*Tips Fedora* — Smiling bearded man in black fedora tipping his hat to the camera

*Tips Fedora*

2012catchphraseclassic

Published October 3, 2026

*Tips Fedora* is a mocking catchphrase aimed at young men who perform fake chivalry online, often paired with the image of a man lifting a brimmed hat. Born on 4chan in April 2012 and amplified by Reddit in late 2013, the phrase latched onto a studio portrait of actor Jerry Messing to become one of the signature neckbeard mocking formats of the mid-2010s.

catchphrase memes manosphere memes behavior mocking memes 4chan memes cringe memes

Overview

The joke targets the hat-tipping gesture as a stand-in for hollow politeness, performed by self-styled gentlemen online1. Posters append *tips fedora* or m'lady to statements that read as fake chivalry, atheist smugness, or white knighting, flipping the speaker's intended charm into mockery3. The format travels equally well as a text-only sign-off and as a reaction image.

The visual half of the meme leans on a few go-to assets. Reaction faces typically show a man lifting the brim of a brimmed hat, and animated GIFs exaggerate the motion into a loop5. The best known of these is a Facebook headshot of actor Jerry Messing, who played Pugsley in the 1998 film *Addams Family Reunion*, which Reddit elevated into the face of the neckbeard archetype after late 20135.

Origin & Background

Platform
4chan (origin) / Reddit (viral spread)
Date
2012

The earliest documented use of the phrase appeared on April 4, 2012, in a thread on 4chan's /v/ (Video Games) board discussing white knight behavior1. It stayed niche for most of a year before resurfacing across multiple 4chan boards in early 20133. Know Your Meme credits that 2012 /v/ post as the earliest archived appearance of the exact wording3.

How It Spread

In February and March 2013, *tips fedora* jumped from /v/ to the /a/ (Anime and Manga), /sp/ (Sports), and /tv/ (Television and Film) boards on 4chan1. On September 15, 2013, Tumblr user Nyehs posted under the tag tips fedora complaining about being friendzoned by a 'succubus,' porting the phrase to a different audience4. YouTube picked it up in October 2013, including a Source Filmmaker clip of the Team Fortress 2 Heavy performing the gesture6.

Reddit pushed the format into wider circulation. On November 12, 2013, Redditor radarmaxx submitted a photo of a man tipping a fedora to /r/cringepics, where it cleared 1,800 upvotes and 120 comments within two months2. On December 23, 2013, an altcoin called FedoraCoin launched, with its unit nicknamed TIPS3.

The Jerry Messing portrait became the lasting face of the meme. Redditor I_Have2BrokenArms_AMA submitted Messing's studio headshot to /r/circlejerk on October 31, 2013, where it drew over 580 upvotes before being archived8. A /r/pics repost on January 31, 2014, titled 'Redditor in traditional garb,' pulled more than 14,700 upvotes in three months5. Confused viewers who did not recognize Messing circulated theories that he was a Disney Channel child actor7.

Timeline

2012-04-04

Earliest documented use of 'tips fedora' in a 4chan /v/ thread about white knight behavior.

2013-02

Phrase spreads across 4chan's /a/, /v/, /sp/, and /tv/ boards.

2013-09-15

Tumblr user Nyehs posts under the 'tips fedora' tag about being friendzoned.

2013-10-13

YouTuber archivemind uploads a Source Filmmaker video of the TF2 Heavy tipping a fedora.

2013-10-31

Jerry Messing's headshot is first paired with the fedora joke on /r/circlejerk.

2013-11-12

A fedora-tipping photo hits 1,800+ upvotes on /r/cringepics.

2013-12-23

FedoraCoin altcoin launches, with units called TIPS.

2014-01-31

Messing portrait reposted to /r/pics clears 14,700 upvotes.

Frequently Asked Questions