About

Thought You Ate is an AAVE phrase used online as a slang term to tell someone who thinks they did something entertaining, successful or funny that they didn't, essentially calling them out for failing. It is the opposite of Ate That, a slang expression used to compliment someone and say they did a good job of something. The term rose to prominence in 2021 largely among Gen-Z web users on sites including TikTok and Instagram.

Origin

Ate That

The exact origin of the term "ate that" is unknown, but appears to be an African American Vernacular English (AAVE) term.^[8] On July 11th, 2008, Urban Dictionary^[1] user Cazza759 posted the earliest known definition for "ate that," writing, "did a great job; pulled it off well; had a lot of success with something. Used by teens in the projects of Queens, NY, and probably elsewhere in NYC." This then became the top definition on the site with nearly 1,400 likes in 13 years.

Thought You Ate

The exact origin of the term "you thought you ate" is also unknown, but the term "You Thought You Ate" was first defined by Urban Dictionary^[2] user okay because on September 23rd, 2021, writing, "when somebody thought they did something but they didn’t, when their joke lame or didn’t give what was supposed to be gave." Examples of the phrase predate the definition and appear frequently online throughout 2021. For example, on March 28th, 2021, Instagram^[3] user janaepostedthat reposted a now-deleted video from TikToker @bajlcheeto dancing captioned, "the way I thought I ate this," gaining over 6,900 views in a year (shown below).

Spread

On April 26th, 2021, YouTuber^[4] Weluvche posted a video where she goes on Omegle to chat with people. At the 26:19 mark, a girl sings Frank Ocean's "Godspeed" to her. Weluvche responds, "girl shut the fuck up, you thought yo uate that?" and laughs, gaining over 258,000 views in just under a year (shown below).

On September 25th, TikToker^[5] @yoongicypher posted a video responding to a comment, saying, "you really thought you ate? Give me that fucking plate," gaining over 700,000 views in six months. He reposted the video to TikTok^[6] the next day as an original sound, gaining over 2 million views in the same span of time. The original sound became popular and was used in over 124,000 videos in that span of time, mostly to comedically criticize people who thought they ate (notable examples shown below).

On January 25th, 2022, Instagram^[7] user shook.yt posted a video using the caption "you thought you ate" showing a woman eating from an empty plate, gaining over 185,000 views in two months (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References