50 famous memes and what they mean

Merriam-Webster defines "meme" as "an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture" or "an agreeable or interesting item (such as a captioned film 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 even 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 e'er come up with an air of mystery, intriguing and confusing 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 squad of scientific researchers from University College London, Cyprus Academy of Applied science, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and King's College London came together in September 2018 to inquiry the internet's most popular memes. Autonomously from assembling a definitive list of the globe's favorite memes, the bookish written report also explored the influences (both positive and negative) that memes take on unlike communities. Some memes are created just for fun by creative or bored internet users, but others are fabricated with the explicit intention of going viral to promote political ideas.

With the space number of memes scattered across the internet, it's hard to go on track. Only when you've grasped the meaning of one hilarious meme, information technology has already become old news and replaced by something equally as enigmatic. Online forums like Tumblr, Twitter, 4chan, and Reddit are responsible for a majority of meme infections, and with the abiding posting and sharing, finding the source of an original meme is easier said than done. Stacker hunted through internet resources, pop culture publications, and databases like Know Your Meme to find 50 dissimilar memes and what they hateful. While the almost self-replicating nature of these vague symbols can go exhausting, memes in their essence can also bring people closer together—as long as they have internet access.

You might likewise like: What "woke" and fifty other millennial sayings hateful

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Danganronpamemer // imgflp

Expanding encephalon

In 2017, when a number of posters on Tumblr and 4chan started bragging about 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 aware phase. One of the start manifestations of the "expanding brain" meme came from the who-whom-whomst progression of words that seemingly makes one sound smarter.

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Immature Thug at computer

Back 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 internet quickly began finding humorous (and made) explanations for what the ii were and so intently concentrating on, everything from the rappers planning an elaborate heist to playing old schoolhouse games like minesweeper.

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First Globe problems

While the "First Globe" terminology has been effectually for a while, the hashtag #firstworldproblems reached its peak in popularity on Twitter in 2011 later Buzzfeed posted a serial of memes about problems experienced by privileged people from wealthy countries. The meme almost e'er depicts an attractive person looking sad, with a caption explaining his or her Get-go World frustrations.

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Change my mind

After Steven Crowder, a conservative podcaster, posted a photograph of himself in 2018 sitting at a desk with a sign maxim "Male privilege is a myth: Change my listen," information technology was almost besides like shooting fish in a barrel for the internet to begin making fun of him with memes of their ain. Memes ranged from but irresolute the words on the sign to elaborate photoshops.

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Drake

Drake has been the subject of several unlike memes throughout his long career. His 2015 single "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 structure the memes began to accumulate fifty-fifty more. Since then the internet has memed everything from his Twitter posts to school portraits.

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Is this a...?

The "is this a pigeon" meme outset rose to popularity in 2011 after Tumblr posted a photo from a Japanese animated evidence of an android mistaking a butterfly for a pigeon. Nigh of the memes derived from the photograph employ the subjects to express modern confusions or paranoia.

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Real name Google searches

"Real name Google searches" is a meme that gained popularity in 2018 using the generic google template to draw made-upward names for popular celebrities (ordinarily those who go by aliases). According to Know Your Meme, information technology first appeared showing the rapper Lil Pump's name every bit "Lilliam Pumpernickel" and only got more ridiculous from there.

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Futurama Fry

"Futurama Fry" is one of the nearly relatable memes on the web. One popular meme, which began in 2011, shows the graphic symbol Fry from the animated prove "Futurama" with eyes narrowed thinking about contradicting questions usually referring to modernistic times or sarcasm. Another is a generic photograph with the aforementioned character holding cash yelling "shut up and accept my coin," used for when someone finds the description of a production on the cyberspace especially appealing.

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Weird flex but OK

The phrase "weird flex just OK" is used when someone brags most something that others would find awkward or just plain irrelevant. The phrase began showing up on the net in 2017 and has continued 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 high school virginity every bit an statement.

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Evieliam // Wikimedia Eatables

This is fine

Taken out of a 2013 webcomic strip called "On Burn down," this epitome showing a human-like dog enjoying his coffee while his house is burning downwards has seemingly become more and more relatable every yr. The prototype is rarely altered, simply attached to troubling or hard-to-grasp news.

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Unsplash / Bence Boros and Twitter / @joshwillhall

FBI agent

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

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Kermit

The iconic green boob has stolen the hearts of millions on the "Muppet Testify" since the 1950s, but the internet meme sensation didn't begin until 2014. Most notable memes include Kermit sipping on some tea with passive aggressive text followed by "but that'southward none of my business," as well as another with a hooded Kermit formatted to show adept 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 net'south beloved of memes better than cats. Since the early 2000s when "Keyboard True cat" starting time made an appearance on YouTube, people have been posting funny images of felines paired with hilarious text.

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Squinting woman

Also known every bit the "squat and squint" meme, the photo showing a squinting woman staring at something in the distance actually came from an outtake of a Instagram shot that went viral in March 2018. Since then, the picture has been applied to any circumstance that the poster finds unbelievable.

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A Star is Born

When the kickoff trailer for the highly predictable movie 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'southward line "I just wanted to accept another expect at you" and Gaga'south belted solo from the song "Shallow."

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AndreDThompson // Twitter

Angry Patrick

Also known every bit "evil Patrick" or "savage Patrick," this meme takes a still of the character Patrick from "Spongebob Squarepants" with a menacing wait in his eyes from a 1999 episode. Twitter got a concur of it effectually February 2018 and started using the paradigm along with an explanation of bad beliefs or motives.

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PaulFaire/TheThings // TheThings.com

By age 35...

Following a 2018 MarketWatch article that implied an unrealistic corporeality of savings one should have in their 30s, people on Twitter began responding to the commodity by sharing all the other things you lot should ideally have by historic period 35 (from the hilariously true to the ridiculous). Communication on avocado toast, Pokemon, and drawers total of miscellaneous chargers followed.

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Don't say it

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

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MILOSLAVvonRANDA // WW Interweb

Handshakes

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

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Elon Musk

There have been several memes revolving around the tech entrepreneur Elon Musk throughout the years, specially following his Twitter asking for "dank memes" in October 2018. Ane of the virtually pop Musk memes uses an paradigm of the billionaire smoking during a podcast interview.

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Mocking Spongebob

"Mocking Spongebob" uses an image from a 2012 episode of Spongebob Squarepants to make fun of another person's opinion on the internet. The earliest uses of this meme came in 2017 on Twitter, quickly gaining traction and condign one of the most popular (and effective) means to insult someone online.

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Roll Prophylactic

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

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Kyle MacLachlan // Twitter

Thank u, next

When Ariana Grande released her unmarried "Thank U, Next" nigh her ex-boyfriends in early 2019, fans quickly began creating memes out of the lyrics. Aside from just using the title phrase to demonstrate being over something and moving on, the net besides used the lyrics to compare 3 things that taught them love, patience, and pain to mimic the chorus.

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Let's get this breadstuff

People on the internet employ the "Let's go this staff of life" meme ironically (usually it is slang for earning money) to make 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 paradigm of Pikachu looking surprised from an episode of "Pokemon" caught the attention of Twitter in late 2018. For the next few months, the image blew upwards when people started using it as a meme for doing something with an obvious upshot.

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Warren Baker // The Blogging Baker

Cavalier Willy Wonka

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

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Pink Diamond // Pinterest

Jason Momoa sneaking up 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 up on Cavill on the red carpet the same year, it quickly went viral. On the terminal day of 2017, a Facebook business relationship posted a meme using the epitome, labeling Momoa as "2018." The meme gained popularity throughout the post-obit months as people labeled the two as different things creeping upwards on each other.

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Exhausted Spongebob

In still 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 as an zipper to tweets around March 2018 near being tired.

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Classical art memes

There is a lot of unique classical art out in that location, so of class the cyberspace has to discover the about hilarious and wacky pieces to turn into memes. While art-related videos and other online art parodies tin can be traced back to 2004, the more than recognizable memes gained popularity starting in 2013.

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Globe's most interesting man

About people volition recognize the "world's most interesting man" (played by actor Jonathan Goldsmith) from the Dos Equis beer commercials that began in 2008. The meme usually uses the image of Goldsmith every bit a well-dressed admirer with an adaptation of his catchphrase "I don't always 10, merely when I do, I Y" and began to gain popularity as early as 2010.

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Guy blinking nervously

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

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Difficult to swallow pills

The "hard to consume pills" meme uses two stock photos from WikiHow that were start posted to the cyberspace in August 2017. Information technology didn't accept long for a Redditor to photoshop the paradigm of the pill bottle to read "difficult to swallow pills" and employ information technology equally a meme to illustrate a difficult truth.

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Who would win?

The internet has taken the babyhood game of "who would win" to a whole new level with this meme. Used to pose hypothetical battles between two 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 every bit opponents.

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How I sleep knowing...

The archetype rhetorical question "How exercise you lot sleep at nighttime?" was the inspiration for this meme. The more modern rendition shows a motion picture of a person or creature sleeping soundly with different versions of the words: "How I slumber knowing..." This usually refers to something that almost people feel guilty nigh or worry about (and therefore lose sleep over).

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Kardashians

E'er since the show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" outset aired in 2007, people fell in love 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 show (unremarkably of a meltdown or overreaction).

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"Today" days former

"Today days old" is used as a response to whatever random realization. It start came from posts request "How old were you when you realized X?" with someone responding: "I was today years onetime." This can be a fact both well-known or more obscure.

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Pepe

Pepe the frog is a fictional character that first appeared in a 2005 comic, and has gone through multiple transformations since then. Starting out every bit a positive meme known as "feel good frog" in 2008, Pepe was edited into a more 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 exist added to the Anti-Defamation League's database of detest symbols in 2016.

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Crying Michael Jordan

Taken from an image of the famous athlete'southward emotional speech during his 2009 induction into the Basketball game Hall of Fame, this meme is ordinarily used to convey a fan's disappointment when his item team loses or performs poorly. The meme has been effectually since first actualization 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 car salesmen conversation overheard and started blowing up in 2018 after existence paired with an illustrated stock paradigm of a car salesman showing off a car. The meme has seen many photoshopped variations, but usually utilizes the phrase "This bad boy can fit so much 10 in it."

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Awkward picayune girl

Also known equally "Side Eyeing Chloe," this meme can be used in pretty much any awkward situation. The original photo came from a video of a little girl giving an unimpressed and hesitant await afterwards being told near a surprise trip to Disneyland in 2013.

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Krusty Krab vs. Chum Bucket

Merely near every "Spongebob Squarepants" fan knows most the intense rivalry between the Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket restaurants, but the former usually reigns supreme. The meme uses photoshopped images of both cartoon restaurants in social club to project two rivals, such as sports teams and TV 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 pall during the vacation season and tell their children that it was watching them be naughty or nice. Toward the end of 2017, it became popular to post images of funny things that rhyme sitting on top of other things that rhyme using the phrase "You've heard of elf on the shelf, now become ready for 10."

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I does not only...

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

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I am a man/woman looking for....

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

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Success child

One of the most pop memes of all time, "success kid" uses a 2007 photograph taken of a little boy with a clenched fist and adamant expression. It is almost ever used to display minor successful moments or "wins" that happen to someone throughout a normal day similar getting an extra chicken nugget in a fast-food meal.

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OverlyAttachedGirlfriend.com

Overly attached girlfriend

"Overly attached girlfriend" began in 2012 when a Redditor took a screenshot of an image he plant comical from a video of a girl singing a rendition of Justin Bieber's song "Boyfriend." It quickly began making its rounds on the internet, using captions portraying her equally a stereotypical overly fastened girlfriend.

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Donald Trump yelling at lawnmower boy

The internet just couldn't help itself after images surfaced of a little boy mowing the lawn at the White House completely ignoring Trump. The kid was apparently so focused on the job that he didn't notice Trump when he came out to greet him, forcing Trump to yell loudly over the sound of the lawnmower and making for some great meme fuel.

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Left exit 12

The "Left exit 12" meme uses a serial of screen grabs from a 2013 YouTube video showing a automobile drifting dangerously into an leave ramp. People began photoshopping the go out sign (leave 12) to say comical things that ane might swerve off the highway in guild to become to.

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