Throw It Back (Slang)

About

Throw It Back or Throwing It Back is a slang phrase that became popularized online during the 2010s. The action, while having minor differences in the definition and context, is meant to relate to the act of moving one's backside in a rhythmic motion, often down to up, while occasionally being likened to a circle (similar to the term "grinding"). Online, the expression has been used in numerous song lyrics, memes and viral videos in various styles of context.

Origin

It's unknown when exactly the expression first appeared online, but the phrase "throw it back," used IRL and colloquially, received an Urban Dictionary definition on May 2nd, 2008, from user Billy Bob Jr.,^[1] which best described the historical and present use case for it. In the definition, it is described as the act of grinding very well, which is in reference to the style of dancing in which one partner rubs their posterior on the other's crotch, earning over 380 likes in 16 years (shown below).

Its usage in memes and videos began starting in 2019, with the phrase throwing it back still being used to refer to a female dancing. On February 2nd, 2019, Facebook user Edith Jean Smith^[2] posted a video in which a child secured into a car seat is seen dancing to the car radio, with a caption adding in the context of how someone would be acting after they catch the rhythm while dancing with a girl who is throwing it back, earning over 9.2 million views in five years (shown below).

Spread

Following its usage in 2019, the phrase began to see usage in memes in a more generalized sense. This can be seen in the meme uploaded to the subreddit /r/memes by Redditor ThatOneStupidIdiot^[3] on July 31st, 2020, in which a uniformed army soldier is shown mid-dance in a hotel room. The caption, working as the punchline, adds that the soldier is throwing it back because they misunderstood that their Sergeant wanted them to throw a grenade back, yet they dance instead (shown below).

"Throwing It Back" continued to see usage in the following years, with it being used in various memes that no longer had to relate to any specific context. The act itself of throwing it back became the center of attention in many jokes with different memes being made solely about people or characters throwing it back without needing to have the context of misunderstanding or a setup.

This is seen in the December 2nd, 2022, iFunny post by user Drift^[4] in which they show Joshua Graham from Fallout: New Vegas throwing it back (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References