About

The Devious Licks Trend refers to a trend on TikTok where users film themselves pulling supposedly stolen school supplies out of their backpacks with a variation on the phrase "first day of school copped a devious lick." The word "devious" is often replaced with another word like "diabolical" or "godforsaken," usually intended to be tongue-in-cheek. The trend began on TikTok in early September 2021.

Origin

On September 1st, 2021, TikToker^[5] @jugg4elias posted a video of himself taking a box of disposable masks from his backpack with the caption "a month into school absolutely devious lick. Should've brought a mask from home," gaining over 239,000 views in a week (shown below).

Spread

On September 6th, 2021, TikToker^[1] @dtx.2cent posted a video with the on-screen text "only a month into school and got this absolute devious lick" unzipping his backpack and pulling out a hand sanitizer dispenser that he assumedly stole (shown below). The video gained over 7.2 million views in two days (shown below).

Over the following days, TikTokers in both high school and college began posting similar videos showing off items they allegedly stole from school. On September 7th, 2021, TikToker^[2] @mr.epicsinger posted a Duet to the original video showing off a microscope, gaining over 2.3 million views in a day (shown below).

On the same day, TikToker^[3] @carlorossi0 posted a video pulling a computer out of a backpack, gaining over 3 million views in under 24 hours (shown below, left). On the same day, TikToker^[4] @kcartier00 posted a video pulling signage from around the school out of his bag, giving over 2.6 million views in under a day (shown below, right).

On the same day, TikToker @support.audible.com posted a video showing off a piece of a movie theater wall after going to see Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, gaining over 260,000 views in a day (shown below).

Controversy And Ban

The devious licks trend garnered significant controversy after schools began reporting stolen items. It was reported on by multiple news outlets.^[6][7] On September 16th, the trend was banned from TikTok, with all hashtags related to it leading to no results. The platform also began removing videos showing people taking part in it.

Angelic Yields Trend

On September 17th, TikToker^[8] @j.uher7 posted a video where they enter their school bathroom and place a roll of toilet paper on the toilet (shown below). On-screen text reads, "Just hit the most angelic yield." The video gained over 4.1 million views in three days and inspired the Angelic Yields Trend where TikTokers film themselves giving back to the school they stole from.

The trend gained significant popularity over the following days, resulting in numerous viral videos where users leave items in their school bathrooms in order to make up for the Devious Licks trend (examples shown below, left and right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References