When TJ gets in trouble for using his own word "whomps", he gets revenge by having the rest of the student body use it in many different ways. This gets Principal Prickly so desperate he calls in an agent, resulting in TJ going on trial.
Tropes:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Superintendent Skinner laughs himself silly when he told "whomps" prompted the trial.
- Calming Tea: Mr. White asks for a cup of tea before dealing with TJ.
- Courtroom Episode
- False Reassurance: TJ explains the word to Mr. White, who appears understanding and sends him on his way. But once TJ leaves, Mr. White describes "whomps" to Prickly as a cancer that must be removed.
- Flashback: TJ and Vince have one that takes place in second grade, involving the two boys making up the word "whomps" to avoid getting into trouble for cussing.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Once Superintendent Skinner actually hears the word the entire case is about, he dismisses it as "whomps" is not an obscene word. He finds it to be pretty funny and points out that anyone who does find it obscene is clearly looking for it to be obscene.
- I Am Spartacus: TJ gets the entire playground to start using "whomps" so that they'll all get in trouble and force Prickly to allow it. One kid even signs their name on a detention list as "Whompy Whomperson." Unfortunately, this leads Prickly to calling in Mr. White to deal with it.
- Informed Obscenity: Miss Finster, Principal Prickly, and Mr. White treat "whomps" like it's a curse word, even though TJ invented it to avoid getting into trouble for swearing. Superintendent Skinner eventually calls them out on it by saying that they were the ones who made the word into a problem.
- Irony: TJ and Vince invented the word "whomps" so kids wouldn't get in trouble for swearing. In the span of the entire episode, the grown-ups treating it like a outright obscenity causes all the kids to use it in protest, Mr. White to be called in, his taking the word to court, and culminating in Mr. White and the slang professor having an argument. Towards the end, TJ even lampshades to Superintendent Skinner how his word has caused all this trouble when it was invented to avoid just that.
- Only Sane Man: TJ in the midst of his trial as Mr. White and the slang professor are arguing.
- Then the superintendent becomes this once he hears the word and dismisses the case.
- Precision F-Strike: G-Rated Version: Since Principal Prickly has been treating "whomps" like the F-bomb all through this episode, he might as well have used a Precision F-Strike in his final line:Principal Prickly: This whomps.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Sure, TJ is acquitted after Superintendent Skinner finally learns what TJ's word is, but TJ still has to go to school. Spinelli even lampshades it:Spinelli: Sort of a hollow victory, huh, Teej?
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Superintendent Skinner allows TJ to speak at his trial and listens to his side of the story. Once he learns that the word in question is "whomps" he promptly drops the case and tells White and Prickly that they blew everything out of proportion over a silly meaningless word.
- Remember the New Guy?: This is Lawson's first appearance, though the others act as though he's been on the show since the beginning.
- Swear Word Plot: In this episode, TJ invents the word "Whomps" so that he and Vince can say it instead of swearing. However, Miss Finster and Principal Prickly still treat "Whomps" like a swear word and punish TJ for saying it by giving him detention until 4:00 P.M.. In response to this, TJ gets his friends to start saying "Whomps" every chance they get, causing Prickly's office to become overcrowded. Desperate for a solution, Prickly calls Mr. White, head of the Board of Education, who puts TJ on trial with Superintendent Skinner. When TJ explains to Skinner why he invented "Whomps", Skinner sides with him, as do Miss Grotke and most of the jury. This leads to TJ winning the trial and "Whomps" officially being declared a word that's okay for children to use.
- Tempting Fate: Just as Mr. White claims he finds no problem with the word "Whomps", TJ tells the entire school body that "whomps" is allowed in school again... Only for the SWAT team Mr. White called to arrive like clockwork.
- Totally Radical: Miss Grotke's old slang professor. Unfortunately, his slang is so out-of-date that even Gretchen can't make head or tail of what he's saying.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Superintendent Skinner is quite shocked to learn that the word that caused such an intense reaction is "whomps". The situation is so ridiculous to him that he finds it hilarious and drops the case, though not before calling the others out for having such an extreme reaction to the silly word and having a good laugh about it.
