Ist Es Over Für Mich?

Submission 16,019

Part of a series on IT'S OVER. [View Related Entries]

About

Is Es Over Für Mich? is a German / Denglisch catchphrase translating to "Is it Over for me?" and referencing the It's Over meme. Popularized by a 2023 viral X / Twitter post in which a German user asked about his receding hairline, the catchphrase has since been used in various contexts, most often in the contexts of balding and Norwood Reaper memes.

Origin

On May 14th, 2023, X^[1] / Twitter @Hundefriedhoof posted a photograph of his receding hairline, commenting, "Ist es over für mich?" The phrase, written mostly in German but using the English word "over,"^[2] references the It's Over meme and translates to "Is it over for me?" The post (shown below, left) received over 720 reposts and 9,300 likes prior to removal.

On May 20th, X^[2] tweleb @kirawontmiss quoted the post, commenting, "its crazy how you don’t even gotta speak german to understand what he said in this tweet😭" The post (shown below, right) received over 8,200 reposts and 159,000 likes in one year.

Spread

The post saw viral spread online through reposts in the following months.^[3] The spread was followed by other users using the phrase to comment on images of people balding.

For example, on July 12th, 2023, X^[4] user @puthimonthenews commented the phrase on a photograph of a 15-year-old teenager's head, with the reply gaining over 200 likes in nine months (shown below, left). On August 20th, X^[5] user @PBValve posted a cropped image of Half-Life 2 model Male_02, captioning it with the phrase. The post (shown below, right) gained over 210 reposts and 3,500 likes in eight months.

The phrase saw more use in other contexts in the following months, often being used as an equivalent to It's Over meme. For example, on November 5th, 2023, X^[6] user @tankwraith made a post which received over 400 likes in five months (shown below).

It's Over

IT'S OVER refers to a series of captioned image macros and reaction images using a person, character, animal or Wojak that is making a sad, defeated or depressed face.

Norwood Scale / Norwood Reaper

Norwood Scale, also known as the Hamilton-Norwood Scale, is a scale used to classify the stages of male pattern baldness, numbered one to seven. The scale has often been used online to measure the presence and progression of baldness, both one's own and that of other people, particularly within lookism communities. In 2018, frequent use of the scale online spawned the Norwood Reaper meme and slang term, a catchphrase used to describe the death-like inevitability of baldness once hair loss has started.