# Discourse (Slang) Discourse is a slang term meme communities use for online debates and arguments, especially the recurring Twitter and Tumblr pile-ons that take over a timeline for a day. The usage took off in 2016 after @glassbeachband tweeted a joke about 'new discourse,' and by 2020 Instagram meme pages were spoofing the format with 'top and bottom discourse' and other niche-topic takes. ## Origin On June 25th, 2016, Twitter user @glassbeachband posted a short joke about 'new discourse,' one of the earliest widely circulated uses of the term in its current sarcastic sense[1]. A year later, on July 20th, 2017, @nise_shi tweeted a thread of screenshots about Japanese 'rubber ducky discourse,' which gathered over 6,000 likes and helped cement the '[random topic] discourse' template[2]. Urban Dictionary user commissar_nik later wrote up the Twitter-specific sense on January 9th, 2021, defining 'discourse' as the recurring debate cycles that take over the site[5]. Know Your Meme documents the term as slang that spread through meme communities on Twitter and Tumblr during this stretch[3]. - **Platform:** Twitter / Tumblr (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2016 ## Overview Online, 'discourse' stripped the academic weight off the word and turned it into a tired joke about whatever argument was clogging a user's feed that week. A typical use attaches a modifier to signal the specific flavor of fight, like 'rubber ducky discourse,' 'timeline discourse' or 'top and bottom discourse,' with the humor coming from how niche or absurd the topic can be while still generating thousands of angry quote-tweets[1][2]. The word doubles as a complaint and a flag. Posts about 'the discourse' tend to be meta jabs at the exhaustion of watching arguments repeat, often paired with reaction images of someone looking haunted or trying to log off[3]. Meme pages later used the structure to joke about hot takes, cancellations and creator fights, treating any widely shared Twitter fight as a scheduled event rather than a one-off blowup[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Discourse (Slang)? It is internet slang for online arguments and debates that take over social feeds, usually on Twitter or Tumblr[3]. ### Where did Discourse (Slang) come from? An early sarcastic use came from @glassbeachband on June 25th, 2016, with a joke tweet about 'new discourse'[1]. ### What does Discourse (Slang) mean? It refers to the cycle of hot takes, pile-ons and recurring fights on social media, often used mockingly[5]. ### How do you use Discourse (Slang)? People usually attach a modifier like 'rubber ducky discourse'[2] or 'timeline discourse' to name a specific recurring argument[8]. ### Is Discourse (Slang) still popular? The term stuck as a staple of meme vocabulary, with uses documented across Twitter and Instagram meme pages through at least 2020[4][9]. ## References 1. [https://twitter.com/glassbeachband/status/746821980964302848]() 2. [https://twitter.com/nise_shi/status/888168999451729920]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/discourse-slang]() 4. [https://twitter.com/egg_dog/status/1295496071620304899]() 5. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Discourse]() 6. [https://twitter.com/KrangTNelson/status/935189118736371715]() 7. [https://twitter.com/meaghan_garvey/status/1001474675552194560]() 8. [https://twitter.com/gothbabys/status/1073690674510422017]() 9. [https://www.instagram.com/p/B7g1YqzlGK5/]() 10. [https://www.instagram.com/p/B8HNkh4lBxM/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/discourse-slang Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library