# Dumpster Fire Dumpster Fire is a pejorative catchphrase and reaction GIF used to describe any chaotic disaster, from failing sports teams to political campaigns. The phrase spread through sports talk radio in the late 2000s before exploding online in 2016, when a burning-dumpster GIF filmed behind the Dolby Theatre became shorthand for the U.S. presidential race. ## Overview Dumpster Fire is a pejorative expression used to label something a spectacular, out-of-control disaster, sitting alongside older insults like trainwreck and shitshow[1]. The core visual that carries the phrase online is a short GIF of a blue metal dumpster fully engulfed in flames, filmed behind Hollywood's Dolby Theatre in 2012 and later stripped from a YouTube clip for reuse on Twitter and Facebook[4]. The phrase and the GIF work as a pair, so you can post the image with almost no caption and readers instantly understand you are calling something a chaotic mess[2]. The meme reads as funny because a real dumpster fire is both very stupid and genuinely dangerous, which maps neatly onto whatever failing team, botched product launch, or collapsing political campaign the poster wants to mock[5]. Urban Dictionary users summed up the tone early on, defining it as a colossal mess usually caused by incompetence or a laughably poor performance[6]. The GIF became so tied to political snark that Giphy said typing the word dumpster into Twitter or Facebook Messenger's GIF picker returned the burning Dolby dumpster as the first result[4]. ## How It Spread Urban Dictionary user Full0n filed the first entry for Dumpster Fire on July 10, 2008, defining it as a complete disaster or something nobody wants to deal with[6]. Linguist Mark Liberman flagged the shift in a June 4, 2016, post on his site Language Log, noting he had been hearing the phrase for years on sports talk radio before it jumped to general political commentary[5]. Two days later, on June 6, Salon ran a piece describing Donald Trump's presidential campaign as a raging dumpster fire, one of the first mainstream news headlines to use the phrase that way[3]. The visual half of the meme came from a September 12, 2012, YouTube upload by user 5iveoclock, who filmed Engine 27 of the Los Angeles Fire Department putting out a burning dumpster behind the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood[7]. A looping GIF was uploaded to Giphy on February 16, 2016[5]. On October 10, 2016, statistician Nate Silver tweeted the GIF with the caption "Live look-in at the Republican Party," and the post went off, with Giphy later saying the clip had been viewed more than 10 million times[4]. Four days later, Redditor Wyldcat posted an edited version on r/EnoughTrumpSpam showing Trump, Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, and Paul Ryan dancing around the blazing bin[5]. Oxford Dictionaries added Dumpster Fire to its online dictionary in May 2016, defining it as a chaotic or disastrously mishandled situation[5]. Vlogbrothers host John Green rolled the phrase into an August 16, 2016, YouTube video titled "16 ways 2016 is not a total dumpster fire"[5]. Mother Jones followed on October 18 with an article calling it 2016's meme of the year, arguing the election had earned the label[1]. ## How to Use The common convention is to reply to bad news, embarrassing footage, or a political mess with the burning Dolby Theatre GIF and little or no caption, letting the image do the insult[4]. Text-only use typically slots the phrase into a sentence as a noun, calling a team, campaign, meeting, or product launch a dumpster fire or, for emphasis, a total or raging dumpster fire[3]. Users often stack the GIF into edits, dropping recognizable faces around the flames the way Redditor Wyldcat did with the 2016 Republican ticket[5]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Dumpster Fire? Dumpster Fire is a pejorative phrase and looping GIF used online to call a situation a chaotic, out-of-control disaster[1]. ### Where did Dumpster Fire come from? The earliest known pejorative use appeared in an Arizona Republic film review published on October 17, 2003, panning The Texas Chainsaw Massacre[5]. Sports talk radio host Colin Cowherd is credited with popularizing it later[1]. ### What does Dumpster Fire mean? Oxford Dictionaries defines it as a chaotic or disastrously mishandled situation, added to the online dictionary in May 2016[5]. ### How do you use Dumpster Fire? Post the burning-dumpster GIF as a reaction to a mess, or use the phrase as a noun to describe a failing team, campaign, or event[4]. ### Is Dumpster Fire still popular? It is a classic reaction meme; the Dolby Theatre GIF had been viewed more than 10 million times by 2016 and remained a default option in Twitter and Facebook Messenger GIF pickers[4]. ### Who filmed the original dumpster fire GIF? YouTube user 5iveoclock uploaded footage on September 12, 2012, of the Los Angeles Fire Department's Engine 27 putting out a dumpster fire behind Hollywood's Dolby Theatre[7]. ### Who popularized the phrase Dumpster Fire? Producer Liz Drabick and linguist Mark Liberman both credit ESPN Radio host Colin Cowherd, who used it on The Herd as an insult for bad sports teams around 2010 to 2011[1]. ### Why is Dumpster Fire linked to the 2016 election? Salon called Trump's campaign a raging dumpster fire on June 6, 2016[3], and Nate Silver's October 10 tweet of the burning Dolby dumpster labeled "Live look-in at the Republican Party" locked in the association[4]. ### Who first defined Dumpster Fire on Urban Dictionary? User Full0n submitted the first Urban Dictionary entry on July 10, 2008, defining it as a complete disaster or something nobody wants to deal with[6]. ### Was Dumpster Fire named meme of the year? Mother Jones published an article on October 18, 2016, titled "Dumpster Fire Is 2016's Meme of the Year," tying it to the U.S. presidential race[1]. ## References 1. [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dumpster-fire-word-of-the-year_n_576a1683e4b0f168323a1249]() 2. [https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/10/dumpster-fire-2016s-meme-year]() 3. [https://www.salon.com/2016/06/06/donald_trumps_campaign_is_a_raging_dumpster_fire_and_the_republicans_who_endorsed_him_will_have_to_defend_it_every_day/]() 4. [https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/284041]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/dumpster-fire]() 6. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dumpster%20Fire]() 7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wei8M9IuqPc]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/dumpster-fire Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library