50 famous memes and what they mean

Merriam-Webster defines "meme" as "an idea, beliefs, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a civilisation" or "an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned moving picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media." That definition hasn't been around forever—information technology hasn't fifty-fifty been around for 5 years. The dictionary editors officially added the entry forth with "emoji" and "clickbait" to the formal dictionary in May 2015.

Memes accept always come with an air of mystery, intriguing and disruptive even the most reckoner literate. Where did they come from? More importantly, what practise they mean? Even modern scientific discipline is hopping on the meme train. A team of scientific researchers from Academy College London, Cyprus Academy of Technology, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and King's College London came together in September 2018 to research the internet's most pop memes. Apart from assembling a definitive list of the world's favorite memes, the academic study too explored the influences (both positive and negative) that memes take on dissimilar communities. Some memes are created only for fun by artistic 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 beyond the net, information technology's hard to keep rails. Just when you've grasped the pregnant of 1 hilarious meme, information technology has already become erstwhile news and replaced by something equally equally enigmatic. Online forums like 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 resources, popular culture publications, and databases similar Know Your Meme to find 50 different memes and what they mean. While the near cocky-replicating nature of these vague symbols tin get exhausting, memes in their essence can too bring people closer together—as long as they have cyberspace admission.

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Danganronpamemer // imgflp

Expanding brain

In 2017, when a number of posters on Tumblr and 4chan started bragging most their brain sizes, it quickly turned into a meme. Photos of different sized brains are paired with "smart" sounding words until they expand into a fully enlightened stage. One of the first manifestations of the "expanding brain" meme came from the who-whom-whomst progression of words that seemingly makes ane sound smarter.

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Young Thug at computer

Back in 2018 a photo surfaced of the rappers Immature Thug and Lil Durk staring at a computer screen while working on new music in the studio. The internet quickly began finding humorous (and fabricated) explanations for what the two were and then intently concentrating on, everything from the rappers planning an elaborate heist to playing old school games similar minesweeper.

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First World problems

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

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Modify my heed

After Steven Crowder, a conservative podcaster, posted a photograph of himself in 2018 sitting at a desk-bound with a sign saying "Male person privilege is a myth: Change my mind," it was virtually too easy for the cyberspace 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 bailiwick of several different memes throughout his long career. His 2015 unmarried "Hotline Bling" was one 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 accrue 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 animated bear witness of an android mistaking a butterfly for a dove. Almost of the memes derived from the photo apply the subjects to limited modernistic 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 depict made-upwards names for popular celebrities (commonly those who go by aliases). Co-ordinate to Know Your Meme, it showtime appeared showing the rapper Lil Pump's name as "Lilliam Pumpernickel" and only got more than ridiculous from there.

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Futurama Fry

"Futurama Fry" is one of the most relatable memes on the web. I pop meme, which began in 2011, shows the character Fry from the animated show "Futurama" with eyes narrowed thinking near contradicting questions unremarkably referring to modern times or sarcasm. Another is a generic photo with the same character holding cash yelling "shut up 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 merely OK

The phrase "weird flex but OK" is used when someone brags almost something that others would discover awkward or but plain irrelevant. The phrase began showing up on the net 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 contempo Brett Kavanaugh hearings later on he used his high school virginity as an argument.

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Evieliam // Wikimedia Commons

This is fine

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

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Unsplash / Bence Boros and Twitter / @joshwillhall

FBI agent

Jokes most "large blood brother watching" are one-time, only in early 2018 the internet was more than paranoid than ever before thanks to the internet-fueled idea of FBI agents watching people through their webcams. The memes aren't ever disquisitional, either; about 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 Bear witness" since the 1950s, but the cyberspace meme awareness didn't begin until 2014. Most notable memes include Kermit sipping on some tea with passive aggressive text followed by "only that's none of my business," every bit well as another with a hooded Kermit formatted to bear witness good vs. evil thoughts.

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Cats

From "I need dis" to "Nyan Cat," there really isn't i subject field that emcompasses the cyberspace'southward love of memes better than cats. Since the early 2000s when "Keyboard Cat" beginning 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 Built-in

When the showtime trailer for the highly predictable movie starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga came out in 2018, excited fans took screenshots and fabricated them into memes. The nigh popular ones came from funny adaptations of Cooper'south line "I just wanted to have another look at yous" and Gaga's belted solo from the vocal "Shallow."

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AndreDThompson // Twitter

Angry Patrick

Also known as "evil Patrick" or "savage Patrick," this meme takes a however of the character Patrick from "Spongebob Squarepants" with a menacing await in his optics from a 1999 episode. Twitter got a hold of it around February 2018 and started using the image forth with an explanation of bad behavior or motives.

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PaulFaire/TheThings // TheThings.com

By age 35...

Following a 2018 MarketWatch article that implied an unrealistic amount of savings i should take in their 30s, people on Twitter began responding to the article past sharing all the other things you should ideally take by age 35 (from the hilariously true to the ridiculous). Advice on avocado toast, Pokemon, and drawers full of miscellaneous chargers followed.

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Don't say information technology

The "don't say it" meme details the relatable conversations people have between themselves and their brains, from bringing upward awkward conversations topics to resisting "that's what she said" jokes. The first tweet with the meme showed upward in 2010, but afterwards resurfaced in 2017 and showed an inner struggle betwixt whether or not to start a conversation with a taxi driver.

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MILOSLAVvonRANDA // WW Interweb

Handshakes

The 1987 film "Predator" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers independent within it what could be the manliest handshake of all time, and in 2007 it began gaining traction on YouTube. Afterward multiple videos and fan art paying tribute to the handshake became popular in the post-obit years, object labeling memes using the handshake as a background to agreements began to ascend in 2018.

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Elon Musk

At that place have been several memes revolving effectually the tech entrepreneur Elon Musk throughout the years, especially following his Twitter request for "chilly memes" in Oct 2018. 1 of the most popular Musk memes uses an image 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 some other person's stance on the net. The earliest uses of this meme came in 2017 on Twitter, quickly gaining traction and condign one of the nigh pop (and effective) ways to insult someone online.

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Scroll Safe

In 2016 a British mockumentary starring actor Kayode Ewumi called "Hood Documentary" was uploaded onto YouTube past BBC. Before long subsequently, 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 virtually bad decisions and poor thinking.

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Kyle MacLachlan // Twitter

Give thanks u, next

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

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Let'south become this staff of life

People on the internet employ the "Allow'southward get this bread" meme ironically (usually information technology is slang for earning coin) 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 late 2018. For the adjacent few months, the image blew upward when people started using it as a meme for doing something with an obvious outcome.

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Warren Baker // The Blogging Baker

Cavalier Willy Wonka

The meme uses an prototype of Gene Wilder's 1971 Willy Wonka character to say something patronizing or mock someone. First used on Gizmodo and Tumblr as early every bit 2011, the image has go a common cavalier 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 cherry-red carpet the same year, it speedily went viral. On the last 24-hour interval of 2017, a Facebook account posted a meme using the image, labeling Momoa as "2018." The meme gained popularity throughout the following months as people labeled the ii as different things creeping up on each other.

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Exhausted Spongebob

In yet some other Spongebob Squarepants meme, "exhausted 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 attachment 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 cyberspace has to find the most hilarious and wacky pieces to plow into memes. While art-related videos and other online art parodies tin be traced back to 2004, the more recognizable memes gained popularity starting in 2013.

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Earth'southward most interesting human

Most people volition recognize the "world's near interesting human being" (played by role player Jonathan Goldsmith) from the Dos Equis beer commercials that began in 2008. The meme unremarkably uses the prototype of Goldsmith every bit a well-dressed gentleman with an accommodation of his catchphrase "I don't always X, but when I practice, I Y" and began to gain popularity every bit early as 2010.

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Guy blinking nervously

Ane of the most popular memes of 2017, "guy blinking nervously" is commonly used in GIF form to demonstrate bafflement and beingness 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 consume pills

The "hard to eat pills" meme uses 2 stock photos from WikiHow that were start posted to the internet in Baronial 2017. Information technology didn't take long for a Redditor to photoshop the image of the pill bottle to read "hard to consume pills" and use it every bit a meme to illustrate a difficult truth.

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Who would win?

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

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How I sleep knowing...

The classic rhetorical question "How do y'all slumber at dark?" was the inspiration for this meme. The more modern rendition shows a picture of a person or animal sleeping soundly with different versions of the words: "How I sleep knowing..." This usually refers to something that most people feel guilty about or worry almost (and therefore lose slumber over).

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Kardashians

Always since the show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" first aired in 2007, people fell in dear with watching the family unit'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 (usually of a meltdown or overreaction).

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"Today" days one-time

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

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Pepe

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

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Crying Michael Hashemite kingdom of jordan

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

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*Slaps roof of automobile*

"Slaps roof of car" tin be traced back to a 2014 tweet of a ridiculous car salesmen conversation overheard and started blowing up in 2018 after being paired with an illustrated stock image of a machine salesman showing off a motorcar. The meme has seen many photoshopped variations, merely usually utilizes the phrase "This bad boy can fit so much X in it."

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Awkward niggling girl

Besides known equally "Side Eyeing Chloe," this meme can be used in pretty much any bad-mannered situation. The original photo came from a video of a little girl giving an unimpressed and hesitant look after being told well-nigh a surprise trip to Disneyland in 2013.

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Krusty Krab vs. Chum Bucket

Just about every "Spongebob Squarepants" fan knows almost the intense rivalry between the Krusty Krab and the Chum Saucepan restaurants, but the one-time commonly reigns supreme. The meme uses photoshopped images of both cartoon restaurants in order to project two rivals, such equally sports teams and Tv shows.

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Havokimin // College Sense of humour

Elf on the shelf rhyming

The "Elf on the Shelf" tradition began when parents would put an elf doll in the curtain during the holiday season and tell their children that it was watching them exist naughty or dainty. 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 lot've heard of elf on the shelf, at present become set for X."

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One does not 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 non only 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/woman looking for....

Afterwards a 2017 tweet that posed a questionnaire using the archetype dating template "I am a man/woman looking for a homo/woman" most Carly Rae Jepsen, a meme was born. Since then, it has get popular to use the format to make funny declarations.

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Success child

1 of the almost popular memes of all time, "success child" uses a 2007 photo taken of a little male child with a clenched fist and determined expression. It is virtually ever used to display small successful moments or "wins" that happen to someone throughout a normal day like getting an extra chicken nugget in a fast-food repast.

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OverlyAttachedGirlfriend.com

Overly fastened girlfriend

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

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Donald Trump yelling at lawnmower boy

The cyberspace just couldn't help itself after images surfaced of a piffling boy mowing the lawn at the White House completely ignoring Trump. The kid was evidently then focused on the task that he didn't discover 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 go out 12" meme uses a series of screen grabs from a 2013 YouTube video showing a car drifting dangerously into an exit ramp. People began photoshopping the get out sign (exit 12) to say comical things that one might swerve off the highway in order to go to.

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