What Does DYKTMM Mean? The Acronym About The Muffin Man From 'Shrek' Explained

The Shrek movies have given rise to countless memes over the years, whether it's Donkey Staring, Shrek's Cringe Compilation or even Lord Farquaad, the first movie's short-king villain.

But in 2024, a meme inspired by a minor but beloved character in the Shrek movies had everyone asking each other, DYKTMM? Here's how the Gingerbread Man from the Shrek Films popularised the nursery rhyme "Do You Know The Muffin Man" in meme form.

Where Did The Acronym DYKTMM Come From?

The first Shrek film was released on May 18th, 2001, following the story of a swamp Ogre named Shrek as he is forced into saving his swamp and a bunch of magical creatures from the evil Lord Farquaad. In one scene in the book, Lord Farquaad takes to torturing the Gingerbread Man to try and get the whereabouts of the other fairytale creatures.

On May 18th, 2001, the Dreamworks Shrek movie was released on theaters, which included a scene of Lord Farquaad torturing Gingerbread Man to get the whereabouts of the other fairytale creatures, who asks "Do you know the Muffin Man?" (DYKTMM). The scene was posted on November 19th, 2018, on YouTube^[1] by the @MOVIECLIPS channel, amassing more than 21 million views and 150,000 likes in six years.

But the scene was not immortalized in meme form until Twitter user @peytonstearns06 tweeted a photo from the scene alongside text that read, "It’s always 'wyd' never 'dyktmm'." The tweet gathered over 360,000 likes in three years.

How Did The DYKTMM Meme Spread?

The phrase DYKTMM gained traction online through playful memes referencing the iconic Gingerbread Man scene in Shrek. A post on Reddit in early 2023 by user C-Buckets123 showed someone nagging their friend with the acronym over iMessage.

In April 2024, X user @lobotomizdsloth shared an artwork of Shrek depicted like a saint, humorously captioned with a message contrasting DYKTMM with “WYD.” These posts capture how Shrek memes continue to entertain through clever, nostalgic reinterpretations of the film’s quotes.

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