TMI / Too Much Information

About

TMI is an abbreviation that stands for Too Much Information, a slang term used when someone overshares unnecessary information that makes the listener annoyed or uncomfortable. The abbreviation can be traced back to 1988 but was popularized as internet slang in the 2000s.

Origin

According to Wiktionary, the earliest known use of the abbreviation TMI meaning "too much information" can be traced back to its use in 1988 by former Wall Street Journalist Joseph Checkler, however, this information is uncited.^[1]

On October 9th, 2002, Urban Dictionary^[2] user DocGonzo posted the earliest known definition of the term, describing TMI as meaning "way more than you need/want to know about someone" (seen below, top). A discussion on a UK-based English forum^[3] from October 20th, 2003, notes that the phrase was heard in the U.S. in the '90s and popularized by shows like SNL (seen below, bottom).

Spread

A January 30th, 2007, post on NetLingo.com^[3] classified "TMI" as text message shorthand commonly used in forums, chatrooms, emails, and blogs.

A September 5th, 2012, tweet^[4] by Lena Dunham used the word TMI, gathering nearly 200 likes in ten years (seen below, left). A December 13th, 2012, tweet^[5] by Phil Lester used the word as well, gathering over 600 likes in ten years (seen below, right).

An August 31st, 2013, tweet by Lil Wayne^[7] used the word TMI, gathering over 1,700 likes in ten years (seen below, left). A November 28th, 2014, tweet^[6] by Shawn Mendes that read "Currently pooping #SNS #TMI" gathered over 13,000 likes in nine years (seen below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References