Elegant Memes

About

Elegant Memes refers to a TikTok meme trend in which old-timey portraits are paired with classical music alongside a caption that reads, "When I try to type X but it autocorrects to Y." In this caption and phrasal template, X typically refers to a new-age statement or insult while Y is an interpretation of that phrase in older, more formal and flowery English. The meme was popularized on TikTok in March 2024, often set to a Tchaikovsky ballad from The Nutcracker.

Origin

The earliest known TikTok^[1] video following the "Elegant Memes" format was a March 17th, 2024, clip posted by TikToker @themanwithahat1. The video showed an old-timey portrait set to a Tchaikovsky ballad, with a caption that read, "How it feels to lose all of your mechanical pencils, and you have the ask the teacher for one of their wood pencils." The post gathered over 2.3 million plays and 500,000 likes in two weeks (seen below).

Spread

On March 21st, 2024, TikToker^[2] @.add1sbackk posted a similar video, with a caption that read, "When you were just yapping and accidentally start talking in a British accent." The post gathered over 2.4 million plays and 580,000 likes in a week (seen below, left). Also on March 21st, TikToker^[3] @reckxy_ posted a painting of a coronation with the caption, "How I feel after making bro party leader," gathering over 2.7 million plays and 600,000 likes in a week (seen below, right).

On March 26th, 2024, TikToker^[4] @notpeila posted a version of the meme that read, "When I try to type 'I'm on my way!' but it autocorrects to, 'the horses are galloping at precarious speeds, perhaps I may arrive soon.'" The post gathered over 19 million plays and 4.6 million likes in five days (seen below, left).

Also on March 26th, TikToker^[5] @amirrorsreflection made a post that read, "When I try to type 'guys lets hang out,' but it autocorrects to, 'ladies shall we meet under the sunlight and chatter with tea and biscuits?'" The post gathered over 6 million plays and 1.8 million likes in five days (seen below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References