'Community' Star Joel McHale Defines 'Prickly' On 'Sesame Street'

He plays a snarky ex-lawyer on "Community" and satirizes pop culture weekly on "The Soup," but don't be fooled: Joel McHale likes teaching words to children.

Among an impressive lineup of celebrity guests on "Sesame Street's" 42nd season, McHale appeared on the children's show this week to define "prickly."

"The word prickly means covered in sharp points, and I'm going to show you some prickly things," McHale says, before being joined by a cactus, pineapple, and porcupine for visual demonstration.

He might make a great "Sesame Street" guest, but McHale is the first to admit that his "Community" character Jeff Winger is a work in progress; and can be a bit, well, prickly.

"[Winger] came into the series being wildly arrogant and selfish... [he's] like glacier in the winter," McHale told The Huffington Post. "He's like a glacier that's very hard to melt. Just like any human being, [Winger] doesn't make about faces that quickly"

If his "Sesame Street" performance is any indication, it looks like McHale himself has already begun the melting process.