About

Iconic Line refers to a phrasal template that uses the dual meaning of the word "line," subverting a pattern that reads to the effect of: "Straight line: ____________ Broken line: -- -- -- -- Iconic Line." However, instead of another representation of a long narrow marking, the participant posts a quote from popular culture.

Origin

The earliest known usage of the format was posted on December 29th, 2018 by Twitter ^[1] user @eu_dwn (shown below). The post reads, "Straight line: ____________ Broken line: -- -- -- -- Most iconic line ni ph pageantry : Well my family’s role for me is so important b’coz there was the wa- they’re, they was the one who’s very…ahaha Oh I’m sorry, Ahmmm… my pamily… my family…oh my God Eto ahmmm wait Ahaha."

Precursor

Prior to the emergence of the "Iconic Line" variant, the meme took on the form of simply "Straight line / Dashed line / [X] line." Essentially the same subversion, these tweets feature a play on the word "line," using other meanings aside from a portion of dialogue from a film or television show. The earliest known example of these was posted on December 18th, 2018 by Twitter^[4] user @notheckingheck, who received more than 340 retweets and 3,000 likes for the post (shown below).

Spread

On January 8th, 2019, Twitter^[2] user @moonkittynet posted the template with a clip from the anime Sailor Moon as the "iconic line." The post received more than 14,000 retweets and 29,000 likes in less than four months (shown below).

straight line:
_____________________________________

dashed line:
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

iconic line: pic.twitter.com/eMYWNWQD3b

— Sailor Moon (@moonkittynet) January 9, 2019

Following the post, others began posting variations of the format by adding quotes that they find "iconic." For example, the following day, Twitter^[3] user @JakeMC_ posted a variant and received more than 10,000 retweets and 32,000 likes in less than four months (shown below).

straight line:
___________________________________

dashed line:
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

most iconic line: pic.twitter.com/rNhAAjp1S3

— Jake McBain (@JakeMC_) January 9, 2019

Over the next two months, the meme continued to grow in popularity, re-emerging in March 2018. On March 7th, 2019, Twitter^[5] user @its_willyu tweeted the format with a screenshot from the film Crazy Rich Asians. The post received more than 21,000 retweets and 43,000 likes in less than one week (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References