About

Sksksk is an onomatopoeia used to express amazement, shock, and excitement, due to it being a common outcome when one types random letters on a keyboard. In practice, the letters are used in a similar manner to the phrase I Can't Even. It has seen use in TikTok, and has been mocked in ironic memes making fun of basic and normie people.

Origin

On August 24th, 2017, Urban Dictionary user dickpudding^[1] posted a definition of "sksksksk" to the site, reading:

result of one's keyboard being violently smashed when one is too shooketh. said keyboard smashing also often occurs when one's weave is flying.
1; " twenty one pilots just dropped a single! "
" SKSKSKSKS "
2; " SKSKSKSK DAN HOWELL JUST TWEETED ME "
" wig! what did he say? "

Precursor

Prior to the rise of "Sksksksk" in memes and ironic usage, the phrase "Sksksk" was popular in ASMR videos where people would repeat the syllable "sk" (examples shown below).

Spread

On July 31st, 2018, Urban Dictionary user Popuko man^[1] posted another definition to the site, reading, "Sksksksksk is what dumb thots do when they want to express laughter or gratitude towards something," gaining over 847 likes (shown below, left). On April 22nd, 2019, user mooble_^[1] posted a definition tying the letters to Ariana Grande and BTS stans (shown below, right).

The phrase began seeing use in Tik Tok videos in early 2019 as a means of making fun of what might be considered VSCO Girls, Stans, and otherwise basic behavior. For example, user @psherman42wallabyway posted a video with the "sksksk" pronounced and an ironic reference to metal straws at the end, gaining over 48,000 likes (shown below, left). User @haleyblossom posted a joke that people who post "sksksk" are easily offended, gaining over 4,200 likes (shown below, right). The phrase's ascent into meme usage was covered by Stayhipp.^[2]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References