· Slangdunk Editors
What does 탈룰라 (tallulla) mean? How “that's my mom's name” became a Korean meme
탈룰라 (tallulla) is Korean slang for the awkward moment when you unknowingly insult someone's parent or family, then scramble to take it back. It comes from the sled-naming scene in the 1993 film Cool Runnings, and caught on in Korean online forums more than 20 years later.
At a glance
- Meaning
- Accidentally insulting someone's parent or family, then hastily backpedaling. Used as 탈룰라했다 (“pulled a Tallulah”) or 탈룰라 각 (“Tallulah incoming”).
- Origin
- The scene in the 1993 film Cool Runnings where the Jamaican bobsled team names its sled. Teammates mock the name “Tallulah” — until the one who suggested it says it's his mother's name (Kukmin Ilbo, Money Today).
- Spread
- It caught on in Korean online forums more than 20 years after the film came out (Money Today). By 2018–2019, Korean media were running roundups of “Tallulah series” moments.
- The point
- The joke is in the recovery, not the mistake. The faster the U-turn, the better the 탈룰라.
Lunchtime. Assistant manager Park helps himself to a side dish from the intern's lunchbox and makes a face. “Isn't this braised beef a bit salty?” The intern: “My mom made it.” The people are made up; every fact in the conversation has a source.
What does 탈룰라 (tallulla) mean? The intern explains
- Park (34, assistant manager)…I mean, not salty — perfectly seasoned, the kind that makes you eat three bowls of rice. Your mom's a master.
- Intern (23)Sir, that was a textbook 탈룰라.
- Park (34, assistant manager)탈룰라? What's that? Sounds like a beach resort.
- Intern (23)It's when you trash something connected to someone's family without knowing, then rush to take it back once you find out. Like just now.
- Park (34, assistant manager)There's a word for that? Where's it from?
- Intern (23)The 1993 movie Cool Runnings. It's about the Jamaican bobsled team, and there's a scene where they name their sled.
- Park (34, assistant manager)I know Cool Runnings. Watched it on TV every holiday as a kid.
- Intern (23)As Kukmin Ilbo describes it, Junior suggests “Tallulah,” the others mock it as a weird name, then Junior says, “It's my mother's name.” Everyone panics and says it's a lovely name.
- Park (34, assistant manager)Ha, that's me. But the movie's over 30 years old. When did this catch on?
- Intern (23)Money Today says it started showing up on Korean message boards 20-some years after the release. Namuwiki puts it at around the second half of 2017. Nobody's confirmed who used it first.
- Park (34, assistant manager)So is this one? I told a friend some singer's songs were bad, and it turns out his dad used to be that singer's manager.
- Intern (23)A parent's involved, so classic 탈룰라. A 2019 Wikitree article rounded up cases like “My mom bought me these clothes, you know?” as a “Tallulah series.”
- Park (34, assistant manager)Got it. No more reviewing other people's side dishes. But seriously, this beef is great.
- Intern (23)That's a real compliment, not damage control? I'll tell my mom.
탈룰라
Accidentally insulting someone's parent or family, then scrambling to take it back once you realize — named after the sled-naming scene in Cool Runnings.
In Korean: 의도치 않게 상대의 부모나 가족을 욕되게 한 뒤, 사실을 알고 황급히 말을 바꿔 수습하는 상황. 영화 '쿨 러닝'의 썰매 이름 장면에서 왔다.
- 이 소스 맛이 좀 이상한데? / 우리 엄마 비법 소스야. / …이상하게 계속 당기네This sauce tastes kind of off? / It's my mom's secret recipe. / …weirdly, I can't stop eating it.A classic campsite 탈룰라 (same setup as Money Today's example)
- 그 옷 누가 골라 줬냐ㅋㅋ / 엄마가 사 줬는데? / 어머님 안목 미쳤다Who picked out that outfit lol / My mom bought it? / Your mom has incredible taste.A three-second U-turn in the group chat
- 어제 회식 2차 치킨집 맛없다고 했다가, 거기가 부장님 아버님 가게라서 탈룰라했잖아Last night I said the chicken place we went to after dinner was bad — turns out it's the boss's dad's restaurant. Total 탈룰라.As a verb, 탈룰라하다
- 그 식당 사장님 아드님이 우리 팀 신입이라고? 리뷰 쓰기 전에 알아서 다행이다. 탈룰라 각이었어The restaurant owner's son is our new hire? Glad I found out before posting that review. That was a 탈룰라 waiting to happen.A near miss — dodged a [갑분싸](/w/ko/%EA%B0%91%EB%B6%84%EC%8B%B8) (sudden awkward chill)
- 탈룰라? 그거 하와이 어디 해변 아니야?Tallulah? Isn't that a beach in Hawaii?The department head (picking a vacation spot)
Why did 탈룰라 catch on?
Because a moment everyone has lived through had no name. Slips of the tongue are common, but the air in the room when you realize yours landed on someone's family is hard to describe. 탈룰라 put a movie-scene label on that air. And it doesn't pile on the person who slipped: the laugh is about the recovery, not the mistake, so everyone can laugh and move on. From where our editor sits, it's a fairly educational meme — it makes you think twice before voicing a baseless 뇌피셜 (“brain-official”) opinion.
탈룰라 (tallulla): frequently asked questions
Q. What does 탈룰라 (tallulla) mean?
It's a Korean meme for unknowingly insulting someone's parent or family, then hurriedly backpedaling once you find out. It's used as 탈룰라했다 (“pulled a Tallulah”) or 탈룰라 각 (“Tallulah incoming”).
Q. What's the origin of 탈룰라?
The sled-naming scene in the 1993 film Cool Runnings. Junior suggests “Tallulah,” teammates mock it, and when he says it's his mother's name, they hastily call it a lovely name (Kukmin Ilbo, Feb 4, 2018). It became a Korean online catchphrase more than 20 years after the film's release.
Q. Where can I see the original 탈룰라 scene or memes?
We don't reproduce film stills or community images for copyright reasons. The meme's history and examples are on Namuwiki's 탈룰라 (internet meme) page), and Cool Runnings itself is available on licensed services.
Q. What's 탈룰라 in English?
There's no matching English meme. Spelled out, it's “putting your foot in your mouth” plus frantic “backpedaling.” In the original film, the sled name is spelled “Tallulah.”
Q. Is every slip of the tongue a 탈룰라?
No. A 탈룰라 needs three steps: ① you unknowingly trash something tied to the other person's parent or family, ② you find out, and ③ you rush to reverse yourself.
So 탈룰라 is a meme where the recovery got more famous than the mistake. Since that day, Park no longer reviews other people's side dishes. He leads with compliments — the surest way to avoid a 탈룰라. If you have a sharper definition, add it to the 탈룰라 entry in the dictionary.
Sources
See ‘탈룰라’ in the dictionary — more definitions, examples, and your own take.
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