Meanings
plural big-lipped alligator moments
- slanglifestyleA notably unusual, tangential scene in a movie or similar work of fiction, which occurs without setup and does not affect the story afterward.
This may be the first case where the *entire* movie is a Big Lipped Alligator Moment . . .
2009, Antonio E. Gonzalez, rec.arts.animation (Usenet)Synonyms: BLAM
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA notably unusual, tangential scene in a movie or similar work of fiction, which occurs without setup and does not affect the story afterward.
Origin
Coined in a 2009 Nostalgia Critic review of FernGully: The Last Rainforest, referring to a scene in the 1989 film All Dogs Go to Heaven, in which an alligator breaks into an Esther Williams-style musical number.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
big-lipped alligator moment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big-lipped%20alligator%20moment
“big-lipped alligator moment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big-lipped%20alligator%20moment. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “big-lipped alligator moment,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big-lipped%20alligator%20moment.
Source: big-lipped alligator moment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.