About

"Choo Choo Motherfucker" is a catchphrase used to characterize a popular opinion or sentiment as a force of momentum that cannot be slowed down or opposed. Often paired with other railway metaphors such as the Hype Train and the Rape Train, the phrase may be used in a positive light to tolerate someone else's reckless behavior or conversely, to dimiss the opposition as being futile.

Origin

The phrase "Choo Choo Motherfucker" was used on 4chan since as early as March 25th, 2009 when it was used in a thread on /a/^[1] (Anime and Manga). While discussing a leaked image of Link in a conductor suit from the game The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks^[2], a user criticized the choice of including a train aspect to the game.

Spread

In April 2010, "Choo Choo Motherfucker" appeared on 4chan's /tg/ (Traditional Gaming) board^[3], paired with a photoshopped image of a train with the Angry /v/^[4] rage face, making a joke about another poster boarding the Rage Train. That September, the phrase appeared outside of 4chan for the first time on the Penny Arcade forums^[5] in response to someone speaking negatively of the League of Legends playable character, Malzahar.

In May 2011, the subreddit /r/ChooChoo^[6] was created to share humorous pictures and videos of trains. In February 2012, a photo of a train on fire (shown below) with "Choo Choo Motherfucker" as a caption was posted to Tumblr^[7] for the first time. Three months later, it was reposted to We Know Memes^[10], where it was shared on Facebook more than 3,600 times. This photo of a train on fire was later used as a template on Quickmeme^[8] and Meme Generator^[9] under the name "Choo Choo." In October 2012, two separate Facebook fan pages titled Choo Choo Motherfucker^[15][16] launched, gaining more than 200 likes between them as of May 2013. In 2013, the phrase has also become popular on Reddit^[17], where it is often associated with users quickly gaining karma for a post.

Use in Buzzkilling

By August 2012, the phrase began to be used in hipster edit image macros in response to images depicting people walking on or sitting by train tracks. Between August and December 2012, these image macros were shared on We Know Memes^[11], Meme Center^[12], FunnyJunk^[13] and 9gag.^[14]

Notable Examples

Search Interest

External References