'The Humble Apostrophe' And 'The Nefarious Anglerfish': The Grandiloquent Caption Memes Explained

A caption meme trend that has users adding extravagant captions to images of animals and people has been spreading online this year. The photographs in which pets resembling a certain object are captioned in a grandiloquent and humorous manner with colorful descriptions such as "the humble analog clock," "the nefarious neutrino" and "the treacherous vizier."

The format has been especially popular on X / Twitter and Tumblr, but where does it come from, what was the first Grandiloquent meme posted, and where to find more? Learn about everything to do with this meme trend in our explainer below.

What Is ‘The Grandiloquent Caption' Meme Format?

As you've probably deduced from the name, "The Grandiloquent Caption" is a meme format in which photographs of pets and people are captioned in humorous and grandiloquent ways.

In the photographs, animals are in a pose that resembles a certain object or being, and the caption presents that thing in a bombastic fashion. See this example below to get a better grasp of what we're talking about:

Where Does ‘The Grandiloquent Caption’ Format Come From?

While the meme format only gained popularity in 2024, the first post that spawned the format was made back in June 2023. On June 19th, 2023, X user @Gend0Tor3tto posted a photograph of a white cat in which its tail is resting on the cat's head and dangling down akin to an anglerfish lure, captioning it, "the nefarious anglerfish."

Two months later, Tumblr user maamlet copied the viral post, slightly altering the caption, with their post also going viral (and even spawning a subformat of its own).

While the first post appeared in 2023, it didn't spawn a meme format until late March 2024 when X user @zuza_real made the first known post using the caption format together with a new image.

From there on, the format continued its spread on X and Tumblr, where new versions of the meme appeared every month. After July 2024, several examples of the meme went viral one after another, the creative format became particularly commonplace on these platforms.

What Words Are Used In 'The Grandiloquent Caption' Memes?

Some of the popular adjectives we've seen used in this meme format are:

• dastardly
• deceptive
• delectable
• dependable
• despicable
• devious
• humble
• nefarious
• perfidious
• reliable
• treacherous
• trustworthy

A good way to pick a good description for your meme is to use an online thesaurus: type in a common word that conveys the meaning well and the website will give you something a little more extravagant to use instead.

For the full history of The Grandiloquent Caption meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.