Epic fail...

[squirrlygirl]

Epic fail....Where did this phrase come from? I don't want to ask my son who uses it constantly...

TIA!

 

[pjlla]

I don't know.... my 14 y/o DD says it CONSTANTLY! I guess I thought she made it up..............P

 

[glitterkittyy]

I'm not sure where it got its start, but I know it's used a lot on pictures on the 'net of things that didn't go right (sinking ships, cars loaded down with too much weight, animals jumping and missing, etc). It got really popular on sites like the icanhascheezburger.

Example!

 

[AshleyW]

From Wiki:

"Fail" is the name of a popular Internet meme where users superimpose a caption, often the word "fail" or "epic fail," onto photos or short videos depicting unsuccessful events or people falling short of expectations. In July 2003, a contributor to Urban Dictionary wrote that the term, "fail," could be used as an interjection, "when one disapproves of something," citing the example: "You actually bought that? FAIL." This most likely originated as a shortened form of "You fail" or, more fully, "You fail it," the taunting "game over" message in the late 1990s Japanese video game Blazing Star, notorious for its fractured English. There is an entire Internet site dedicated to "fails" called Fail Blog.

For more fun.. http://failblog.org/

 

[RadioNate]

Internet meme. Leet speak.

I'd bet it originated in online gaming but things like failblog made in mainstream.

An Epic Fail would be a really big failure or mistake.

 

[EthansMom]

Interesting to find out some of the origin. I've seen it used on Ravelry (like Disboards for knitters, crocheters, and other fiber artists). There's a lot of possibilities for a FAIL with yarn.

 

[FireDancer]

The most common explanations I have heard come from the RPG Dungeons & Dragons and was in reference to rolling a 1 when a 20 was needed.

It has morphed into an Internet meme and the origin is not all that important any more because things that fail epically do not do so in reference to the origin of the phrase (it is not a metaphor in this sense). Also, anyone using this meme has learned if from somewhere other than the original source, just like with most memes.

I'm partial to the fail whale myself:

 

[alexandria674]

I thought it came from the video games, I play Halo against other people and usually will say this when playing.

 

[worm761]

You made me laugh out loud. I actually asked my son what it meant when he started saying it.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I think it became popular when in 2001 Super Smash Brothers Melee came out on the Gamecube.

When you do the melee competitions & you bomb it says "Failure".

It morphed after that.

 

[pjlla]

Well.. I'm guessing my DD got it from the Igotzcheezburger site (spelling??). She doesn't play video games, so she didn't get it there................P

 

[RadioNate]

Well.. I'm guessing my DD got it from the Igotzcheezburger site (spelling??). She doesn't play video games, so she didn't get it there................P

It is in the common lexicon now. It is everywhere. It is the popular slang on the day so the origins are kind of irrelevant.

 

[KristaTX]

I don't know if I've heard it before or not. But it does bug me that it's not Epic Failure.

 

[FireDancer]

I don't know if I've heard it before or not. But it does bug me that it's not Epic Failure.

Memes need not be grammatically correct. For example, "All you base are belong to us".

Saying epic failure would be an epic fail.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Memes need not be grammatically correct. Saying epic failure would be an epic fail.

In order for it to be epic fail you would need to be actually trying to impress a special person (like you are cool) or say it to a group of people.

So..."FAIL!"

 

[Shutterbug]

I see this all the time on the car forums I belong to...

 

[JessicaR]

I think this description from Urban Dictionary is perfect and so hysterical.

"The highest form of fail known to man. Reaching this level of fail means only one thing:

You must die, or the world will fail itself due to such an extreme level of failage."

I can just see the drama of it all!

My 16 year old has been saying it for a while too.

The one that makes me nuts is pwned. I'm always like what the heck is that!?! Can't you just says 'owned'! I'm so old.

 

[FireDancer]

The one that makes me nuts is pwned. I'm always like what the heck is that!?! Can't you just says 'owned'! I'm so old.

That started as a typo and is pretty big in gaming, hacking, and I.T. in general. It was supposed to be owned and someone fat fingered it. It happened early enough in the creation of L33t that it became a part of the vocabulary.

 

[squirrlygirl]

So, to prevent myself from looking completely stupid, I looked up meme on my own

I'm now betting if I asked my son he'd have no idea where it came from!

 

[lovetoscrap]

I am so glad you asked this. My 9 year old keeps using it and it is driving me crazy! I am sure she picked it up from my 13 year old.

Internet meme. Leet speak.

In English please?? What do those mean?

So, to prevent myself from looking completely stupid, I looked up meme on my own

I'm willing to look stupid !!!