50 famous memes and what they mean

Merriam-Webster defines "meme" as "an idea, beliefs, mode, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture" or "an amusing or interesting particular (such as a captioned picture show or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online specially through social media." That definition hasn't been around forever—it hasn't fifty-fifty been around for five years. The dictionary editors officially added the entry along with "emoji" and "clickbait" to the formal lexicon in May 2015.

Memes have always come with an air of mystery, intriguing and disruptive fifty-fifty the most computer literate. Where did they come from? More importantly, what do they mean? Even modern science is hopping on the meme train. A team of scientific researchers from Academy College London, Republic of cyprus University of Technology, the Academy of Alabama at Birmingham, and Male monarch'south College London came together in September 2018 to research the internet's virtually popular memes. Apart from assembling a definitive list of the world'south favorite memes, the academic study also explored the influences (both positive and negative) that memes have on different communities. Some memes are created just for fun past creative or bored internet users, merely others are made with the explicit intention of going viral to promote political ideas.

With the infinite number of memes scattered across the cyberspace, it's hard to keep track. Simply when you lot've grasped the meaning of i hilarious meme, it has already become onetime news and replaced past something every bit every bit enigmatic. Online forums similar Tumblr, Twitter, 4chan, and Reddit are responsible for a majority of meme infections, and with the constant posting and sharing, finding the source of an original meme is easier said than done. Stacker hunted through cyberspace resource, pop culture publications, and databases similar Know Your Meme to discover 50 different memes and what they mean. While the almost self-replicating nature of these vague symbols can become exhausting, memes in their essence can as well bring people closer together—as long as they have internet access.

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Danganronpamemer // imgflp

Expanding encephalon

In 2017, when a number of posters on Tumblr and 4chan started bragging well-nigh their brain sizes, information technology quickly turned into a meme. Photos of different sized brains are paired with "smart" sounding words until they expand into a fully enlightened stage. Ane of the showtime manifestations of the "expanding encephalon" meme came from the who-whom-whomst progression of words that seemingly makes i audio smarter.

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Immature Thug at computer

Dorsum in 2018 a photo surfaced of the rappers Young Thug and Lil Durk staring at a computer screen while working on new music in the studio. The net quickly began finding humorous (and fabricated) explanations for what the ii were and so attentively concentrating on, everything from the rappers planning an elaborate heist to playing old school games like minesweeper.

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Commencement Earth problems

While the "First Globe" terminology has been around for a while, the hashtag #firstworldproblems reached its peak in popularity on Twitter in 2011 later Buzzfeed posted a series of memes nigh issues experienced past privileged people from wealthy countries. The meme about always depicts an attractive person looking sad, with a caption explaining his or her First Earth frustrations.

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Alter my listen

After Steven Crowder, a conservative podcaster, posted a photo of himself in 2018 sitting at a desk-bound with a sign saying "Male person privilege is a myth: Change my mind," it was about too easy for the internet to brainstorm making fun of him with memes of their own. Memes ranged from simply changing the words on the sign to elaborate photoshops.

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Drake

Drake has been the subject of several different memes throughout his long career. His 2015 unmarried "Hotline Bling" was ane of the biggest songs of the year, and when the music video came out featuring Drake dancing in a brightly lit cube construction the memes began to accumulate even more. Since then the internet has memed everything from his Twitter posts to schoolhouse portraits.

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Is this a...?

The "is this a pigeon" meme first rose to popularity in 2011 after Tumblr posted a photo from a Japanese blithe testify of an android mistaking a butterfly for a pigeon. Most of the memes derived from the photo utilise the subjects to express modern confusions or paranoia.

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Real name Google searches

"Real proper name Google searches" is a meme that gained popularity in 2018 using the generic google template to depict made-up names for pop celebrities (usually those who go by aliases). According to Know Your Meme, information technology offset appeared showing the rapper Lil Pump's name every bit "Lilliam Pumpernickel" and just got more ridiculous from at that place.

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Futurama Fry

"Futurama Fry" is one of the virtually relatable memes on the spider web. One popular meme, which began in 2011, shows the grapheme Fry from the animated bear witness "Futurama" with eyes narrowed thinking near contradicting questions usually referring to modern times or sarcasm. Another is a generic photo with the same character holding cash yelling "shut upwards and take my money," used for when someone finds the description of a product on the internet particularly highly-seasoned.

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Weird flex but OK

The phrase "weird flex simply OK" is used when someone brags about something that others would observe awkward or just plain irrelevant. The phrase began showing upwards on the internet in 2017 and has connected to be used in response to awkward boasts. One of the most popular uses of the meme was during the recent Brett Kavanaugh hearings after he used his loftier schoolhouse virginity every bit an statement.

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Evieliam // Wikimedia Commons

This is fine

Taken out of a 2013 webcomic strip chosen "On Burn down," this image showing a homo-similar dog enjoying his java while his business firm is burning down has seemingly become more than and more than relatable every year. The paradigm is rarely altered, simply fastened to troubling or difficult-to-grasp news.

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Unsplash / Bence Boros and Twitter / @joshwillhall

FBI agent

Jokes about "big brother watching" are old, but in early 2018 the internet was more paranoid than ever before thanks to the internet-fueled idea of FBI agents watching people through their webcams. The memes aren't always disquisitional, either; most of them depict the agents either protecting or existence friendly with their subjects.

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Kermit

The iconic light-green puppet has stolen the hearts of millions on the "Muppet Prove" since the 1950s, but the internet meme sensation didn't begin until 2014. Near notable memes include Kermit sipping on some tea with passive ambitious text followed by "simply that'south none of my business," as well as another with a hooded Kermit formatted to show good vs. evil thoughts.

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Cats

From "I need dis" to "Nyan Cat," at that place actually isn't one subject that emcompasses the internet'southward dearest of memes better than cats. Since the early 2000s when "Keyboard Cat" first made an appearance on YouTube, people have been posting funny images of felines paired with hilarious text.

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Squinting woman

Too known as the "squat and squint" meme, the photograph showing a squinting adult female staring at something in the distance really came from an outtake of a Instagram shot that went viral in March 2018. Since so, the picture has been applied to any circumstance that the affiche finds unbelievable.

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A Star is Born

When the first trailer for the highly anticipated picture show starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga came out in 2018, excited fans took screenshots and made them into memes. The most popular ones came from funny adaptations of Cooper's line "I only wanted to have another look at yous" and Gaga'due south belted solo from the song "Shallow."

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AndreDThompson // Twitter

Angry Patrick

Too known equally "evil Patrick" or "savage Patrick," this meme takes a still of the grapheme Patrick from "Spongebob Squarepants" with a menacing look in his eyes from a 1999 episode. Twitter got a hold of it around February 2018 and started using the image along with an caption of bad behavior or motives.

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PaulFaire/TheThings // TheThings.com

By historic period 35...

Post-obit a 2018 MarketWatch article that implied an unrealistic amount of savings one should take in their 30s, people on Twitter began responding to the article past sharing all the other things you should ideally have by age 35 (from the hilariously truthful to the ridiculous). Communication on avocado toast, Pokemon, and drawers total of miscellaneous chargers followed.

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Don't say information technology

The "don't say information technology" meme details the relatable conversations people accept between themselves and their brains, from bringing up bad-mannered conversations topics to resisting "that'due south what she said" jokes. The first tweet with the meme showed up in 2010, but later resurfaced in 2017 and showed an inner struggle between whether or not to start a conversation with a taxi driver.

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MILOSLAVvonRANDA // WW Interweb

Handshakes

The 1987 movie "Predator" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers independent within it what could exist the manliest handshake of all fourth dimension, and in 2007 information technology began gaining traction on YouTube. After multiple videos and fan fine art paying tribute to the handshake became popular in the following years, object labeling memes using the handshake as a background to agreements began to arise in 2018.

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Elon Musk

There take been several memes revolving around the tech entrepreneur Elon Musk throughout the years, especially following his Twitter request for "dank memes" in October 2018. 1 of the most popular Musk memes uses an prototype of the billionaire smoking during a podcast interview.

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Mocking Spongebob

"Mocking Spongebob" uses an paradigm from a 2012 episode of Spongebob Squarepants to make fun of another person's stance on the internet. The earliest uses of this meme came in 2017 on Twitter, apace gaining traction and becoming one of the most pop (and effective) ways to insult someone online.

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Roll Condom

In 2016 a British mockumentary starring histrion Kayode Ewumi chosen "Hood Documentary" was uploaded onto YouTube by BBC. Before long after, people on the internet began using a screen-grabbed image of Ewumi pointing to his temple like he had a skillful idea to reversely joke most bad decisions and poor thinking.

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Kyle MacLachlan // Twitter

Thank u, next

When Ariana Grande released her single "Thank U, Next" virtually her ex-boyfriends in early 2019, fans chop-chop began creating memes out of the lyrics. Aside from but using the title phrase to demonstrate being over something and moving on, the internet also used the lyrics to compare 3 things that taught them love, patience, and hurting to mimic the chorus.

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Let'due south get this breadstuff

People on the net employ the "Let'south get this bread" meme ironically (usually it is slang for earning money) to brand fun of people or themselves for trying too difficult to earn money. In 2018 the meme exploded into everything from mockeries of the gluten-intolerant to references to Olive Garden.

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Surprised pikachu

A screen-grabbed image of Pikachu looking surprised from an episode of "Pokemon" defenseless the attention of Twitter in belatedly 2018. For the next few months, the image blew upwardly when people started using it every bit a meme for doing something with an obvious consequence.

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Warren Bakery // The Blogging Baker

Cavalier Willy Wonka

The meme uses an image of Gene Wilder'southward 1971 Willy Wonka character to say something patronizing or mock someone. First used on Gizmodo and Tumblr as early as 2011, the paradigm has become a common condescending response online.

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Pink Diamond // Pinterest

Jason Momoa sneaking upward on Henry Cavill

Jason Momoa and Henry Cavill began a friendship while filming "Justice League" in 2016, and when a photo was taken of Momoa sneaking upwards on Cavill on the ruby carpet the same year, it quickly went viral. On the final day of 2017, a Facebook account posted a meme using the image, labeling Momoa as "2018." The meme gained popularity throughout the post-obit months as people labeled the two every bit different things creeping upwardly on each other.

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Exhausted Spongebob

In yet another Spongebob Squarepants meme, "wearied Spongebob" uses an image from a 1999 episode where the character is leaning against a rock, naked and out of breath. Twitter began using the screengrab equally an zipper to tweets around March 2018 about being tired.

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Classical art memes

There is a lot of unique classical art out there, so of course the internet has to find the well-nigh hilarious and wacky pieces to turn into memes. While fine art-related videos and other online art parodies can be traced dorsum to 2004, the more recognizable memes gained popularity starting in 2013.

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Globe's most interesting man

Most people will recognize the "world's most interesting man" (played by role player Jonathan Goldsmith) from the Dos Equis beer commercials that began in 2008. The meme usually uses the image of Goldsmith as a well-dressed gentleman with an adaptation of his catchphrase "I don't ever 10, only when I practise, I Y" and began to proceeds popularity as early as 2010.

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Guy blinking nervously

1 of the nearly popular memes of 2017, "guy blinking nervously" is usually used in GIF course to demonstrate bafflement and being caught unaware. The GIF initially came from a clip of a video producer when his co-worker said something inappropriate accidentally.

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Hard to swallow pills

The "difficult to swallow pills" meme uses ii stock photos from WikiHow that were first posted to the net in August 2017. Information technology didn't accept long for a Redditor to photoshop the image of the pill bottle to read "hard to swallow pills" and utilise information technology every bit a meme to illustrate a difficult truth.

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Who would win?

The internet has taken the childhood game of "who would win" to a whole new level with this meme. Used to pose hypothetical battles between ii opposing subjects, the "who would win" meme is said to have begun in 2014 when a 4chan user posted the meme using ii video games equally opponents.

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How I sleep knowing...

The classic rhetorical question "How do yous sleep at nighttime?" was the inspiration for this meme. The more modern rendition shows a picture of a person or brute sleeping soundly with unlike versions of the words: "How I sleep knowing..." This commonly refers to something that most people feel guilty about or worry nigh (and therefore lose sleep over).

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Kardashians

Ever since the testify "Keeping Upward with the Kardashians" kickoff aired in 2007, people fell in honey with watching the family's antics. They have all been the subject of a huge number of memes, with some of the most popular ones using screen shots from the bear witness (usually of a meltdown or overreaction).

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"Today" days one-time

"Today days old" is used as a response to any random realization. Information technology offset came from posts asking "How sometime were you when y'all realized X?" with someone responding: "I was today years one-time." This can be a fact both well-known or more obscure.

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Pepe

Pepe the frog is a fictional character that commencement appeared in a 2005 comic, and has gone through multiple transformations since then. Starting out as a positive meme known as "experience expert frog" in 2008, Pepe was edited into a more than sad or angry meme a few years later. By 2015, what was initially intended to symbolize a peaceful way of life past the artist became twisted past several hate groups causing the image to be added to the Anti-Defamation League'south database of hate symbols in 2016.

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Crying Michael Jordan

Taken from an image of the famous athlete'south emotional speech during his 2009 consecration into the Basketball game Hall of Fame, this meme is unremarkably used to convey a fan'southward disappointment when his particular squad loses or performs poorly. The meme has been around since kickoff appearing on MemeCrunch in 2012 and gained an official fan page on Tumblr in 2015. Jordan has reportedly found the unabridged fad pretty funny.

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*Slaps roof of car*

"Slaps roof of car" can be traced back to a 2014 tweet of a ridiculous automobile salesmen chat overheard and started bravado up in 2018 after being paired with an illustrated stock epitome of a car salesman showing off a car. The meme has seen many photoshopped variations, simply normally utilizes the phrase "This bad male child can fit so much X in it."

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Awkward little daughter

Besides known every bit "Side Eyeing Chloe," this meme tin be used in pretty much whatsoever awkward situation. The original photo came from a video of a petty girl giving an unimpressed and hesitant look afterward existence told nigh a surprise trip to Disneyland in 2013.

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Krusty Krab vs. Chum Saucepan

Just near every "Spongebob Squarepants" fan knows almost the intense rivalry between the Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket restaurants, just the onetime usually reigns supreme. The meme uses photoshopped images of both cartoon restaurants in order to project ii rivals, such as sports teams and Goggle box shows.

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Havokimin // Higher Humor

Elf on the shelf rhyming

The "Elf on the Shelf" tradition began when parents would put an elf doll in the mantle during the vacation season and tell their children that it was watching them exist naughty or nice. Toward the stop of 2017, it became pop to postal service images of funny things that rhyme sitting on top of other things that rhyme using the phrase "Yous've heard of elf on the shelf, now get gear up for X."

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One does non simply...

Fans of "Lord of the Rings" won't need an explanation for this meme. Actor Sean Bean played Boromir in the movies, and one of his famous lines, "One does not merely walk into Mordor," became the inspiration for a meme that plays on the phrase. Bean himself even admitted to seeing a big influx of the memes online during a 2015 interview.

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I am a man/adult female looking for....

Subsequently a 2017 tweet that posed a questionnaire using the classic dating template "I am a man/woman looking for a man/woman" about Carly Rae Jepsen, a meme was born. Since then, it has become popular to utilise the format to make funny declarations.

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Success kid

One of the most pop memes of all time, "success child" uses a 2007 photo taken of a picayune boy with a clenched fist and determined expression. It is almost ever used to brandish modest successful moments or "wins" that happen to someone throughout a normal twenty-four hours like getting an actress chicken nugget in a fast-food meal.

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OverlyAttachedGirlfriend.com

Overly fastened girlfriend

"Overly fastened girlfriend" began in 2012 when a Redditor took a screenshot of an paradigm he found comical from a video of a girl singing a rendition of Justin Bieber'southward song "Swain." It quickly began making its rounds on the net, using captions portraying her as a stereotypical overly fastened girlfriend.

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Donald Trump yelling at lawnmower male child

The net only couldn't help itself subsequently images surfaced of a little male child mowing the lawn at the White House completely ignoring Trump. The kid was evidently so focused on the chore that he didn't notice Trump when he came out to greet him, forcing Trump to yell loudly over the audio of the lawnmower and making for some great meme fuel.

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Left exit 12

The "Left exit 12" meme uses a series of screen grabs from a 2013 YouTube video showing a auto drifting dangerously into an get out ramp. People began photoshopping the exit sign (exit 12) to say comical things that one might swerve off the highway in order to become to.

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