About

“Edgy” is an English slang term used to describe things, behaviors or trends which are provocative or avant-garde,^[15] and is often used to describe things that are dark and gothic in nature. It is commonly used as an insult online, particularly on 4chan and Tumblr ^[21] for someone attempting to be badass by acting emo or overly contrarian.

Origin

According to Online Etymology Dictionary,^[12] the word originated in 1775 and meant "having sharp edges." By 1837, the meaning "tense and irritable" was added. The phrase was first added to Urban Dictionary^[13] on March 21st, 2005 by user Nikki, who defined it as:

“Applied to books, music, or even haircuts which tend to challenge societal norms and reveal the dark side.”

Spread

One of the first recorded instances of the word "edgy" in its current slang context was in 4chan's /tv/ board on April 8th, 2010,^[14] in response to another user saying they would refuse to have sex with actress Lindsay Lohan.

On November 13th, 2011, YouTuber Errant Signal^[11] released a video discussing edgy concepts in video games, using footage from the 1997-2001 American animated television series Daria. As of January 25th, 2014, the video has over 45,000 views.

On June 18th, 2012, an image of "Now That's What I Call Edgy" written in the style of the CD series 'Now That's What I Call Music" (pictured below) was posted on the "Oh No They Didn't" LiveJournal page.^[8] On July 1st, the image was posted on 4chan's /v/ (Videogames) board in a thread about Felicia Day.^[9]

On October 25th, 2013, Twitter user Triple-Q uploaded a parody image of a Canadian-American cartoon show Ed, Edd and Eddy, named "Edg, Edge, and Edgy," featuring the likenesses of Ryuko Matoi from Kill la Kill, Dante from DmC: Devil May Cry, and Shadow the Hedgehog from Sonic franchise^[10]. The term is widely used on internet sites like 4chan,^[1] Reddit,^[2] and Funnyjunk.^[3]

Notable Examples

Edgelord

Edgelord is a derogatory label used to describe someone who exhibits extremely edgy behaviors, typically with a penchant for discussions relating to grimdark literature, nihilism and other taboo subject matters like nazism, for the sake of offending or shocking others in online forums.^[18] While unclear exactly when the term came into widespread usage, one of the earliest known definitions of "edgelord" was posted by Redditor^[16] Malicaena on March 17th, 2013, in the context of describing a particular type of players in MMORPG Guild Wars 2 "who tries his hardest to look very dark and dangerous so they can show everyone their 'dark side.'" On February 19th, 2015, Urban Dictionary^[17] user Petrus4 submitted an entry for "edgelord."

By mid-2015, the term had been widely used on various online forums and communities, including 4chan^[19], Reddit^[24] and Tumblr^[22], usually in belittling someone or something as cringeworthy.

Search Interest

External References