# Oil Up Oil Up / Oiled Up began as a 4chan running gag about celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott in 2010, centered on a photo of him pouring dressing over a salad. The catchphrase sat online for over a decade before a December 2023 Dana White TikTok clip sent "oil up" into mass TikTok circulation. By March 2024, Duolingo's mascot had posted an "oiled up" video that reached 18 million views. ## Origin On March 10, 2010, an anonymous user on 4chan's /tg/ (Traditional Games) board posted "It's Time to OIL UP" alongside the Ainsley Harriott salad photo, the earliest documented use of the gag[1]. Ainsley Harriott is the subject of the meme, not its creator; the identity of whoever first captioned the photo is not confirmed. The caption spread through other /tg/ threads that year, and on June 25, 2011, Know Your Meme user OCtaPuS archived an image macro version, the earliest surviving copy outside 4chan[5]. - **Platform:** 4chan /tg/ (origin), TikTok (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2010 ## Overview On 4chan, posters typically combined the Harriott salad photo with the caption "It's Time to OIL UP" and used it as a non-sequitur reply inside /tg/ threads[1]. Redraws of the chef, image macros stacked on the Good Heavens Look at The Time template, and other edits of his grin circulated through the early 2010s[2]. In its 2023 revival, "oil up" and "[name] oiled up" turned into spam comments directed at characters or people a viewer finds attractive, especially on TikTok[5]. Creators also film themselves dousing their skin or a costume in cooking oil for the bit, as the official Duolingo account did with its owl mascot[9]. ## How to Use To use the format, posters typically drop "oil up" or "[name] oiled up" in a comment or reply under a photo or clip of someone they find attractive, often as spam. Video versions commonly feature the poster pouring cooking oil or baby oil on themselves or a costumed character, mirroring the Duolingo clip[9]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Oil Up? Oil Up / Oiled Up is a catchphrase and image joke in which someone asks another person to apply oil to their body, often with a sexual undertone, originally based on a photo of chef Ainsley Harriott pouring oil on a salad[1]. ### Where did Oil Up come from? The joke started on 4chan's /tg/ board on March 10, 2010, when an anonymous user posted the caption "It's Time to OIL UP" with a photo of Ainsley Harriott dressing a salad[1]. ### What does Oil Up mean? In TikTok comment culture, "oil up" or "[name] oiled up" signals that the commenter wants to see that character or person covered in oil, usually as a horny or joking compliment aimed at someone they find attractive[6]. ### How do you use Oil Up? People use it as a reply under a photo or clip of someone they find attractive, or film themselves pouring cooking oil for the bit, as the official Duolingo account did on March 4, 2024[9]. ### Is Oil Up still popular? "Oil up" was a major TikTok comment and video trend throughout 2024, with @s0ph1er0ss's July 2024 "send this to people you want to oil up" clip reaching 1.3 million views[10]. ## References 1. [https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/8495595/#8506043]() 2. [https://imgur.com/gallery/hey-its-time-to-oil-up-Ol77T]() 3. [https://www.tiktok.com/@fightcasuals/video/7309837300735790369]() 4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEZdDWBBqgs]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/oil-up-oiled-up]() 6. [https://www.tiktok.com/@mmacomedyy/video/7322655336148520224]() 7. [https://www.tiktok.com/@thebestclips333/video/7327325486462291232]() 8. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EJSi1FbyVA]() 9. [https://www.tiktok.com/@duolingo/video/7342531041959169326]() 10. [https://www.tiktok.com/@s0ph1er0ss/video/7388186043251445024]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/oil-up-oiled-up Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library