# Bigly > Bigly is a 2016 catchphrase meme from Donald Trump's presidential debates, defined by viral confusion over whether he said the archaic adverb "bigly" or "big league. "Bigly" is an archaic English adverb meaning "in a big manner" that shot to internet fame during Donald Trump's 2015-2016 presidential campaign. Viewers couldn't agree whether Trump was saying "bigly" or "big league" in his stump speeches and debate performances, turning a simple question of pronunciation into one of the election cycle's most entertaining linguistic mysteries. The word trended on Twitter and topped Google searches during all three presidential debates, with linguists, dictionaries, and Trump's own campaign all weighing in on the answer. ## Origin Trump's relationship with the word traces back to his presidential campaign announcement in June 2015. During that speech, he declared "Obamacare kicks in in 2016 really bigly"[3]. On July 4th, 2015, a YouTuber uploaded a clip of the quote paired with a text-to-speech reading[3]. But the ambiguity had been baked in from the start. Trump's rapid-fire New York accent, picked up in the borough of Queens, made it nearly impossible to tell where "big" ended and "league" began[7]. On September 24th, 2015, Slate published the first major investigation, titled "Is Donald Trump's Favorite Term Bigly or Big League? You Make the Call," complete with a supercut of Trump's rally speeches[1]. When asked directly, Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks told Slate: "It's big league"[1]. That answer did nothing to settle the matter. The word's actual etymology goes back to around 1400, from Middle English "bygly," meaning "strongly" or "vehemently"[6]. By the 1530s it had picked up a meaning of "haughtily, arrogantly"[6]. - **Platform:** Campaign speeches, Twitter / social media (viral spread) - **Creator:** Donald Trump (speaker), Hope Hicks (first public clarification) - **Date:** 2015 ## Overview "Bigly" refers to what millions of Americans thought they heard Donald Trump say during campaign rallies and presidential debates in 2015 and 2016. The word sounded like Trump had slapped a "-ly" suffix onto "big" to create a makeshift adverb, using it as an all-purpose intensifier: taxes would be cut *bigly*, opponents were losing *bigly*, everything was happening *bigly*. The debate over whether he was actually saying "bigly" or "big league" became a running joke across social media, late night TV, and news outlets. Linguistic analysis eventually showed Trump was almost certainly saying "big league," but by then "bigly" had taken on a life of its own as political shorthand and punchline[1][7]. ## How It Spread The bigly vs. big league debate simmered through early 2016 and then boiled over. On February 1st, Oxford Dictionaries ran an article about Trump's verbal tics, noting his "ambiguous pronunciation" of what sounded like "bigly"[3]. Later that month, when Trump used the word during the Republican primary debate in Houston, Texas on February 25th, Merriam-Webster tweeted a definition of the adverb at 10:14 PM EST, confirming that yes, "bigly" was in the dictionary[3]. The real explosion came after Trump's Indiana primary landslide on May 3rd, 2016. His victory speech included the line "We're going to win bigly," which went viral and sparked a wave of mockery on Twitter[5]. The Independent reported that one user wrote: "I live in fear that this phrase will become part of everyday speech"[5]. Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show ran a comedy sketch about Trump's vocabulary shortly after[3]. Peak bigly hit during the three presidential debates between Trump and Hillary Clinton in the fall of 2016. During the first debate at Hofstra University on September 26th, Trump told Clinton: "I'm going to cut taxes bigly, and you're going to raise taxes bigly"[8]. The Associated Press, CNN, and the Washington Post all transcribed it as "big league"[7]. But social media had already decided what they heard. "Bigly" was the third most searched term on Google relating to Trump's debate responses[3]. Susan Lin, a linguistics professor at UC Berkeley, performed a phonetic analysis using wave forms and spectrograms[2]. Her findings showed "three of the acoustic cues that would indicate to me a 'G' was produced at the end," supporting the "big league" interpretation[14]. Ben Zimmer, language columnist at the Wall Street Journal, found examples of Trump using "big league" in interviews dating to the 1990s and in the first episode of The Apprentice[15]. NPR reported that Trump himself helped settle things at a Virginia Beach rally, where he clearly enunciated "cut taxes big-league, cut regulations even bigger-league"[15]. The final debate on October 19th at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas pushed "bigly" to its highest search volume[3]. It became the top trending search on all of Google during the debate, and the second highest by the end of the night[16]. ## How to Use "Bigly" typically appears as an intensifying adverb tacked onto the end of a statement for comic effect, usually in a Trump-adjacent context. Common patterns include: 1. **As emphasis:** Add "bigly" after any verb to parody Trump's speaking style. "We're winning bigly." "That test went wrong, bigly." 2. **As ironic commentary:** Use "bigly" to underscore something that's clearly going poorly. "The project launch went bigly" (meaning it flopped). 3. **In impersonations:** Any Trump impression or parody is expected to include "bigly" at least once[8]. 4. **As a general intensifier:** Outside the political context, some people adopted "bigly" as a playful synonym for "a lot" or "in a major way"[4]. ## Cultural Impact The bigly debate triggered an unusual moment where dictionaries became breaking news. Merriam-Webster's live-tweeting during the debates, including its confirmation that "bigly" was real, turned the dictionary's social media account into a viral personality[3]. The OED's Fiona McPherson told the BBC that whether or not Trump said it, "he's brought it to people's attention. They might start dropping it into conversation again"[7]. Late night comedy mined the word heavily. Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show devoted a sketch to Trump's limited vocabulary after the Indiana primary speech[3]. Comedians doing Trump impressions were expected to include "bigly" as part of the routine[8]. Academic interest was real. UC Berkeley's Susan Lin published a phonetic analysis that was widely shared on Facebook's Friends of Berkeley Linguistics page[2]. NPR, the BBC, the New York Times, CBS News, and USA Today all ran dedicated explainers on the question[15][7][2][16][12]. The New Yorker used it as a window into how the entire 2016 election was reshaping Americans' relationship with language[11]. The word also saw some organic adoption beyond Trump mockery. Dictionary.com's slang entry noted people using it as a genuine synonym for "greatly" in casual online conversation[8]. ## Fun Facts - "Bigly" dates to around 1400 in English. The OED's earliest citation is from the Middle English poem "Patience"[9]. - Thomas Hardy used "bigly" in Far From the Madding Crowd to mean "proudly, haughtily, pompously"[7]. - Trump never once used "bigly" in any tweet on his @realDonaldTrump account, but used "big league" many times, with the earliest found example from September 2012[8]. - Merriam-Webster lexicographer Kory Stamper called it "kind of ironic" that "bigly" evolved to mean "pompous or in an arrogant manner"[15]. - "Bigly" was technically the more grammatically correct choice. Linguists noted that "big league" as an adverb modifying a verb is non-standard English, while "bigly" is a proper adverb[10]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is bigly? "Bigly" is an archaic English adverb meaning "in a big manner" or "with great force" that went viral in 2015-2016 when millions of viewers thought Donald Trump was using it in campaign speeches and presidential debates. It is listed in both Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary[7][9]. ### Where did bigly come from? The word itself dates to around 1400 in Middle English, derived from "big" plus the adverbial suffix "-ly"[6]. Its modern internet fame started during Trump's June 2015 presidential announcement speech when he appeared to say "Obamacare kicks in in 2016 really bigly"[3]. ### What does bigly mean? As defined by Merriam-Webster, "bigly" means "in a big manner" or, archaically, "in a swelling blustering manner"[15]. In internet usage, it functions as a humorous intensifier meaning "a lot" or "in a major way," almost always in reference to Trump[8]. ### How do you use bigly? Attach "bigly" to the end of a statement as an adverb for comedic effect, typically in a Trump-parodying context. Example: "We're going to win bigly"[5]. It can also be used as a general ironic intensifier in casual conversation[4]. ### Is bigly still popular? The word peaked during the 2016 presidential debates when it topped Google trending searches[16]. It is still widely recognized and used in political humor and Trump impersonations, though search interest dropped significantly after the 2016 election[8]. ### Was Trump actually saying "bigly" or "big league"? Linguistic analysis by UC Berkeley professor Susan Lin showed acoustic cues for a final "G" sound, supporting "big league"[2]. Trump's campaign confirmed it was "big league," and Trump never used "bigly" in any of his tweets[1][8]. ### Is bigly a real English word? Yes. It appears in the Oxford English Dictionary with citations dating to around 1400[9]. Merriam-Webster defines it as an adverb meaning "in a big manner"[15]. Thomas Hardy used it in Far From the Madding Crowd[7]. ### When did bigly go viral? The first major media investigation was Slate's September 2015 article[1]. Viral attention peaked during the three 2016 presidential debates, with the word topping Google searches during the final debate on October 19th, 2016[16]. ### Why did people think Trump said "bigly"? Trump's rapid speaking pace and New York Queens accent made it difficult to distinguish between "big league" and "bigly," especially in live television settings[7]. The confusion was compounded by Trump's non-standard use of "big league" as an adverb rather than its typical adjective or noun form[15]. ### Did Trump know "bigly" was a real word? There is no evidence Trump intended to use the word "bigly." His campaign consistently said he meant "big league," and his Twitter history shows he used "big league" going back to at least 2012[8][1]. ### What did Merriam-Webster say about bigly? During the February 25th, 2016 Republican debate, Merriam-Webster tweeted a definition confirming "bigly" as a real word[3]. After the first presidential debate in September, they tweeted "'Yes, bigly is in the dictionary'" while adding in a separate tweet "'That's not what Trump said'"[7]. ### What is the etymology of bigly? The word emerged in early 14th-century English, meaning "strongly, vehemently," from "big" plus the adverbial suffix "-ly"[6]. It possibly has Scandinavian roots, with the Norwegian dialect word "bugge" meaning "great man" suggested as a potential origin for "big" itself[6]. ## References 1. [Bigly or big league: What exactly is Donald Trump saying?]() 2. [Donald Trump just helped Ted Cruz bigly.]() 3. [Yes, Trump Really Is Saying ‘Big League,’ Not ‘Bigly,’ Linguists Say - The New York Times]() 4. [Bigly - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Wojak]() 6. [Bigly - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [Donald Trump 'win bigly' victory speech widely mocked on Twitter | The Independent | The Independent]() 8. [Bigly - Etymology, Origin & Meaning]() 9. [Who, What, Why: Did Donald Trump use the word ‘bigly’? - BBC News]() 10. [bigly | Slang | Dictionary.com]() 11. [bigly - Wiktionary, the free dictionary]() 12. [bigly, adv. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary]() 13. [Is "Bigly" A Word? Trump May Have Been Misheard During The Debate]() 14. [Donald Trump 'win bigly' victory speech widely mocked on Twitter | The Independent | The Independent]() 15. [What Does "Bigly" Mean? Trump Has Confused Everyone]() 16. [Examining the Vocabulary of the Presidential Race | The New Yorker]() 17. [Trump lingo 101: Is he saying 'bigly' or 'big league'?]() 18. [No, Donald Trump Did Not Say ‘Bigly’ During His Victory Speech]() 19. [Bigly or big league: What exactly is Donald Trump saying?]() 20. [Is bigly a word? Donald Trump confounds debate viewers with unusual term | The Independent | The Independent]() 21. [Donald Trump Is Saying "Big League," Not "Bigly"]() 22. [So, Which Is It: Bigly Or Big-League? Linguists Explain A Common Donald Trump Phrase : NPR]() 23. [Is bigly a word? - CBS News]() 24. [Donald Trump just helped Ted Cruz bigly.]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/bigly Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library