Muppet word?

Cafe Society
1

Muppet fans: Just something that’s been bugging me through the years. In the original Muppet Movie, when Kermit and Fozzie meet Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, Dr. Teeth says something like “this is problem upon which we shall probosculate upon”. Is the word “probosculate” used just to sound impressive (when it is not a word according to m-w.com), or is he supposed to be confusing some other word?

FYI: Googling around, I found a list of Muppet quotes where the word in question was spelled as such, but in quotes…as if to be a pun or an intentional misspelling. But, what word was meant to fit here?

2

Maybe it’s a mix of words - like speculate and proboscis (given Dr Teeth’s nose)?

3

I’d say it’s a portmanteau word (I hate to give wikipedia links, but: Blend word - Wikipedia ) … combination of probe and speculate, with a hint of nosiness (probiscus).

4

That, and/or a malapropism for “prognosticate”?

5

I don’t know why you’re having problems, it’s a perfectly cromulent word.

6

Using cromulent words embiggens us all.

7

I would say it’s a garbling of “expostulate,” perhaps by way of “prognosticate.”

8

I find this thread topic to be scrumtrulescent.

9

Uh … bork, bork, bork!

10

Could also be “probe” (or “proboscis”) and “osculate”, the latter meaning “kiss”.

11

Dr. Teeth is an old style hipster. He uses jivey lingo like what Cab Calloway did in the '30s. He probably just said it because it sounded good.

12

Now you’re on the trolly!

13

I looked it up, and apparently it’s a word both in regular and slang dictionaries. The regular meaning is “to engage in deep and meaningful thought, through use of concentration on the breath through the proboscis, as per meditation.”
The slang term is “to intrude upon a matter, particularly where the intrusion is uninvited, such as ‘to stick one’s nose into’ or ‘to meddle.’”
Dr. Teeth and the rest of the Muppet crew were frequently involved in meddling in each others affairs. That’s what made them such a close-knit cadre of comedians.

14

Welcome !
I thought Dr. Teeth was based on Dr. John, who often spoke like that.

15

Which “regular dictionaries” does this term appear in? I haven’t found it an any of the usual references (Oxford, Merriam–Webster, etc.).