“The Blep” Jimothy the Raccoon is seen here doing the blep. What is the blep? A blep is when an animal sticks just the tip of its tongue out with the mouth mostly closed—usually by accident. It’s the tiny, derpy version of a tongue-out moment (not a full pant or an active lick, which is a mlem). Cats made it famous, but dogs, raccoons, and other animals do it too. Where did it come from? Internet slang from the early 2010s pet-meme communities (Reddit, Tumblr, Imgur). A dedicated r/blep subreddit started around 2014, and the word was in dictionaries by 2015 as part of DoggoLingo. It’s imitative—people just thought “blep” sounded right for that little tongue poke. Why do animals do it? Most often they simply forget to put the tongue away after grooming or while relaxed. It can also be linked to scent investigation (Flehmen response) or missing teeth that no longer keep the tongue in. Either way, the result is peak adorable. #blep #Jimothy #raccoon