Fan mail from some flounder (2025)

I'm watching a TV Show where a famous artist receives a letter and as she's opening the envelope her manager asks her "Fan mail from some flounder?".

I looked up the meaning of "flounder" but it's a verb, not a noun or adjective, does anyone know what it means in this context?

It is a reference to the old American television cartoon show "Rocky and Bullwinkle". It is explained fully (along with links to video) on this site: FAN MAIL FROM SOME FLOUNDER, PART 1.5 - Leslie Jo Chase

Ihavequestions said:

I'm watching a TV Show where a famous artist receives a letter and as she's opening the envelope her manager asks her "Fan mail from some flounder?".

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In ordinary language, a flounder is a flat saltwater fish that buries itself in the mud and the sand at the bottom of bays, etc. In this context, I assume that some flounder is an insult that means something like some ridiculous person.

What is the name of the TV show?

owlman5 said:

In ordinary language, a flounder is a flat saltwater fish that buries itself in the mud and the sand at the bottom of bays, etc. In this context, I assume that some flounder is an insult that means something like some ridiculous person.

What is the name of the TV show?

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It's The New Batman Adventures, episode Torch Song.

Toby Sherman said:

The line is a reference to the cartoon show "Rocky and Bullwinkle." I posted a response with a link to a full explanation, but it is awaiting moderator approval. If you want to find out more, you can Google the phrase "fan mail from some flounder", and you should find what you want to know.

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Thank you!
I looked up the expression and it seems to be used widely to refer to unexpected letter messages.

So I understand that it was used in a sort of tongue in cheek way in that show, but in the "Rocky and Bullwinkle" show, does flounder refer to the actual fish called "flounder"? As in, Rocky grabs a bottle floating around in the ocean which contains a message, to which Bullwinkle genuinely asks if the message comes from a flounder fish and whether it is fan mail? Therefore it's not used in a pejorative way, correct?

Ihavequestions said:

So I understand that it was used in a sort of tongue in cheek way in that show, but in the "Rocky and Bullwinkle" show, does flounder refer to the actual fish called "flounder"?

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Yes. But it's a joke. It's silly. It's ridiculous. Everyone knows that fish can't write.

Ihavequestions said:

Therefore it's not used in a pejorative way, correct?

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Correct.

Thank you!

By the way, I understand that the expression wasn't used pejoratively in the "Rocky and Bullwinkle" show, but would you say that in everyday usage it's also not used pejoratively or depends on the context? I ask because, like owlman5 pointed out, a flounder fish has certain characteristics that might make up for a low-key insult, for example, in the Batman show, the manager uses the expression in a kind of cheeky way, but the context and the dialogue don't provide any sub-context as to whether the manager is making fun of the sender, so I wonder if this is a catch-phrase that made it into the American vernacular and is now used without any sort of specific connotation.

I think that choosing "flounder" instead of "bluefish" or "salmon" or 100 other kinds of fish was purely a sound thing.

"Fanmail from a flounder". They all start with the letter (and sound) F. That makes it sound more memorable, to an English speaker.

Roxxxannne said:

I always have thought it was "fin mail from some flounder" in the Rocky and Bullwinkle show.

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If you listen to the clip at the link in post #2, I think it is pretty clear that Bullwinkle is saying "fan mail."

Toby Sherman said:

If you listen to the clip at the link in post #2, I think it is pretty clear that Bullwinkle is saying "fan mail."

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I agree, but I was surprised to read this thread since I thought from around 1960 to about ten minutes ago that it was 'fin,' which I thought was a terrific pun when I was little.