The Goofy Ahh meme is a common form of spam comment on TikTok associated with a genre of online videos that use odd or silly sound effects and is a variation of the phrase “goofy ass.” It is widely considered an African American Vernacular English (AAVE) term, and today is most often found on TikTok videos by Black creators.
Where does Goofy Ahh come from?
The earliest use of “goofy ahh” online appears in a tweet from August 9, 2009, by user @negroalchemist. This example may be unrelated to the current form of the meme but has been cited by meme historians regardless.
It began to spread on TikTok as a spam comment, usually as “goofy ahh sound,” as early as 2021. Around this time, videos under the “21st Century Humor” genre began to spread and it became common for TikTok users to comment with the meme phrase en masse on these posts.
What is 21st Century Humor?
This video meme genre consists of montages pieced together from Vines and other old or archived content, often in short clips with rapid transitions. They are edited with low-effort visuals and strange or annoying sound effects associated with childish cartoons. 21st Century Humor is considered a new evolution of the genre known as “YouTube poop.”
Before the new genre gained a name, the style rose in popularity on iFunny. Videos called “iFunny poops” proliferated and began to spread to social media platforms. The format eventually caught on with Black TikTok users.
Goofy ahh remixes and spread
A corresponding comment trend emerged as the 21st Century Humor videos took off on TikTok, utilizing the characteristic sound effects. Users responded in droves to these videos with identical comments reading “goofy ahh sound,” with the meme peaking in 2022. It is particularly popular with videos containing loud snoring noises.
In late 2021, TikTok user @proddadood began making a series of “goofy ahh” remixes consisting of footage from his remixing program. The audio uses popular rap titles or video game music mixed with the sounds popularized in 21st Century Humor videos.
These TikTok entries consistently gain tens to hundreds of thousands of views.
Ahh vs. AUUUGHHHHH
Social media mavens often use the term “ahh” in place of the curse word “ass” both to convey AAVE parlance and to get around social media algorithms that may restrict the visibility of posts using strong language. You can find it following just about any adjective as a way to emphasize the preceding word.
Meanwhile, “AUUUGHHHHH” and its variations specifically refer to the sound of someone snoring loudly. Most of the time, these sounds are not true snoring but intentionally exaggerated and prolonged for comedic effect. It is frequently referred to as a “goofy ahh sound.”
The first TikTok post containing the sound that spread into a meme was spotted in October 202. It spread rapidly after an account reposted the video in February 2022. This original footage appears to be of someone who is truly snoring, but in an unusual manner that sounds like the series of letters used to spell out the audio.
Examples of Goofy Ahh pictures
Related memes:
- The ‘here we go again’ meme, explained
- What is the ‘Shocked Black Guy’ meme?
- Here’s why people are calling each other ‘simps’ online
- What the heck does ‘wig’ mean these days?
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The post What does “goofy ahh” mean and where did it come from? appeared first on The Daily Dot.
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