Editor’s Note: This article is part of Know Your Meme’s annual Top Ten Review series looking back at some of the most memorable and popular memes, events and people that defined the Internet culture in 2013 as we know it.
| Definition | (Noun, /hīp trān/) A metaphorical locomotive embodying an exceptionally high level of publxic anticipation or onilne promotional efforts prior to the release of a consumer product, especially in the context of electronics and media. |
| Etymology | The term was used as early as November 26th, 2002 on the gaming review site IGN in a review of the Japanese version of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire which wasn’t released in North America until March 2003. |
| Usage | Fanboy #1: Hey, did you watch the new teaser for the Godzilla movie? Fanboy #2: All aboard the hype train! |
| Examples | All Aboard the Hype Train, Homestuck 413 Hype Train, NeoGAF Hype Train |
| Synonyms | Too Damn High, Mad Karma with Jim Cramer, Brace Yourselves |
| Definition | (Exclamation, /täp lel/) Approval of a highly entertaining post or comment. |
| Etymology | A neologism derived from two separate internet memes that became popular on 4chan, the Top Gun from the TV series Workaholics and “lel,” a corrupted blend of the slang terms LOL and Le, the latter of which is associated with members of Reddit and 9gag. |
| Usage | Commenter A: Says something witty Commenter B: Lel Commenter C: Says something funnier Commenter D: TOPLEL |
| Variants | Top Gun, Top Feel, Top Happening, Middle Lel, Top Kek |
| Synonyms | My Sides, LOLWUT, Wat, You Win The Internet, Slow Clap, I Creyed |
| Definition | (Noun) An affliction of those that record video using an upright mobile phone. |
| Etymology | Believed to have originated in the comments section of YouTube circa 2010, as video recording-and-uploading capacity became a mobile standard. |
| Usage | YouTuber: Uploads a vertically-oriented video to YouTube Commenter: Please stop shooting vertical videos. My left eye is not in the centre of my forehead, my right eye is not on the tip of my nose. |
| Related | Recorded with a Potato, R.I.P Headphone Users, My Left Ear Enjoyed This Very Much |
| Definition | 1. (Noun) Facial hair that does not exist on the face, but instead on the neck.
2. (Pejorative) A slovenly young man with little sense of hygiene or grooming who indulges in geek hobbies, such as card gaming, video gaming, anime and etc. |
| Etymology | The earliest known online use of the term “neckbeard” can be found in a Wackbag Forums post by member SOS on August 24th, 2003, in which he asks if the facial hairstyle is considered “ugly or sexy.” |
| Usage | Original Poster: In this moment, I’m euphoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my intelligence. Commenter: In this moment, the OP has a neckbeard. |
| Variants | |
| Related | Atheism, Men’s Rights Activism, Butthurt Dweller, Virgins, Fedora Fashion, Otaku |
| Definition | (Noun) The hatred of men by women. |
| Etymology | The earliest known use of the term can be found in a review for the anonymously written novel Blanche Seymour in an 1871 issue The Spectator magazine. More recently, the word became adopted by men’s rights activists (MRAs) on the Internet, which has led to some satirical usage in the feminist blogosphere as well. |
| Usage | Tumblr Wife: …Because you’re a man. Reddit Husband: That is misandry! |
| Related | Feminism, Privilege Denying Dude, Check Your Privilege, It Was My Privilege |
| Definition | (Pejorative Noun) One who is considered unsophisticated or uncultured. |
| Etymology | A shorthand for the English noun “plebeian,” an outdated term which originally referred to a commoner belonging to a lower socioeconomic class in ancient Rome. |
| Usage | Original Poster: Posts a raving review of a Top 40 single on 4chan’s /mu/ Commenter: Your taste in music is pleb and you should feel pleb. |
| Variants | Report Bug: Total Pleb, Plebian Orange Juice |
| Synonyms | Commoner, lowbrow, entry-level, philistine, filthy casual, noob |
| Definition | (Noun, /ˈsɛlfi/) A photograph that one has taken of oneself with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. |
| Etymology | The term was introduced in the the 2010 documentary film of the same name directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, which follows the story of Schulman’s brother who develops an online romance with a fake identity who calls herself Megan Pierce. |
| Usage | Original Poster: AwWwWwWwW, my bae caught me sleepin’ Commenter: Lol that’s a selfie, she’s alone and you can see her hand in the mirror. |
| Variants | Self portraits, Mirror pic, Selka (Korean, short for self-camera), Foto narsisis (Indonesian) |
| Related | Selfies at Funerals, The Angle, Self Pop Tart, Ulzzang, Pretty Girls Ugly FacesBae Caught Me Sleeping, Duck Face, Sparrow Face, Am I Ugly? |
| Definition | (Adjective, /ˈkrɪndʒwəːði/) Causing feelings of embarrassment or awkwardness for the viewer, especially when the speaker or actor is completely self-unaware of his or her ineptitude. |
| Etymology | An eponym of “cringe” and “worthy,” the term was introduced in the early 1970s through Cuthbert Cringeworthy, a recurring character in the British comic strip The Bash Street Kids. It became adopted by the Internet in February following the launch of the /r/cringe subreddit community. |
| Usage | Shittalker B: And then she posted the pic with the mirror reflection in the background! Shittalker B: OMG Shittalker A: I had to close the browser window, it was too hard to look at. |
| Synonyms | FAIL, Facepalm, Oh God Why, Girls Laughing, That Awkward Moment |