About

Tuff or So Tuff is a slang term meaning "tough" as in "cool," often akin to masculinity. Tuff roughly originates from S.E. Hinton's 1967 book The Outsiders. Viral posts using "tuff" to describe cool things were shared throughout the early internet age. However, memes using "tuff" and "so tuff" appeared en masse in late 2024 and early 2025 following the use of the phrasal templates The Way He X is So Tuff and The Way He X Actually So Tuff. The original catchphrase was, "The way he smile actually so tuff," referring to a picture of underground rapper Osamason. The person who said that about Osamason was labeled cringe because they were earnestly praising the rapper's appearance in a way that was perceived as worshipping, corny and somewhat homoerotic, akin to the slang term glazing. Thereafter, ironic usage of "tuff," "so tuff" and its snowclone persisted, used to parody its earnest usage.

Origin

The slang term "tuff" was used in the 1967 book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. In a passage from Chapter 1, the first-person narrator states, "Tough and tuff are two different words. Tough is the same as rough; tuff means cool, sharp — like a tuff-looking Mustang or a tuff record. In our neighborhood both are compliments."^[1][2] "Tuff" was also used in The Outsiders 1983 film.

The Outsiders novel was taught in many American schools, leading to video essay projects about the difference between "tough" and "tuff" uploaded to YouTube, like one shared by YouTuber^[3] Brittany Mancuso on November 11th, 2012 (shown below).

A definition for "tuff" was first added to Urban Dictionary on May 5th, 2003, by user Anonymous who said, "when somethin' is bangin, sick, nice, hot," receiving over 120 likes in 22 years (shown below).

Spread

"Tuff" was used in viral tweets starting in 2013 when comedian Kevin Hart used it in two separate tweets^[4][5] that each gained over 1,000 likes in 12 years. However, Hart didn't use the term properly and instead used it as an abbreviated way of writing "tough," as in emotionally challenging. For instance, in one tweet^[5] he wrote, "Today is always tuff for me because I lost my mom 6yrs ago."

By the late 2010s, "tuff" received proper usage in viral posts, like in a quote tweet of bootleg Peppa Pig shirts shared by X^[6] user @rarerashad on August 15th, 2018, reading, "this… is kinda tuff?" gaining over 27,000 likes in seven years (shown below).

During the same timeframe, "tuff" and "so tuff" were used frequently by basketball and NBA accounts on X^[7] to describe highlights and photos of players.

Also, YouTuber SoLLUMINATI frequently used the term "tuff" in his videos and on social media, like in a tweet^[8] shared by him on October 7th, 2018, in which he called MMA fighter Conor McGregor "tuff," gaining over 1,700 likes in seven years (shown below).

The Way He X Is So Tuff

On December 12th, 2024, X^[9] user @Wzy442 shared a screenshot of a comment left on a TikTok video about when rapper Osamason celebrated his 17th birthday. The comment said, "Bro the way he smile actually so tuff." The tweet received over 26,000 likes in a month (shown below).

In the following weeks, meme creators mocked the comment by turning it into a phrasal template, replacing the word "smile" with different words and applying it to different celebrities and subjects. For instance, on January 2nd, 2025, TikToker^[10] @frenchballsack posted a Chopped Chin meme about "The way he nods is so frickin tuff," receiving over 446,200 likes in 19 days (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References