History Main / InnocentAwkwardQuestion

* ''Fanfic/AceInTheHolePersona5'': Kaito asks Akechi what a 'bastard' is after hearing a woman call him and his sister Mizuki ones. Akechi then explains, which causes Kaito to go into a brief bout of BastardAngst until he is reassured that his mom did want him.

* In the ''VideoGame/Persona4'' fan-comic ''[[https://twitter.com/fizzi_ly/status/1491630002156228612?s=20 white lie]], Nanako asks Chie and Yukiko why Adachi, [[spoiler:who unbeknownst to Nanako was a SerialKiller]], no longer visits them. Chie rambles as she desperately tries to come up with an answer to hide the truth, while [[BrutallyHonest Yukiko tells her without hesitation]] [[spoiler:that he's in jail]], and Chie has to stop her from telling Nanako [[spoiler:that Adachi was arrested for murder]].

* ''VideoGame/MyChildLebensborn'': [[AbandonedWarChild The child]] asks two such questions within a few days from each other. The first is asking the parent what a "bastard" is because they were called a "German bastard" at school. The second is asking what a "[[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazi]]]-kid" is. How those questions are answered is up to the player, with a straight answer being an option in both cases.

->'''Chip Potts''': What?! What's there, Mama!?

The grown-ups may not think little Timmy is paying attention to the hushed, worried conversations or TV news reports, but little pitchers have big ears. Timmy has overheard a new word or phrase, but he doesn't know what it means. Or he's seen something and doesn't know what's going on. Because he is ConstantlyCurious, he decides to wait until the family is gathered round to ask, "Daddy, what's a _____?"

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11131334/2/Ask-the-Dynamic-Trio Ask the Dynamic Trio]]'', based upon ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', Tommy, who in the fanfic is 2 (one year older than in the show), asks what a communist is after hearing someone ask if his grandfather was one. The other person is unsure how to explain it to a 2-year-old, and eventually claims it's someone who doesn't want to try anything new.

* ''WesternAnimation/GuillermoDelTorosPinocchio'': When Pinocchio first comes to life, he's ConstantlyCurious, and begins asking Gepetto about the various items in his home. At one point, Pinocchio finds a [[ToiletHumor chamber pot]] and asks what it's for. Gepetto awkwardly tries to come up with an explanation, but ultimately ends up not answering the question.

**
--->'''Bob''': "Mommy! Mommy! What happened to all that dog food Fido wouldn't eat?"
--->'''Alice''': "Shut up and eat your meatloaf."
**
--->'''Bob''': "Mommy! Mommy! Are you sure this is the right way to make gingerbread men? (or "Are you sure this is the right way to cook Peking duck?" or "What's for dinner?" or "But I don't wanna eat pizza!")"
--->'''Alice''': "Shut up and get back in the oven!"
**
--->'''Bob''': "Mommy! Mommy! What happened to all your scabs?"
--->'''Alice''': "Shut up and eat your cornflakes!"
**
--->'''Bob''': "Mommy! Mommy! What's in those CARE packages they send to Africa?"
--->'''Alice''': "Shut up and get back in the box!"
**
--->'''Bob''': "Mommy! Mommy! Why is Daddy so pale?"
--->'''Alice''': "Shut up and keep digging!"
**
--->'''Bob''': "Mommy! Mommy! Why is everybody running?"
--->'''Alice''': "Shut up and reload!"
**
--->'''Bob''': "Mommy! Mommy! Is this the way to make pickles?"
--->'''Alice''': "Shut up and get back in the barrel!"
**
--->'''Bob''': "Mommy! Mommy! Why is Daddy bent over and crying?"
--->'''Alice''': "Shut up and eat your hot dog!"
**
--->'''Bob''': "Mommy! Mommy! Are you sure this is the way to learn to swim?"
--->'''Alice''': "Shut up and get back in the sack!"

--> '''George:''' This little lad is the only reason I haven't topped myself.
--> '''William:''' What's "topped myself"?
--> '''Adrian:''' Oh, it means, er, getting better at something.
--> (Later)
--> '''George:''' But I'm not having all these injections in my dick.
--> '''William:''' Who's Dick?

* [[https://steemit.com/story/@tlester/mommy-what-s-a-virgin This]] article advises parents on what to do if their kid asks what a virgin is. It says that, no matter how embarrassed you are, don't say something like "It's someone who hasn't had their FirstKiss", because then the kid might get kissed on the playground and declare they're not a virgin.

* ''VideoGame/MyChildLebensborn'': [[AbandonedWarChild The child]] asks two such questions within a few days from each other. The first is asking the parent what a "bastard" is, because they were called a "German bastard" at school. The second is asking what a "[[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazi]]]-kid" is. How those questions are answered is up to the player, with a straight answer being an option in both cases.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': When the Flanderses go to a museum, Rod and Todd see an exhibit that explains that humans evolved from chimp-like animals. One of them, not understanding, asks if [[MissingMom their dead mother]] was a monkey since he can't remember. This stumps their father Ned, who is a creationist, and he eventually says that God made humans. The boys are then confused, since he claims a stork brought them, so Ned blurts out, "There's no such thing as storks! It's all God!" So the boys kneel down and pray in front of a taxidermied stork.

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': In "How Lily Stole Christmas", Lily is angry at Ted the whole episode for repeatedly referring to her as being a word he censors in the story as "Grinch". Unable to have Christmas at home thanks to Lily stealing all his decor, he stays with his very religious cousin and her kids. Lily and the gang show up to bring him home, and he apologizes for calling her a "Grinch"... which leads one of the kids to ask them what a "Grinch" is. Lily frantically tells her it's a word they should never say... only for the kid to then ask their ''parents'' what the word means. Ted and the others run out, knowing they're in trouble.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12642602/1/Caught Caught]]'', Leni thinks she sees her little brother Lincoln [[ADateWithRosiePalms masturbating]]. When the younger sisters overhear the older sisters talking about it there are a few instances:

Compare to ArmorPiercingQuestion, InnocentInaccurate, and EmbarrassedByAChild. Contrast NotActuallyTheUltimateQuestion. May lead to InnocentSwearing and/or a SwearWordPlot or happen during a PrimalScene.

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[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

->'''Mrs. Potts''': ''(referring to two characters' developing romance)'' "There may be something there that wasn't there before."
->'''Chip Potts''': "What?! What's there, Mama!?"
->'''Mrs. Potts''': "I'll tell you when you're older."

* ''Fanfic/AceInTheHole'': Kaito asks Akechi what a 'bastard' is after hearing a woman call him and his sister Mizuki ones. Akechi then explains, which causes Kaito to go into a brief bout of BastardAngst until he is reassured that his mom did want him.

The grown-ups may not think little Timmy is paying attention to the hushed, worried conversations or TV news reports, but little pitchers have big ears. Timmy has overheard a new word or phrase, but he doesn't know what it means. Or he's seen something, and doesn't know what's going on. Because he is ConstantlyCurious, he decides to wait until the family is gathered round to ask, "Daddy, what's a _____?"

* ''ComicBook/{{Persepolis}}'': Marjane recalls when she was a little girl she received TheTalk by her father when she asked him what "balls" are. Her further questions as to their structure made her father more nervous, him awkwardly comparing them to ping-pong balls.

* ''Film/DonnieDarko'': When Darko family dinner takes a turn for the vulgar, younger sister Samantha innocently inquires about the meaning of one of the words used.

* Clint Eastwood played Detective Wes Block in ''Film/{{Tightrope}}'' from 1984. While driving with his two daughters, young Penny Block inquires, "Daddy, what's a [[spoiler:hard on?]]" Cue Eastwood doing a {{Spit Take}} into the windshield. The situation is made worse by Penny's older sister, Amanda, giggling mercilessly at her father's discomfort.

* In ''Literature/DarthVaderAndSon'', a toddler Luke Skywalker asks his father, "Why is it called a 'Death Star'?". This stumps Darth Vader, since he doesn't want to admit to his son that he's a killer.

* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine:'' In the episode "Moo Moo," when Jake and Amy are babysitting Terry's elementary-school aged twin daughters, Cagney and Lacey. The girls accidentally learn the word "orgasm" from Jake and Amy and Amy hastily tries to fix things by teaching them that it's another word for "orange." This leads to an awkward moment the next morning when the twins ask Terry for "orgasm juice."
* At the start of the second season of ''Series/DoomPatrol2019'', Jane has been secretly shooting up drugs to stifle her powers. Most of the others are unaware, because she stays in her tent and they don't want to risk her HairTriggerTemper by checking on her, but Dorothy has NoSenseOfPersonalSpace and not only walks into Jane's tent, but then pulls the syringe out of Jane's arm, thinking that it's hurting her. When Jane comes to, Dorothy apologetically asks if pulling the needle out hurt her. Jane avoids the question by demanding to know why Dorothy is in her tent.

* ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'': Near the end of "Changing Nature", as Earl is apologizing to his family about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt plunging the world into an ice age]], Fran assures him that they all understand, prompting Baby to ask, "Understand what?". This makes everyone to look anxiously at Earl to see how he could possibly explain something so dire to his youngest son.

* Parodied in a brief StoryArc in ''Webcomic/IDGet'': a father and his toddler daughter watch a baseball game on television, when a trailer for ''Film/ZackAndMiriMakeAPorno'' is played, prompting the girl to ask her father what a "pawerno" is. The father ''freaks out'', and enlists the aide of incompetent superhero, Captain Childcare, who comes up with a series of ridiculous and ludicrous solutions, only to be solved by the girl's teenager brother who explains to her, "It's something you don't need to know about until you're older."

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': When the Flanderses go to a museum, Rod and Todd see an exhibit that explains that humans evolved from chimp-like animals. One of them, not understanding, asks if [[MissingMom their dead mother]] was a monkey, since he can't remember. This stumps the father, Ned, who is a creationist, and he eventually says that God made humans. The boys are then confused, since he claims a stork brought them, so Ned blurts out, "There's no such thing as storks! It's all God!". So the boys kneel down and pray in front of a taxidermied stork.

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[[folder: Fan Works]]

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11131334/2/Ask-the-Dynamic-Trio Ask the Dynamic Trio]]'', based upon ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', Tommy, who in the fanfic is two (one year older than in the show), asks what a communist is after hearing someone ask if his grandfather was one. The other person is unsure how to explain it to a two-year-old, and eventually claims it's someone who doesn't want to try anything new.

** First, Lisa, after revealing that she learnt what sex was online, she assures her sisters that she didn't learn from pornographic websites. The twins, who are only six years old, ask what "pornographic" means, but Lisa says that they'll know when they're older.

** Finally, Lana (one of the aforementioned six-year-old twins) asks what "[[MondegreenGag misterbatting]]" is. Lisa corrects her that the word is "masturbation" and is about to define it, but Lori interrupts her, feeling that Lana is too young to know.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12701258/1/How-Lynn-clogged-the-toilet-for-the-first-time How Lynn Clogged the Toilet for the First Time]]'', Rita is pregnant, but her husband Lynn Sr. told their kids that babies come from the DeliveryStork. However, Lincoln (who was three at the time) asks why Rita is so lethargic. Lynn Sr. awkwardly says that she has to be strong when the stork comes.
* ''Fanfic/PeekingThroughTheFourthWall'': In Episode 6, Lincoln, Lori, Lana, Lisa, and Lily are reading a story in which the narration establishes that the girls are having sleepovers with their crushes. It then says, "Not that kind of sleepover!". Lana (who was only six at the time) says, "What kind of sleepover now?", embarrassing Lori, who says, "Um... you'll find out when you're older."
* ''Fanfic/PoundAndPumpkinCakesAdventuresAndMisadventuresInPottyTraining'': In "Scootaloo the Potty Mouth", the twins, who are two, overhear Scootaloo using the word "peeved", which, [[PardonMyKlingon in the My Little Pony universe]], is a cuss word. They then ask their mother, "What does 'peeved' mean?", shocking her.

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[[folder: Literature]]

* In ''Literature/BrittMariPoursOutHerHeart'', when Mayken's boyfriend visits the Hagströms, Mayken's three-year-old sister Monica asks him if he is in love with Mayken (since fourteen-year-old Svante, another Hagström sibling, says he is). The family manages to somehow salvage the conversation, but when the boyfriend leaves, Monica asks Mayken again if he is in love with her and adds that Svante says so. Mayken gets back at [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Svante]] by pranking him.

* ''Literature/TheExpanse'': In ''Cibola Burn'', Avasarala hears of a development involving the [[EldritchAbomination protomolecule]] and shouts, "Son of a whore!", apparently forgetting there's a five-year-old present. The kid turns to her dad and asks, "Daddy, what's a whore?" He tells her it's [[ExactWords a type of frost]].

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

* ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'': "It Was Mame, Mom" opens up with Jake, Alan, and Charlie on the couch, then in only the opening seconds Jake randomly asks his dad if he suffers from erectile dysfunction. Jake, being ten at the time, admitted to both of them he didn't know much about what that meant but heard one out of three guys gets it, saying his is "fine" so it's "got to be one of you". [[spoiler: [[{{Foreshadowing}} Charlie has it.]]]]

[[folder: New Media]]

* ''Series/SesameStreet'': PlayedForDrama in a VerySpecialEpisode, where Mr. Hooper (the owner of the convenience store/cafe) dies, and Big Bird (who's only six) asks why he had to die. The adults are stunned for a while, and then eventually Gordon (remembering how Big Bird was walking with his hands between his legs "just because" earlier) says that there ''isn't'' a reason, and it happened "[[CerebusCallBack just because]]".

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[[folder: Video Games]]

* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories'', a seven-year-old child calls into ''Chatterbox'' on LCFR. The call goes innocently at first, then the child asks, "Lazlow, do you know what 'fuck me harder' means?" It turns out they overheard it from their mother.

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* [[https://www.reddit.com/r/KidsAreFuckingStupid/comments/keu41o/oh/ This story]] involves a child asking his father "[[ToiletHumor Where does poo come from]]?", and despite the father finding the question awkward, he answers honestly anyway. However, this was apparently not what he was asking about - the confused child follows up with, "And [[Franchise/WinnieThePooh Tigger]]?"

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS2E8NoSuchLuckFrogWild Frog Wild]]", when the class of fifth graders are looking at the [[ClassPet pet frogs]], one of them asks, "What are those two doing?", prompting the teacher to awkwardly cover up the tank, implying they were mating.

[[folder: Real Life]]
* Creator/WillieRushton, collected from school by his parents, brought conversation in the car to a spluttering halt by asking how do you phuck somebody. In his defence, he said that at age seven, [[ComicallyMissingThePoint he'd only heard the word spoken and didn't know the correct spelling]].

* In the ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' episode "Savant", the only witness to a brutal assault was the victim's daughter, who has a condition that gives her limited intelligence but extremely good hearing and near-perfect aural recall, which allows her to remember everything the assailant said in graphic detail before the assault, but also means that she wasn't nearby when the assault happened, as the noise had scared her, and thus didn't see the assailant's face. When they bring their most likely suspect in front of her, she says that he doesn't sound like the man who assaulted her mom, and the detectives are stumped... up until the suspect's son says something, and the little girl immediately makes a beeline for him and demands to know why he called her mother a bitch, [[InnocentInaccurate since that's a word for a female dog]].