Sheesh

About

Sheesh, or Sheeesh, is a popular slang term and an alternative to "jeez" or "damn," used to express surprise or disbelief about something, often in a positive manner, and to hype up or compliment another person. The term has existed since the 1950s and saw a significant increase in use throughout the 2010s, popularized to a degree by NBA player LeBron James and drip culture, inspiring a popular sound on TikTok in early 2021. The expression is often combined with the Ice In My Veins pose.

Origin

According to Meriam-Webster,^[1] the first known use of the word "sheesh" can be traced back to 1955 and was used to express "disappointment, annoyance or surprise." The word's definition has since changed slightly, allowing it to be used as a positive expression of surprise rather than one of annoyance, with this becoming the dominant way to use the phrase around 2017.

On April 23rd, 2017, Urban Dictionary^[2] user Ugly_God_09 defined the word as, "Dammmmmn," garnering over 817 likes in four years (shown below).

Spread

Young Thug

Rapper Young Thug has used "sheesh" as a term of admiration in songs as early as 2015, notably on the track "Check" releases that year.

I got me a check, I got a check
Yeah, I done got me a check, I got a check (sheesh, sheesh)
Yeah, I done got me a check, I got a check (sheesh)
Yeah, I done got me a check, I got a check (yeah, yeah-yeah!)

LeBron James

Professional NBA player LeBron James is known to use the word "sheesh" and hashtag #sheesh in his social media posts starting in 2017, often to show positive surprise and excitement about something (examples shown below from 2017). His use of the word is commonly mentioned and joked about in comments, and it's likely LeBron helped popularize the modern use of the word.

That year, the use of the word increased significantly, used a lot of the time to compliment someone's clothes or "drip." For example, on December 8th, 2017, actor Cameron Boyce posted a photo of Karan Brar in a GQ suit captioned, "sheesh!!!! look at my brother," garnering over 390,000 likes in three years (shown below).

The Prince Family "Sheesh"

On May 10th, 2020, family YouTubers^[6] The Prince Family released a music video titled "Sheesh" in which Brianna Prince raps a song heavily featuring the word "sheesh" used in a modern context (shown below). The video gained over 9.2 million views in just under a year.

Sneaker Meetup Parodies

In July 2020, the TikTok trend parodying sneaker meetups in which people meet up to trade deadstock sneakers was popularized on the platform. The videos present exaggerated and surreal versions of sneaker meetups with elements of mockery towards hypebeasts, including their tendency to use the word "sheesh" to express excitement. In turn, most of these videos include heavy use of the word "sheesh" (examples shown below, left and right).

Sheesh Sound Effect

On February 14th, 2021, TikToker^[3] @meetjulio posted a video of a frog sitting on a table as a number of people off-screen yell "sheesh," garnering over 1.9 million views in just over a month (shown below).

The sound inspired numerous skits over the next month, many of them jokes about showing something of pride to a group of friends or family, with the sound representing their reactions (examples shown below, left and right).

The trend reached a peak in popularity in late March 2021, resulting in numerous viral videos. On March 27th, TikToker^[4] @ucharlie made a skit using the sound, garnering over 5.9 million views in four days (shown below, left). On March 29th, TikToker^[5] @calibuu posted a video using the sound garnering over 11 million views in two days (shown below, right).

On April 6th, TikToker^[14] and YouTuber Rowheim Farooqui uploaded a video in which he makes his Tesla play the sound effect when the horn is honked, garnering over 24 million views on the former and 2.5 million on the latter in two months (shown below).

On April 29th, music critic and YouTuber^[15] Anthony Fantano posted a video in which it's edited to appear as if he says "sheesh" for over an hour and a half, garnering over 500,000 views in under two months (shown below).

Sheesh Choirs

On April 21st, 2021, TikToker^[7] @ebay_lit uploaded a video in which he says "sheesh" in harmony in a choral manner with two friends, creating a "sheesh choir" of sorts (shown below). The upload gained over 12 million views in just over a month.

On April 25th, YouTuber^[8] Josh F posted a harmonized version of the video showing off the chords used, garnering over 500,000 views in just over a month (shown below).

Ebay_lit's video inspired numerous TikTokers to make their own renditions of "sheesh choirs." For example, on April 25th, TikToker^[9] @veryveryvinny posted a video doing a "sheesh choir" by layering his own voice a number of times, garnering over 4.3 million views in a month (shown below).

The sound for Vinny's video, titled "Heavenly Sheeeeesh," went viral, inspiring over 61,000 TikTokers^[10][11] to use it in skits and lip-dub videos as of June 2nd (notable examples shown below).

TikTokers^[12][13] continued to upload original sheesh choir videos as well as use the existing sounds (examples of original sheesh choirs shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References