Before You Say I Am Stoling This Art, Let Me Explain You A Thing — Tumblr logo with pink caption 'before you say i am rooning this joke let me explain you a

Before You Say I Am Stoling This Art, Let Me Explain You A Thing

2012catchphraseclassic

Published November 5, 2026

A deviantART disclaimer written in broken English in November 2012 became a mocked catchphrase after a Twitter screenshot spread the awkward wording. Posters copied the exact misspelling of 'stealing' as 'stoling' and the construction 'explain you a thing' onto Tumblr, where it took off. By February 2013, users were writing snowclones like 'Before You Say I Am Stoling This X, Let Me Explain You a Thing' for imagined Louvre heists and World of Warcraft fan art disputes.

catchphrase memes snowclone memes misspelling memes deviantart memes fan art memes

Overview

Posts using the format lean on the exact broken syntax of the source, especially the word 'stoling' and the construction 'explain you a thing'4. A typical riff opens with the full phrase, swaps 'art' for whatever is being hypothetically taken, then follows with a flimsy or absurd excuse. The humor depends on keeping the English as wrong as the original quote6.

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Image macros tagged 'stoling' and 'let me explain you a thing' circulated on Tumblr, applying the wording to pop stars, museum paintings, and cartoon characters78. Fan art communities picked it up as a running joke about how accused reposters try to defend themselves after being called out online5.

Origin & Background

Platform
deviantART (source) / Twitter and Tumblr (viral spread)
Creator
Gamer98
Date
2012

On November 16, 2012, deviantART user Gamer98 uploaded a Lion King fan art piece as an entry in a contest run by user Rinjapine4. The description opened with a disclaimer meant to head off accusations of art theft: 'Before you say that i am stoling [sic] this art: I want to explain you a thing, my old acount [sic] was [thelionofdeserts] and i'm reposting this art of TLK here in my new account, [Gamer98].'6 The old thelionofdeserts account had been deleted by March 2013.

How It Spread

The same day the artwork went up, the novelty account @TextDeviantart tweeted the quote with usernames stripped out1. That tweet gathered more than 445 retweets and 233 favorites by March 2014. Tumblr user wtfstuck grabbed a screenshot of the tweet and reposted it to the blogging site, picking up over 25,000 notes by March 20132.

Quiet months followed until February 25, 2013, when Tumblr user yoshika420 published a mock news post applying the phrase to paintings 'stolen' from the Louvre, hitting 10,000 notes within a week3. Three days later, a World of Warcraft forum thread about fan art invoked the line to describe how accused reposters typically defend themselves5. Tumblr tags for 'stoling' and 'let me explain you a thing' filled up with image macros riffing on the snowclone78.

Timeline

2012-11-16

DeviantART user Gamer98 uploads a Lion King fan art piece with the 'stoling' disclaimer explaining the repost from his old thelionofdeserts account.

2012-11-16

Novelty account @TextDeviantart tweets the quote with usernames stripped, eventually gathering 445+ retweets by March 2014.

2012-11-16

Tumblr user wtfstuck reposts a screenshot of the tweet, gaining over 25,000 notes within four months.

2013-02-25

Tumblr user yoshika420 publishes a fake Louvre heist post using the phrase, reaching 10,000 notes in a week.

2013-02-28

A World of Warcraft forum thread about fan art uses the phrase to describe art-theft deflections.

How to Use This Meme

Writers typically keep the misspelling 'stoling' and the mangled grammar intact, then swap the noun 'art' for whatever is being hypothetically stolen, followed by a ridiculous justification. Common conventions include framing it as a fake confession for stealing famous paintings, celebrities, or in-game items3.

Frequently Asked Questions