mumbly Joe

English

Alternative forms

• Mumbly Joe
• mumbly joe

Etymology

From “Treehouse of Horror VII”, an episode of The Simpsons. In it, Homer Simpson uses the term to refer to real-life politician and then–US presidential candidate Bob Dole.

Noun

mumbly Joe (plural mumbly Joes)

1. (slang, humorous) Someone who mumbles and is difficult to understand when speaking.
   • 1996 October 27, David S. Cohen, Dan Greaney, Ken Keeler, “Treehouse of Horror VII”, in The Simpsons, season 8, episode 1 (television show), spoken by Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta), via Fox:

     "Except, um... there's this election next week, so after that, it might not be him anymore. It might be what's-his-name, uh... Mumbly Joe, uh... I saw him on TV the other... uh... Bob Dole!"

   • 2010 September 20, Sean O'Neal, “Yes, David Letterman knew that Joaquin Phoenix was not really a crazy rapper”, in AV News‎^[1], archived from the original on 20 November 2019:

     "For instance, Phoenix’s infamous interview with David Letterman, which first introduced a wide audience to Phoenix’s mumbly Joe would-be rap star character, has now been revealed to be a joke that even Letterman himself was in on."

   • 2016 November 18, Dylan Todd, Matt Wilson, “‘LEGENDS OF TOMORROW’ POST-SHOW RECAP: SEASON 2, EPISODE 6: ‘OUTLAW COUNTRY’”, in Comics Alliance‎^[2]:

     "Maybe it’s because this version of Hex is a real mumbly Joe (even when he’s yelling), but I did think it was hard to follow what he told Sara about his past."