What is When the Function Got X?

A snowclone caption format where any noun fills the final slot of "When the function got Hennessy", often placed over a Whisper confession with the hand-rubbing Scheming Emoticon.

Where did When the Function Got X come from?

Instagram user @squidyz posted the first known version with "glucose" over a sunflower on September 15th, 2022, adapting the "Hennessy" phrase that had been circulating since February 2021.

What does When the Function Got X mean?

"Function" is slang for a party. The joke is that whatever X stands in for is extremely hyped at that party, usually something absurd or mundane like "grilled cheese" or "spinach and artichoke dip".

How do you use When the Function Got X?

Place the Scheming Emoticon over a Whisper-style confession background and caption it "When the function got [your noun]", picking a word whose arrival at a party would be funny or ridiculous.

Is When the Function Got X still popular?

Viral iterations peaked in August 2023, when @mylifeaslitliz's "Spinach and artichoke dip" edit drew roughly 47,800 likes on X, and the format has tapered since.

When the Function Got X

2022snowclone / image macrodeclining

Published October 15, 2026

In September 2022, Instagram user @squidyz replaced "Hennessy" with "glucose" in a sunflower meme, turning a Black Twitter line about parties into a flexible snowclone caption. By August 2023, variations stamped with the hand-rubbing "Scheming Emoticon" over a Whisper confession were drawing tens of thousands of likes on X with fillers like "Spinach and artichoke dip."

snowclone memes black twitter memes catchphrase memes exploitable templates aave memes

Overview

When the Function Got X keeps the hook of "When the function got Hennessy", a Black Twitter line about a party where the liquor arrived, and replaces the final word with anything else, from "glucose" to "grilled cheese"1 2. Humor comes from the gap between party hype and whatever absurd or mundane item fills in. Posts typically run the caption over an image matching the filler word, like a sunflower or a Wise Mystical Tree edit7.

Starting in mid-2023, the format locked onto one visual: an exploitable Whisper confession stamped with the "Scheming Emoticon", a hand-rubbing icon sold on Adobe Stock8. The emoticon reads as plotting, which plays off the "function got X" caption to suggest someone is extremely excited that whatever X is has turned up at the party5.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Instagram (originated) / X (viral spread)

Creator

@squidyz

Date

2022

Memes using the full line "When the function got Hennessy" started appearing online around February 2021 and peaked in April 20225. On September 15th, 2022, Instagram user @squidyz posted the first known swap, captioning a sunflower image with "When the function got glucose", which drew around 9,100 likes over 11 months1. That post gave the snowclone its template, cutting the "Hennessy" out of the original and letting any noun take its place.

How It Spread

Nine days after @squidyz's post, TikToker @2005.vauxhall_monaro_vxr attached the "glucose" line to a Wise Mystical Tree edit, which traveled to repost accounts on TikTok and Instagram7. On December 26th, 2022, X user @pradanitecrawlr posted a "grilled cheese" version that collected around 3,300 likes over the next eight months2.

The template picked up its signature visual in January 2023. On January 13th, Instagram user @pastor.flacc posted a screenshot of their own X post reading "When the function has a jungle gym", stamped with the Scheming Emoticon from Adobe Stock3 8. On August 5th, 2023, @quirkedup_paulyshawty posted a Whisper-style exploit with the Scheming Emoticon captioned "When the function got Crack", collecting around 4,900 likes in three weeks4.

Virality peaked a week later. On August 12th, 2023, a Facebook user posting under a glitched "chillfailure" handle made the earliest known remix of @quirkedup_paulyshawty's layout, drawing over 260 reactions in 17 days9. Later that same day, X user @mylifeaslitliz posted the "Spinach and artichoke dip" edit, which grew to roughly 47,800 likes in 17 days6. More iterations surfaced on X, Instagram and Tumblr through the rest of August 202310.

Timeline

2021-02

"When the function got Hennessy" memes start appearing online, laying the groundwork for the snowclone.

2022-09-15

Instagram user @squidyz posts "When the function got glucose" over a sunflower, the first known X variation.

2022-09-24

TikToker @2005.vauxhall_monaro_vxr applies the "glucose" line to a Wise Mystical Tree edit.

2022-12-26

X user @pradanitecrawlr posts a "grilled cheese" version, drawing around 3,300 likes.

2023-01-13

Instagram user @pastor.flacc attaches the Scheming Emoticon to the format with a "jungle gym" caption.

2023-08-05

@quirkedup_paulyshawty posts the Whisper-exploit layout with "When the function got Crack."

2023-08-12

@mylifeaslitliz posts the "Spinach and artichoke dip" edit on X, which draws roughly 47,800 likes.

How to Use This Meme

Pick a noun, often food, a drug or a childish object. Stamp it over a Whisper-style confession background with the Scheming Emoticon hand-rubbing icon, and caption it "When the function got [your noun]". The common convention is to pick something either outlandish for a party (crack, a jungle gym) or ridiculously mundane (spinach and artichoke dip), with the comic beat coming from how hyped the Scheming Emoticon looks about it3 6.