# Defeat Tom Nook Defeat Tom Nook is an April 2020 catchphrase born from a confused college professor who emailed students hoping they had vanquished the Animal Crossing shopkeeper, a character you cannot actually fight. The screenshot went viral on Twitter during the first weeks of pandemic lockdown, and within days users were writing parody tweets framing the mild-mannered raccoon as a boss battle their relatives wanted them to win. ## Origin On April 14th, 2020, Twitter user @chickpeamcb posted a screenshot of an email from a university professor that read, "I hope you're all doing well and that you've all defeated (?) Tom Nook (?) in Animal Crossing by now (I've never played Animal Crossing)." The caption noted it was 4:24 a.m. and the sender had never touched the game[2]. Nintendo had released Animal Crossing: New Horizons on March 20th, 2020, and the title became a comfort hit during the earliest weeks of COVID-19 lockdowns, which explains why a professor would reach for it as small talk[1]. The original tweet gathered around 160,000 likes and 33,000 retweets within three days, giving the phrasing enough traction for other users to riff on it almost immediately[2]. - **Platform:** Email / Twitter (viral spread) - **Creator:** @chickpeamcb (screenshot poster); the professor who wrote the original email is unnamed - **Date:** 2020 ## Overview The joke depends on a simple mismatch: Tom Nook is a bespectacled raccoon merchant who sells furniture and hands out loans in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, not a final boss with a health bar[1]. Treating him as an enemy to be slain, as if the game were Dark Souls, is the entire bit, and the humor lands harder because the person framing it that way almost always admits they have never played the series[2]. Typical posts fall into two shapes. One is the straight-faced repost of an older relative or authority figure sincerely asking about defeating Nook, usually with a short caption marveling at the question[3]. The other is a self-aware parody where the poster writes as if a victory over Nook is imminent or already achieved, often paired with a celebration video or a reaction image[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Defeat Tom Nook? A catchphrase about the impossible task of beating Animal Crossing's raccoon shopkeeper Tom Nook, who is a vendor and not a fightable boss[1]. ### Where did Defeat Tom Nook come from? From an April 14th, 2020 tweet by @chickpeamcb showing a professor's email that wished students well in defeating Tom Nook, with the professor admitting they had never played the game[2]. ### What does Defeat Tom Nook mean? It means framing a friendly in-game merchant as a boss battle, usually attributed to a parent, professor or other adult who heard about Animal Crossing but never played it[3]. ### How do you use Defeat Tom Nook? People typically quote a relative asking about beating Nook, or write their own parody caption such as the "the animals when they defeat tom nook" video from @mystarryfriends[6]. ### Is Defeat Tom Nook still popular? It peaked in April 2020 alongside the launch window of New Horizons and is now a classic Animal Crossing joke rather than an active trend, with The Daily Dot's recap standing as its main contemporaneous write-up[1]. ## References 1. [https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/defeat-tom-nook-meme/]() 2. [https://twitter.com/chickpeamcb/status/1249977296804548608]() 3. [https://twitter.com/octolinghacker/status/1250245127118835712]() 4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/FellowKids/comments/g1ybzm/we_must_destroy_tom_nook_at_all_costs/]() 5. [https://twitter.com/angelmendoza___/status/1250287705495199749]() 6. [https://x.com/i/status/1250580555705417728]() 7. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/defeat-tom-nook]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/defeat-tom-nook Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library