OK, Hear Me Out

About

OK, Hear Me Out or Okay, Hear Me Out is a catchphrase and slang expression that introduces an idea that demands the listener to consider every point before reacting. Appearing online as early as 2008, the phrase spread over the following years and has been incorporated into numerous memes, such as a format suggesting casting choices for real-world actors with fictional characters.

Origin

Although the origin is unknown, one of the earliest recorded use of the phrase was on September 25th, 2008, when Twitter user @hijinksensue^[1] tweeted, "Ok, hear me out. MORE COFFEE. Just roll with me on this" (shown below).

Spread

It became common, notably on Twitter, to use the phrase when introducing a succinct original idea. On August 11th, 2009, Twitter user @scotchka^[2] tweeted, "Ok guys, hear me out…next year instead of Comic Con…let's go the 11th annual Gathering of the Juggalos!" (shown below, left). On June 13th, 2010, Urban Dictionary^[3] user enragedpenguin defined "hear me out" as "A request that the listener/audience waits until they have heard all the information before voicing their opinion. Often said when the speaker anticipates that what they are about to say will be prematurely interrupted, dismissed or ignored without allowing the full story being told." Throughout the next few years, the phrase was used online in the way it was defined. On December 15th, 2018, omghotmemes reposted an explanation of Gru's height to Tumblr^[4] which received over 90 notes in six months (shown below, center). On March 2nd, 2019, Chewedcorn reposted an idea for a game show to Tumblr^[5] which used the phrase and garnered over 100 notes in three months (shown below, right).

Little Mermaid Casting

On July 4th, 2019, following the initial casting announcement for the live-action Little Mermaid movie, Twitter users began using the phrase "OK Hear Me Out" to introduce their own casting ideas for the movie. Twitter user @hattiesoykan^[6] posted a side-by-side photo of Michael Scott and the prince (shown below, left). The tweet gained over 26,500 likes and 5,500 retweets in five days. The next day, Twitter user @domcorona_^[7] used the same phrasal template to post side-by-side pictures of Ursula and Guy Fieri (shown below, right). The tweet accumulated over 549,800 likes and 107,000 retweets in four days.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References