# Winrar Winrar started as a leetspeak misspelling of 'winner' that spread on early 2000s message boards, playing on the name of the WinRAR file archiver software. The term first surfaced on an electronic music forum in January 2004 before spreading through EncyclopediaDramatica and 4chan, becoming a lasting piece of early internet slang used to crown someone the victor of a thread or joke. ## Origin The earliest documented use of 'teh winrar' appeared on XLtronic.com, an electronic music message board, on January 13, 2004, inside a thread titled 'cool nonsense sayings and quotes'[1]. User TehLaw posted the misspelling, and another user named princo responded in kind[3]. The scrambled 'rar' tail of 'winner' lined up with the file extension used by WinRAR archives, which is where the double meaning came from. - **Platform:** XLtronic forums (origin) / EncyclopediaDramatica & 4chan (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown (earliest known poster: XLtronic user TehLaw) - **Date:** 2004 ## Overview Winrar works as a leetspeak corruption of 'winner,' most often appearing in phrases like 'teh winrar is you' or 'u iz teh winrar'[2]. The joke rides on the overlap between calling someone a winner and the widely installed WinRAR archive utility, a program many PC users recognized by name without ever buying a license[3]. The software's famously permanent free trial, which never actually locks users out, became part of the running gag. Posts using the misspelling spread through 4chan and adjacent image boards during the mid-2000s[3]. Common variants include labelling someone 'teh winrar' after they win a contest or thread, or replying 'you sir, are a winrar' under a successful post[2]. The term also doubles back on itself: calling the actual WinRAR software 'the winrar' is still a stock joke whenever the trial dialog pops up. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Winrar? Winrar is an early-2000s leetspeak misspelling of 'winner' that doubles as the name of the WinRAR file archiver, used to declare someone the victor of a thread or joke[2]. ### Where did Winrar come from? The earliest known 'teh winrar' post was made by user TehLaw on the XLtronic electronic music forum on January 13, 2004[1]. ### What does Winrar mean? It means 'winner,' usually in the context of winning an internet exchange, with the extra joke that WinRAR is also the name of a popular file archive program[2]. ### How do you use Winrar? Typical usage includes lines like 'teh winrar is you' or 'you sir, are a winrar' as a mock-formal congratulation after a good post[2]. ### Is Winrar still popular? The phrase is a classic piece of early internet slang; it is still referenced in jokes about the WinRAR software's never-ending free trial on forums like Reddit[3]. ## References 1. [http://xltronic.com/mb/52307/cool-nonsense-sayings-and-quote]() 2. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Winrar]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/winrar]() 4. [https://encyclopediadramatica.rs/index.php?title=Winrar&oldid=3123]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/winrar Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library