They Having a Mid Off

About

They Having a Mid Off, also known as They're Having a Mid Off, is a catchphrase that uses the slang term "mid" and imagines a competition between two subjects over who is the most mid. The phrase was coined in mid-2020 on Twitter where the original tweet read, "these women having a mid off," and quote retweeted two female Twitter users who were hating on each other and comparing their selfies. The phrase became a common caption for memes going into 2023 across social media where it was used similarly to its first usage — comparing two characters or pop culture references by attesting that they're both, in fact, mid.

Origin

On June 9th, 2020, Twitter^[1] user @CANGELA300 tweeted a selfie and another woman's selfie, captioning them, "This is me … and that’s you … girl 😭😭," in reference to an imagined feud between the two women. The tweet led to Twitter^[2] user @alextalktoem quote retweeting it on June 12th, 2020, writing, "these women having a mid off." Over the course of one year,^[3] the tweet received over 450 likes before it was deleted (shown below).

The tweet achieved viral acclaim about a year later on October 12th, 2021, when Twitter^[3] user @DFreeFigueroa tweeted a screenshot of the tweet, earning roughly 137,000 likes in a year and a half.

Spread

In December 2021, the phrase gained new usage on Twitter and elsewhere. For instance, one of the first to do so was Twitter^[4] user @th3mb0fication who posted a QT on December 8th, 2021, that captioned a photo of actors Ryan Gosling and Jeremy Strong with, "These men having a mid off," earning over 240 likes in a year and a half (shown below, left). On December 10th, Instagram ^[5] user @herecomedatboi exploited the original tweet by adding a picture of Snail Mail's Lindsey Jordan and Phoebe Bridgers. The post received roughly 2,800 likes in the same time period (shown below, right).

The phrase gained more viral usage in 2022 and 2023. For instance, amid the Ned From the Try Guys Cheating Scandal, on October 17th, 2022, Twitter^[6] user @gemmygemg tweeted a YouTube thumbnail showing all of the Try Guys paired with, "They having a mid off." It earned roughly 63,900 likes in five months (shown below, left). On February 21st, 2023, Twitter^[7] user @yassnito paired the phrase with two Snapchat filter images including the Dog Filter. The tweet received roughly 112,800 likes in one month (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References