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June 24, 2017
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“‘Be strong,’ I whispered to my wifi signal”

"Be strong!" is something that might be said to a loved one, especially after a death in the family. "'Be strong,' I whispered to my wifi signal" is a jocular saying…

December 13, 2022
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“‘I’m leaving Twitter’ is the new ‘I’m moving to Canada’”

During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, many liberals stated that they would move to Canada is Donald Trump (a Republican) were to be elected president. he was elected, but not many of these…

September 29, 2012
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“‘Media’ is the plural of ‘mediocre’”

New York City newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin (1930-2017) has often remarked that "'media' is the plural of 'mediocre'" (first cited by Breslin in print in 1978 or…

March 11, 2018
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“‘News’ is an acronym—Notable Events, Weather, and Sports”

The word "news" comes from "new." It is not an acronym for "North-East-West-South," or anything else, but a backronym (back acronym) went viral in May and June 2017.…

June 14, 2023
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“‘Now, here’s something you don’t see every day….’ A phrase rendered obsolete by WhatsApp”

WhatsApp is a freeware, cross-platform, centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service. There are many messages, of all kinds, on WhatsApp. A joke was posted on Sickipedia on…

October 23, 2012
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“‘Quotes on the Internet are becoming less and less reliable.’—Abraham Lincoln”

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) said many famous quotes, but has many more quotations falsely attributed to him. The Internet (invented over 100 years after Lincoln's death) is full of the real…

April 4, 2024
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“‘ur password is weak’ well so is my memory so plz let me keep it”

"'Your password is weak' well so is my memory so plz let me keep it" is a computer joke that has been printed on many images. There are several slight variations.…

February 22, 2024
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/InternetWork/Businesses

“‘Your network connection is unstable’— yeah well so am I and I still work”

A communication network is sometimes "unstable" and stops working. "'Your network connection is unstable' … ye well so am I and I still work" was posted on Facebook…

April 6, 2024
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“‘Your password is weak’ well so is my memory so plz let me keep it”

"'Your password is weak' well so is my memory so plz let me keep it" is a computer joke that has been printed on many images. There are several slight variations.…

July 6, 2018
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“15 years ago the internet was an escape from the real world”

The internet is often compared to the "real world." Noah Smith posted an observation on Twitter on August 28, 2017 that immediately went viral: "15 years ago, the internet was an…

October 7, 2022
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“2-step verification implies the existence of cha cha verification”

Sometimes authentication/verification involves several steps, such as "two-factor authentication" or "2-step verification." This has nothing to do with the "two-step"…

May 19, 2026
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“30” or “Thirty” (no more; the end)

Wikipedia: -30- -30- has been traditionally used by journalists in North America to indicate the end of a story or article that is submitted for editing and typesetting. It is commonly employed…

May 4, 2025
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“48% of being an adult is unsubscribing from emails”

"48% of being an adult is unsubscribing from emails" was posted on X/Twitter by Mrs. Dick Helicopter 💩📺on July 9, 2017, and again on Bluesky on May 4, 2025. "Being an adult is…

August 16, 2017
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“85% of the Internet considers themselves an introvert and they are all outspoken about it”

Many people who use the internet are introverts -- and they tell everyone about it. A saying was posted on Reddit -- Shower Thoughts on August 15, 2017: "85% of the Internet considers…

June 23, 2023
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“90% of the regrets in my life involve alcohol and the ‘send’ button”

"90% of the regrets in my life involve alcohol and the 'send' button" is a jocular drinking saying that has been printed on many images. The saying refers to drunk…

May 28, 2015
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“99 little bugs in the code” (programming joke)

The song "99 Bottles of Beer" goes: 99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer.Take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall... A computer version that has been…

June 29, 2016
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“A backward poet writes inverse”

"A backward(s) poet writes inverse" is a pun that has been printed on many T-shirts and GIFs. Authorship of the joke is unknown, but the one-liner has been cited in print since at least…

June 18, 2018
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it is to be God”

Entry in progress -- B.P."A blank piece of paper is God's way of telling us how hard it is to be God" is a saying that has been printed on many images. 27 November 1986, Los Angeles…

July 16, 2018
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“A bunch of my friends are coming over this evening to play on their phones”

"A bunch of my friends are coming over this evening to play on their phones" is a jocular saying that has been printed on several images. The saying was posted on Twitter on July 20,…

October 16, 2017
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“A BuzzFeed writer walks into a bar…” (bar joke)

"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A BuzzFeed version is: "A BuzzFeed writer walks into a bar. You won't believe…

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BARRY POPIK is a contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionary of American Regional English, Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Yale Book of Quotations and Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. Since 1990 he has also been a regular contributor to Gerald Cohen's Comments on Etymology.

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