-Vincent! Ah, m-me, was waiting, you- call here- phone to- me- thing- call, me? ''[snaps out of it]'' Uh-!! ''[to us]'' [[LampshadeHanging Hey, even a smart girl like myself can have a brain freeze every once in a while!]] |
| 289 | ** From "The Suavest Spy": |
| 290 | --->'''Clover:''' ''[to the villain Kyle]'' You're such a dance gooder- I mean... you're such a good dancer. |
| 291 | * On ''WesternAnimation/{{Undergrads}}'', whenever he talks to Kimmy, most of what Nitz tries to say will come out as "Bluh." |
| 292 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheWeekenders'': Just about anytime one of the kids is around someone they have a crush on, they slip into this. |
| 293 | [[/folder]] |
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