What is the "cordless hole puncher" people are mentioning on TikTok and why would one carry one around with them? "Cordless hole puncher" is a creative way of saying "a gun." Learn who coined the expression and why it got so popular on TikTok in our brief explainer.

What Is ‘Cordless Hole Puncher’?

While there's an actual cordless device used to punch holes in things, on TikTok "cordless hole puncher" (also "wireless hole puncher") refers to a gun, most usually a handgun. The expression, which falls within the technically the truth category, quite literally describes what a gun is in a creative way: a cordless device that is able to punch holes in things.

The term originated in gun-themed Facebook groups in April 2021, where it was initially used to do that one joke everyone heard too many times. People liked the definition so much that it was spread further through more memes, and by 2023 the expression reached TikTok, where it stuck for a different reason.

Why Are People Saying ‘Cordless Hole Puncher’ Instead Of 'Gun'?

So on social media, and TikTok in particular, people often avoid saying and writing certain words in order to avoid being banned or demonetized. However, despite not saying the words, people often find creative ways to rephrase so that the meaning reaches the viewer while the automated filters fail to catch anything.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7269094674533682478

While saying "gun" and "weapon" on TikTok won't get one banned, many people fear that these words will lead to TikTok limiting visibility of their posts. Here's where "cordless hole puncher" comes into play: you can avoid saying "gun" and dodge the algorithms, all while people will get the idea by making a connection that "cordless hole puncher" is actually a sneaky way of saying "a handgun."

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7373844285399125294

What Are Other Examples Of Algospeak?

Want to learn more Algospeak words that people have been using to avoid the filters? Some of the most famous examples include "unalive" instead of "kill", "ouid" instead of "weed," "clock app" instead of "TikTok," "tism" instead of "autism" and "corn" instead of, well, you know. You can find out more about Algospeak and the reasons it came to be a thing in our dedicated entry about it.

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