Bleep

Summary
D.W. wants to know the meaning of a word that made a boy's mom drop something when he said it.

Plot
The episode begins as Arthur talks to the viewer about the bleep. He presents an example in a show called The Altos. Whenever an Alto curses, it is censored with a bleep. Arthur then says that it's not used in real life, but claims it could be fun if it was. D.W. then gets a hold of the bleep button, which drives Arthur crazy.

After the title card is shown, D.W. goes to the crystal shop with Grandma Thora, who is buying a bowl for her friend, Ethel. DW wanders around for a bit, admiring all the crystal objects for sale. She then overhears a teenage boy having an argument with his mother, as he is being careless in the store. She tells him to stop because he may break something, to which he scoffs and says “Whatever.” The mother is angered at his "backtalk" and grounds her son from going to a concert tonight. The boy gets angry and calls his mother a bad name (censored with a “bleep”), causing her to drop the goblet she is holding out of shock. As they leave the store, D.W. wants to ask Grandma Thora (who didn’t hear the argument) what the word means; she explains the situation, but stops herself before she gets to the word, imagining it will cause Thora to drop the bowl she just bought.

When she arrives home, DW rushes to Arthur's room and asks him the meaning of the word. He reacts by gasping and dropping the model plane he was working on, resulting in it being in pieces (for the second time), confirming D.W.'s belief that the word has the power to make people drop items. Arthur warns D.W. not to say the bad word around their parents. Confused, DW then asks Nadine, who is also clueless and suggests asking her parents, but D.W. has a bad daydream where the word caused everyone to drop objects, and says it's a bad idea.

D.W., still not clear on the meaning of the word, asks the Tibbles about it the next day at school; they initially laugh, but then turn to each other with puzzled looks when D.W. asks what it means and wonder if they should tell her. Finally, Timmy explains that it’s a swear word, which parents hate. When D.W. wonders why, the twins, to get her in trouble, claim that the word turns adults into zombie servants.

During class, everyone is singing “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” D.W. has a fantasy in which she says the curse word. The others gasp, and Ms. Morgan drops her accordion and becomes a zombie servant to D.W. When Ms. Morgan snaps D.W. out of her daydream, she chooses not to say the word. The Tibbles mock her after school, calling her a "scaredy cat."

At home, D.W. is still too scared to ask her parents what the word means. After conversing with Nadine, she decides to test it and see if what the Tibbles said is true. D.W. repeats their story to Vicita, but tells her she shouldn’t say it to anyone. However, D.W. knows that Vicita will say it anyway because she does not know any better. Along with Nadine, she watches Vicita from Arthur’s room with a pair of binoculars to see what happens. Vicita says the word to her family and when they get angry, she explains that D.W. told her the word.

While this is happening, D.W. is interrupted by her mother calling her down to dinner. When her mother persists, D.W. gets annoyed and accidentally blurts out the bad word. Jane is shocked and outraged at this accidental remark, and exclaims, "Dora Winifred Read... what did you just say to me?"

D.W. then asks, "Um, can I have a soda?" When Jane doesn't budge, D.W. angrily says “Tibbles!” to herself before turning back to the window. When the doorbell rings, D.W. rushes downstairs to answer it, only to find the Molinas and her dad furious with her. She says, “Arthur did it?” in a very unconvincing way.

That night, Jane tucks D.W. into bed, letting her off the hook this time, but warns her that swear words are not appropriate to say. When D.W. asks what they mean, Jane explains that swear words are offensive and meant to hurt people's feelings. Satisfied with this answer, D.W. falls asleep.

The next day at school, D.W. finds her friends all saying the word (without knowing what they are saying). Realizing what she must do, D.W. sits down to explain to them how hurtful swear words are.

Major

 * D.W. Read
 * Timmy and Tommy Tibble
 * Nadine Flumberghast
 * Arthur Read

Minor

 * Teenager
 * Ms. Morgan
 * Amanda Hulser
 * Francine Frensky
 * Edwin
 * Thora Read
 * David Read
 * Jane Read
 * Vicita Molina
 * Unknown Female Adult Cat

Cameo

 * Mrs. Hulser
 * James MacDonald
 * Ramón Molina
 * Mrs. Molina
 * Alberto Molina
 * Maryann
 * Liam
 * Lisa
 * Maryann's father
 * Emily
 * Sarah
 * Lucy
 * Kyle

Trivia

 * There is a lot of speculation over what the bleeped word could be, but due to the context the bleep is used in each time, it seems there is no one word that it could be.
 * This episode and "Big Horns George" never aired in the UK, probably due to the fact of the controversy of the episode.

Cultural references

 * The Altos are a parody of .
 * Mary Moo Cow jumping over the moon is a reference to the nursery rhyme "."
 * The preschoolers sang .

Episode connections

 * When Arthur drops the plane, it breaks, just like it did in "Arthur's Big Hit."
 * Arthur was most likely making another model plane to fill in for that broken plane during the events of "Arthur's Big Hit."
 * The event where Arthur's mom's glass bird broke was shown again. The first time took place during the flashback in the special Arthur's Perfect Christmas.

Errors

 * When Arthur was working on the model plane, he was first seen wearing only his socks; after Jane opens the door, he is seen in his shoes. He would not have had time to put on his shoes for the time being.
 * When the teenager's mother scolds him, the silver goblet that she was holding turns light green.
 * D.W.'s car seat has different colors.
 * When D.W. is spying on the Molinas in Arthur’s room and Jane walks in, the clock on Arthur’s bedside table is off and in the next frame it is on.