Original air date: 4/2/2004 (produced in 2003)
Production code: PPG-516
Curses: Bubbles overhears a bad word from the Professor. Then her sisters start to use it, too, and cause a shocking reaction around Townsville.
Bang for Your Buck: The girls and the Gangreen Gang (who want more recognition) compete to raise enough money to buy a giant laser from Mojo Jojo.
Curses provides examples of:
- Big "NO!": The girls, upon being told by the Professor what that word actually means.
- Cooking Show: At the start of the episode, the Professor is watching one and trying to prepare the turkey dish featured in the show at the same time.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Two banks robbers, two thugs, two bikers, and a prison inmate with "delicate ears" REALLY DO NOT like the Girls swearing.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Professor Utonium finally sets the record straight and explains to the girls what the swear means. They are reasonably shocked about it.
- Eye Twitch: Ms. Keane does this when the girls swear in class.
- Faint in Shock: Ms. Keane faints in shock when she hears the girls swear.
- Ignored Aesop: The girls learn they should never say that word again, only for Buttercup to absentmindedly shout it at the monster at the last moment. The close out shows her suffering the Soap Punishment again.
- Innocent Swearing: The girls after overhearing the professor using a swear word and start saying it whenever they can. Whenever one of the adults punishes them for doing this, the girls ask them what they did, only to get the same response; "You know very well what you did." This is despite the fact that the girls genuinely had no idea of what they did wrong.
- Miniature Senior Citizens: The recurring old woman returns. She gets rescued by Buttercup but then hits her with her purse and chases after her after Buttercup curses to her.
- Monster of the Aesop: The episode is about cursing, with a monster that is literally a potty mouth.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After being told what the word means, the girls are regretful and embarrassed that they kept saying it all day.
- Oh, Crap!: The Professor when he hears the girls swear and realizes they got it from him.
- One I Prepared Earlier: Professor Utonium is caught off guard by the host of the cooking show having prepared several parts of the dish in advance, since he tried to keep up with him while cooking the same dish.
- The Permanent Record: Discussed; when the girls are sent to the time-out corner for swearing, Blossom worries that it'll go on her permanent record.
- Real Men Wear Pink: The Professor was stuck in traffic because he was on his way to a manicure appointment.
- Rock–Paper–Scissors: The girls play this game to determine who has to go down to the kitchen and see if dinner is ready. Bubbles loses.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: While the girls have to do a time-out, the hotline rings. Bubbles reminds Blossom and Buttercup that they're in time-out and Ms. Keane says that they have to stay and think about what they've done, but Buttercup wastes no time in answering the hotline.
- Soap Punishment: Ms. Bellum does this to the girls off screen after they swear in front of the Mayor (who had them come over to his office to open his pickle jar, again). Later, the girls themselves do this to the Potty Mouth monster.
- Sound-Effect Bleep: Many, for every time the girls use the bad word.
- Stunned Silence: Bubbles after hearing the Professor swear.
- Swear Word Plot: The whole plot of the episode centers around the girls overhearing the professor using a swear word, and then start using it themselves since they don't know it's a bad word.
- Tempting Fate: Stuck in traffic, the Professor sees the girls in action and muses that they're always so well-behaved and model citizens. Then he hears what word they've been using lately.
- Time Out: Mrs. Keane gives the girls one for swearing.
- Ungrateful Bitch: After Miss Keane recovers from her Faint in Shock, the girls concernedly ask their teacher if she's okay. She responds by yelling at them and giving them a Time Out.
- The Unintelligible: the monster talks like this, though it’s strongly implied that he is actually a Sir Swears-a-Lot. (Most of what he says sounds like "-ing" words. For instance, if you listen closely to the monster's words just before the Professor scolds the girls, it sounds an awful lot like he's saying "ripping, ropping [sic], smashing, snoozing".)
- What the Hell, Hero?: The Professor scolds the girls for using that bad word. Of course, being told they learned it from him makes him more sheepish about it.
- You Know What You Did: Ms. Keane's response to the girls asking why they're being punished.
Bang for your Buck provides examples of:
- Big Ball of Violence: The girls enter a rabbit in a race for pets, but all the pets (save a goldfish) just end up fighting.
- Big "WHAT?!": The girls and Gangreen Gang when Mojo says he just sold the giant laser.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: At the end of the episode, the Mayor buys the destructo ray, having mistaken it for a snow cone machine. When he tests it out, it turns out that it really was a snow cone machine.
- Darkhorse Victory: Nether the Girls nor the Gangreen Gang get to buy the device. The Mayor gets it instead.
- Disintegrator Ray: An old lady buys a proton disintegrator capable of crumbling mountains from Mojo, thinking it’s a hair dryer. She proceeds to use it on herself off screen.
- Door-to-Door Episode: At one point, the girls sell cookies from door to door to raise money for the destructo ray. Meanwhile, the Gangreen Gang comes across another set of girl scouts and shakes them down for both their money and their cookies.
- Gambling Ruins Lives: To raise the money for the destructo ray, Bubbles enters her pet rabbit in a pet race, which has a $50.00. entrance fee. When the rabbit loses, Blossom and Buttercup berate Bubbles for this, saying now they're back to square one.
- Garage Sale: Mojo Jojo holds one, which kicks off the plot.
- Helping Granny Cross the Street: The girls' first act when trying to raise money is by flying an old lady over traffic until they reach the other side. After the old lady pays them a quarter for their deed, the Gangreen Gang shake her down for the rest of her money.
- Idea Bulb: Bubbles gets one when the girls try to think of a way to raise more money, but Blossom shoots down her idea before Bubbles can even tell it, causing the bulb to disappear again.
- Luminescent Blush: Mojo’s entire face turns red when a boy at his yard sale finds a rather embarrassing looking string between the stuff and asks if that too is for sale. Mojo quickly snatches it away from him.
- MacGuffin: Mojo’s giant destructo ray cannon, which the girls and the Gangreen Gang end up competing over.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The Gangreen Gang actually beats the girls to Mojo with the money to buy the destructo-ray, but Big Billy ruins it for them at the last moment by wasting 5 dollars on a teddy bear.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: It turns out that it never mattered whether the Powerpuffs or the Gangreen Gang bought the laser ray, since it was just a snow cone machine.
- Underdogs Never Lose: during the pet race, one of the contestants is a fish in bowl. Naturally, the fish wins.
- Wham Shot: Two near the end of the episode. First, the Mayor buys the gun that the Gangreen Gang and Girls have been fighting over. And second, it turns out that the cannon isn’t some doomsday device after all but just a harmless snow cone machine.
