About

Swiss Cheese or Swiss Cheesed is a slang term used to describe a person who has been shot multiple times and riddled with holes, much like the texture of swiss cheese. Usage of the term "swiss cheese" and the verb form "get swiss cheesed" can be traced to pre-internet examples, notably appearing in rap music from the 1990s, initially spreading online in the 2000s. The slang saw a prominent resurgence among Gen Z and Gen Alpha TikTokers in the 2020s.

Origin

Use of the phrase "swiss cheese" to describe being shot full of holes can be traced as far back as the 1980s, with the character Sgt Powell saying, "They're turning my car into swiss cheese" in the 1988 film Die Hard, as seen in the clip shown below.^[7]

The use of the term "swiss cheese" to describe someone getting shot full of holes can also be traced to several rap songs from the 1990s. An early notable example is the song "Who Shot Ya?" by The Notorious B.I.G., released on February 21st, 1995. The line appears at the 2:41 timestamp.^[1]

A March 11th, 2004, Urban Dictionary^[2] post by moosedogg describes "swiss cheese" as "someone who is shot full of holes."

Spread

Usage of the term "Swiss Cheese" to describe being shot full of holes continued into the 2010s, as seen in a news headline^[3] from March 2nd, 2011, that read, "‘Swiss Cheese Man’ Angel Alvarez cleared in Harlem shootout."

A November 23rd, 2013, /r/grandtheftauto^[4] subreddit post using the term in a screenshot from the game GTA 5 read, "The police made my car look like Swiss cheese but they still didn't kill me." The post gathered over 170 likes in 12 years.

On February 7th, 2023, YouTuber^[5] LVNDMARK posted a video titled, "SWISS CHEESED HELMET," showing highlights from the video game Escape From Tarkov. The bullet-hole-riddled helmet appears at the 5:41 timestamp in the video shown below, gathering over 130,000 views in two years.

In late 2024, the phrase "swiss cheesin' yo' ass" was popularized on TikTok, boosted in part due to TikToks posted by user @camotoofunny. A November 20th, 2024 TikTok^[6] shows the creator saying, "your ass gonna be swiss cheese in the dirt," gathering over 5 million plays and 800,000 likes in three months.

Various Examples

Search Interest

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External References