What Do You Mean You Don't Like X? / Powerful Combo

Submission 11,927

Part of a series on Exploitables. [View Related Entries]

About

What Do You Mean You Don't Like X?, also known as Powerful Combo, refers to an exploitable image macro of a shadowboxing diagram depicting a man throwing four different punches. In memes, creators use the template by inserting images around the cartoon fighter's punches to demonstrate fighting someone who doesn't enjoy the thing that they enjoy. The catchphrase associated with the template was first coined on Twitter in September 2021, however, the original image of the diagram was used in memes on Reddit as early as November 2020.

Origin

The origin of the original shadowboxing diagram (shown below) comes from the illustrator, Jason Lee, whose illustrations of various fitness techniques are primarily used in the publication Men's Journal^[1] for their website and print magazine. In 2020, the shadowboxing diagram was first used in the article, "This Boxing Workout Will Get You in the Best Shape of Your Life."

Precursor Meme on Reddit

The image of the shadowboxing diagram was originally used on Reddit under the name "Powerful Combo," as early as November 2020.^[7] Although the origin of the "Powerful Combo" meme is unknown, on December 30th, 2020, Redditor u/zakaria20199 reposted an image (shown below) to /r/Memes that used the shadowboxing diagram, captioned "Me for no reason." The post^[2] has since been deleted but it received roughly 30,000 upvotes in less than 24 hours.

The "Powerful Combo" template spread to other platforms like Twitter,^[3] as well as to other subreddits, like this post shared to /r/ProgrammerHumor^[4] on April 10th, 2021, which received roughly 5,000 upvotes.

Origin of "What Do You Mean You Don't Like X?"

On September 5th, 2021, Twitter^[5] user @hexgamesmode tweeted an image (shown below) in which the text reads, "What do you mean you don't like Pickles," as the first phrasal template example. The tweet received roughly 245,000 likes and 48,000 retweets over the course of one week.

Spread

On September 6th, 2021, Twitter^[6] user @bodegacat__ tweeted an image (shown below) using the template, replacing the word "Pickles" with "Soup." The tweet received roughly 203,000 likes and 35,000 retweets over the course of one week.

The template gained momentum across Twitter and Instagram going into September 2021. Creators began making memes about the color pink, yellow and Bingus, among other subjects.