L + Ratio + You X

About

L + Ratio + You X refers to a catchphrase and phrasal template revolved around a fusion meme that combines The Ratio with Don't Care, Didn't Ask and adds several other specific insults as a reply to hot takes or in image macros. The phrase begins with "L," meaning loss, then "ratio" and lastly a combination of various things, most commonly "you fell off." The meme grew as a mostly text-based reply on Twitter for years, with specific meme examples being made as it started to pick up steam elsewhere online in late 2021 and early 2022.

Origin

Precursors

L + Ratio has been around since shortly after The Ratio term began in early 2017, as it is an offshoot of that trend. With regards to The Ratio, the act of "ratioing" someone is making a tweet or reply that has more likes or retweets than the original tweet or post that is being replied to. Adding in L + W slang around the late 2010s, it became commonplace to reply to someone with "hold this L / get ratio'd" as an attempt to ratio the person or call them out — further influenced by the precursor of Don't Care, Didn't Ask, in which specific insults were added to the message in an attempt to personalize the ratio and teardown of the post.

One of the earliest examples of combining several words together into a ratio chain was uploaded to the subreddit /r/OKbuddyretard on September 1st, 2021, by Redditor^[1] Awesometwosme, earning 6,100 upvotes in five months for his This Is Where I Watched My Parents Die meme that included a reference to L + Ratio (shown below).

Spread

On October 17th, 2021, the Redditor^[2] nonuntitled uploaded a Dogelore meme that uses a long combo of different insults to ratio another Doge, labeling the post "Twitter" and earning 4,100 upvotes in five months (shown below).

As the term Ratio became more mainstream, it was referenced in additional memes with increased frequency throughout late 2021. For example, on November 6th, 2021, the YouTube channel Aztroisist^[3] uploaded a video titled "you fell off + ratio" in which he rattled off several specific insults all meant to be attached to one reply to someone, showing the framework for future meme replies and copypastas to be made in a similar way (shown below).

The meme continued to expand to the point where completely irrelevant ratios against random things were being made as it became increasingly absurd in early 2022. An example of which is an L + Ratio of a samurai warrior, posted to Funnyjunk^[4] by the user foreignsunset on February 9th, 2022 (shown below).

Related Memes

YoungBoy Better

A notable early example of L + Ratio is using it as a way to extend the meme yb better, which is meant to say to others that the rapper NBA YoungBoy, who is often seen as a lackluster performer online. By using L + Ratio combined with + Youngboy Better, meme creators make the meme hyper-specific to attacking rappers and other musicians. This can be seen in the joke tweet by Lil Nas X in which he claims that Frank Ocean came up to him at the Met Gala and proclaimed "L + Ratio + youngboy better" to try and ruin his night (shown below).

Ninja and Pokimane Feud

Twitch streamer JiDion created the Ninja vs. Pokimane drama specifically through the use of L + Ratio. After Pokimane received a Twitch ban, JiDion sent his followers to Pokimane's chat to spam L + Ratio at her, causing JiDion to get banned for harassment. This in turn led to Ninja saying he would intervene on JiDion's behalf, which prompted people to pit Ninja against Pokimane.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References