Kill It With Fire (1982)

added May 17, 2009 at 06:56AM UTC

Origin

Mankind has been killing things with fire since our early ancestors, so if something undesireable needs to be done away with, fire is a tried and true way. Now the term “kill it with fire” or often “KILL IT WITH FIRE” seems to have peaked once in 2007, before finally gaining a foothold online in 2008. according to google trends.

The earliest instance we could find was here in a comments section on an article about furries, but whether this is the first instance or just someone posting what they saw on another website is unknown.

“Kill it with fire” is believed to be a reference to the 1982 John Carpenter classic The Thing.

Usage

The term “kill it with fire” is used to respond to a post where something is so disgusting that the only emotion in your complete being is to burn that motherf*cker down. The term is also placed on pictures with flamethrowers and their ilk to show how much fire should be used in the situation at hand.

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17 Comments

james
May 17, 2009 at 07:02AM UTC , james wrote:

i puked in my mouth a little when i saw the hoff in a speedo

Captain Blubber
May 17, 2009 at 02:53PM UTC , Captain Blubber wrote:

A little bit? My keyboaard is ruined! That is NASTY!

Tylord14
May 18, 2009 at 03:16AM UTC , Tylord14 wrote:

the only thing left to do is…KILL IT WITH FIRE

Jamie Dubs
May 29, 2009 at 01:11AM UTC , Jamie Dubs wrote:

Anyone know backstory on the phrase? Origin image? The Confirm button cries for it

kikinak
Jun 02, 2009 at 08:08AM UTC , kikinak wrote:

this sounds so familiar, and yet i can’t quite put my finger on where it is from. for now lets just say 4chan. because if something is anywhere, it is on 4chan.

seriously, name just 1 thing that can’t be found on /b/
just one!

[ERR]
Jun 19, 2009 at 09:24PM UTC , [ERR] wrote:

Empathy?

Tylord14
Jun 20, 2009 at 12:59AM UTC , Tylord14 wrote:

normal people?

Lord Jebe
Jun 22, 2009 at 09:00PM UTC , Lord Jebe wrote:

Men that actually HAVE a girlfriend?

I Awesome
Jun 29, 2009 at 09:26AM UTC , I Awesome wrote:

I see empathy in /b/ all the time, ever read those “has this happened to you?” threads? There’s loads.

rhizod
Jul 02, 2009 at 03:33AM UTC , rhizod wrote:

The origin of this is AFAIK Zelda II.

When you talk to one of the villagers in Zelda II he says, completely out of any sane context: “If all else fails, use fire”. While this is meant as a hint for the player to remember to try the fire spell when meeting difficult enemies, in this out-of-context conversation it comes off as a hilarious advice for life in general.

Hence, the humor in the meme is in the implication that the depicted situation is one of those “all else have failed” and it is time to heed that important piece of advice.

Here are some confirmation links from a quick google:

http://www.zeldauniverse.net/forums/nes-snes-zelda/91565-if-all-else-fails-use-fire.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185037/quotes

pommydragon2525
Jul 09, 2009 at 05:25AM UTC , pommydragon2525 wrote:

this has potential

Rick Astley
Jul 09, 2009 at 11:30AM UTC , Rick Astley wrote:

apparently it Comes from LinK:Zelda 2 where a civilian says “when all else fails, use Fire”

TankTaur
Jul 11, 2009 at 03:03PM UTC , TankTaur wrote:

There is a Halloween episode of The Simpsons where Maggie turns out to be an alien. They take her to Dr. Hibbert for him to take a look at her, and Homer asks “Is there anything you can prescribe, doctor?” and Hibbert answers “Fire. And lots of it!”

It’s not the exact phrase, but has some similarity.

The episode is on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gg0QDm0IgY

Captain Blubber
Jul 11, 2009 at 03:20PM UTC , Captain Blubber wrote:

The two suggestions above could be origins but we have no direct link between either and “kill it with fire.”

Dental Plan
Jul 17, 2009 at 10:15PM UTC , Dental Plan wrote:

It is the only response to anything furry /7chan

Shadowfury
Aug 22, 2009 at 06:30PM UTC , Shadowfury wrote:

Hasn’t this been around a lot longer than the interwebs? I think remember hearing the phrase “Kill it with fire” in an old movie (don’t remember the name).

Superkrunch
Aug 24, 2009 at 05:18PM UTC , Superkrunch wrote:

Im guessing the Meme is a possible Nod to John Carpenter’s The Thing due to the fact that I remember a line quite similar to “Kill it with Fire” And the fact that “The Thing” Had to be burnt to be destroyed.

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