Simp

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About

Simp, often interpreted as an acronym for Sucker Idolizing Mediocre Pussy or a portmanteau of "sissy" and "pimp," is a slang expression used to ridicule males who are perceived as being overly invested in a woman and acting submissive to that person. The expression is often used in a meaning similar to a white knight or an "orbiter," or when referring to the fans of female Twitch streamers. The slang word was popularized by members of the anti-feminist movement MGTOW and reached mainstream recognition in October 2019.

Origin

The initial usage of "simp" in its literary meaning as the abbreviation of "simpleton" has been traced to the early 20th century.^[1] It may also be an abbreviation for "simper," which means "smile in an affectedly coy or ingratiating manner."^[20]

The exact origin and etymology of the word simp in its slang sense is unknown. One of the earliest known usages of the slang term in the popular culture is rap song "Sippin' on Some Syrup" recorded by Three 6 Mafia in 1999 and released on February 6th, 2000.^[11] In the song, "simp" is used as an antonym for "pimp."

I'm trill working the wheel, a pimp, not a simp.

The earliest known definition of the word in its slang meaning was added by Urban Dictionary^[2] Artemus Clyde on January 20th, 2005 (shown below).

A guy who tags along with hot girls because he thinks it will get him laid.

On March 3rd, 2005, Urban Dictionary^[19] user excel defined "symp" as a derivative of "sympathetic." They wrote, "A man who places importance on a woman's irrational problems. He is sympathetic to her petty nagging and believes it will get him laid."

On October 11th, 2005, Urban Dictionary^[3] user abbyyy posted another popular definition that accumulated over 3,300 thumbs up in fifteen years. On December 7th, 2012, Urban Dictionary user MacDamage^[4] added the most widely accepted definition of the word (shown below). The definition accumulated over 6,500 thumbs up in seven years.

- A man that puts himself in a subservient/submissive position under women in hopes of winning them over, without the female bringing anything to the table.
- A man that puts too much value on a female for no reason.
- A man that prides himself with "Chivalry" in hopes of getting sexual gratification from women.
- A square with no game other than “Rolling out the Red-Carpet” for every female.

While the exact etymology of the word is unknown, an April 12th, 2005 Urban Dictionary^[2] definition by user Dirty q suggests that it formed as a combination of "sissy" and "pimp". Starting approximately in 2013, the definition of SIMP as "someone idolizing mediocre pussy" or "sucker idolizing mediocre pussy" gained spread online. The earliest found post containing such a definition was made by Take Me Back to Sosua^[9] forum user Blacknight69 on April 17th, 2013.

Spread

On August 7th, 2013, YouTuber DJ Akademiks published the video "Drake is official King Of the Simps." The post received more than 9,000 views in less than seven years (shown below, left). Two years later, on July 15th, 2015, he published "Joe Budden Calls Meek Mill a Simp and Gets Roasted by Nicki Minaj and The Barbz." The post received more than 200,000 views in less than five years (shown below, right).

The slang word did not see significant spread prior to 2019. Until January 2019, the word had been used in Reddit^[5] comments over 29,600 times, with over 10,700 documented uses in comments on the anti-feminist /r/MGTOW^[6] subreddit. On 4chan,^[7] the word had been used over 12,200 times until January 2019, with over 1,800 uses on /pol/.^[8]

Through 2019, the word saw a notable increase in use online, particularly on /r/MGTOW subreddit with over 7,600 comments containing the word posted in 2019.^[10] On October 16th, 2019, MEL Magazine^[12] reported on the spread of the slang word on social media. Starting in mid-October, 2019, multiple viral tweets containing the word were posted on Twitter (examples shown below).^[13]^[14]^[15]

Following the spread of the word on mainstream social media, reaction images and other memes utilizing the slang term gained prominence. For example, on October 27th, Instagram^[16] user mememonk_ reposted a Drax Laughs at You reaction image using the word, with the post receiving over 24,700 upvotes. On December 5th, 2019, iFunny user MeAmsABeefFishstick^[17] posted a The Ogre Has Fallen In Love With the Princess meme dub which received over 8,300 smiles. On December 11th, 2019, Twitter^[18] user posted an edited a Team Fortress 2 Meet the Team meme which received over 670 retweets and 3,700 likes (shown below).

Simp Nation

Simp Nation, also known as Welcome to X Nation, refers to a TikTok trend which involves a TikToker describing certain behavior characteristic of a simp, an orbiter or a white knight and proceeding to welcome those who have partaken in such behavior to "Simp Nation," thus calling them a simp. The trend gained popularity on TikTok in mid-December 2019.

Mordecai Was a Simp

Mordecai Was a Simp refers to a series of posts, memes and videos arguing that the deuteragonist of Regular Show animated series Mordecai expressed behavior characteristic of simps; i.e. behaved sheepishly hung up on his object of desire Margaret to the point of acting subservient to her and putting her interests above his friendship with his best friend Rigby. The argument also saw Mordecai being compared with the main protagonist of Adventure Time Finn.