What Does 'TS PMO ICL' Mean? Let's Explain The Meaning Of TikTok's Latest Slang Overload Trend

The average TikTok user has probably seen the slang abbreviations "TS PMO ICL" more times than their grandmother in Big 2025.

The terms are spammed in giant walls of text on the app, oftentimes completely covering the video's background. The trend is nonsensical and brain rotted, devolving the meaning of these terms like "TS" and "PMO," ultimately distracting from the odd mental gymnastics that led to this internet moment.

So, what do TS, PMO and ICL mean? Why are they all over social media? Plus, why is this trend controversial among some Black internet users? Let's explain.

What Does 'TS' Mean?

"TS" is an abbreviation for "this shit" or "that shit." In a sentence, it could be used like, "TS is awesome," when talking about a viral video or humorous meme.

The term largely went viral last year, mostly because people were misusing it, believing that it was simply meant to be an abbreviation of the word "this."

These people didn't realize they were wrong. They used TS anyway and got dunked on by many for their stupidity. However, as time went on, the intentional misuse of TS as "this" took shape, leading to the ironic memes that later combined all of the trending abbreviations.




What Does 'PMO' Mean?

"PMO" is an abbreviation for "piss me off" or "pissing me off." It can also mean "put me on," as in, to enlighten someone.

The "put me on" definition made headway in 2021, following a TikTok trend called "PMO with your homeboy," comprised of videos showing the friends and partners of creators who want to show the world how attractive and cool they were.

However, the "piss me off" meaning is the most widely used today. On X, people say, "Don't PMO," in viral quote tweets, aiming at heinous or cringe acts committed by people on their timelines.

Like TS, PMO received viral use on TikTok last year, resulting in the slew of brainrot content that combined them into "TS PMO," which meant anything under the sun depending on which edgy, Hood Irony teen you ask.




What Does 'ICL' Mean?

"ICL" is an abbreviation for "I can't lie." It's usually used at the start or the end of a sentence like, "ICL this shit is pissing me off." Thus, the combination of all three terms is self-explanatory.

@bonixisroty i was taught well#frigginpacketyo #fyp #goviral ♬ GREENARTS NO MORE PARTIES COVER – GreenArts

What's The Deal With The 'TS PMO ICL' Memes?

As the slang abbreviations became widely used on TikTok and elsewhere, people started to combine all of them, playing on the misuse of "TS" as "this." Their meanings mutated along with the trend, eventually stripping away all meaning.

Videos of internet comedian Druski dancing were the trend's original base videos. Druski's joyous energy on the Kai Cenat stream was warped by creators who saw the clip's good vibes as overly sincere.

The trend then borrowed the satirization of uplifting content largely founded by the Chopped Chin memes. In them, a kid and his WNBA player mom are sitting courtside at a game, enjoying the moment, spawning a trend targeted at their appearance and earnest, carefree energy.

Slang overload captions, similar to ones spamming Gen Z slang like Rizz Ohio Gyatt, were then added to the Druski Dancing clips, again, borrowing the format from Chopped Chin.

@yn_reposts Time for English class #fyp #trending #trendingsong #brainrot ♬ GREENARTS NO MORE PARTIES COVER – GreenArts

@raze.1 Ts pmo me off fr u icl #fyp #squidgame #ts #pmo #brainrot #funny blank" title="♬ Squid Game Mingle Phonk – Toast420" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/Squid-Game-Mingle-Phonk-7460950161570400257?refer=embed">♬ Squid Game Mingle Phonk – Toast420

It only got stranger from there and, while funny to some, the trend is worrying to others.

TS, PMO and ICL are all internet slang terms widely used and founded by Black internet users. They're integral to online AAVE, and, according to many people of color, the bastardization of the terms is akin to cultural erasure and digital Blackface.

At first, the misuse of TS as "this" was seen as a failure by white and other non-Black internet users to adopt the terms they saw African Americans using online. The eventual and blatant degradation of said abbreviations can be seen as a reaction to the white people's humiliation.

So, these memes are rather controversial to some. Co-opting Black voices and slang is often encouraged on the web as, more and more, AAVE is wrongly identified as "brainrot TikTok slang" by major outlets, muddying the true origins of such terms.




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For the full history of TS PMO ICL, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.