17 Stranger Things quotes die-hard fans should know by heart

12. “Mouth breather”

Episode: 4

Context: Picking up once more on Mike and Eleven’s cozy walk through the woods, we find the pair discussing the nature of the former’s injuries.

In explanation of how he got beat up, Mike tells her “I was tripped by this mouth breather, Troy, okay?” It’s clear that it pains him to have to be a friend telling the truth here.

Luckily for him, he controls how Eleven understands the situation. When she innocently asks, “Mouth breather?”, he clarifies, “Yeah, you know, a dumb person. A knucklehead.”

He’s clearly embarrassed to tell her and stumbles over an explanation as to why he didn’t tell her sooner. “I just didn’t want you to think I was such a wastoid, you know?”

Luckily for him, Eleven does know. Turns out there are “mouth breathers” in every walk of life.

Commentary: This is another one of those really cute recurring lines.

It’s true; Eleven has seen her own fair share of mouth breathers. Dr. Brenner immediately comes to mind, who is less “knucklehead” and far more her definition of a dumb person.

Once Eleven understands that not all people are on her level, she stops wasting energy on understanding them. I think specifically of the episode in which she steals from a grocery store and calls their bumbling employee a mouth breather. It’s fun to watch her act so take-charge and sure of herself. And it’s definitely more fun to see her act like a kid anyway.

“Mouth breather.” Definitely gonna have to start adding that to my personal vocabulary.