About
GTFO is an Internet acronym for the phrase “Get The Fuck Out” which is typically used to express disbelief or contempt towards someone else’s remark in online discussions.
Origin
The precise origin of the abbreviation “GTFO” is unknown, however, the earliest Urban Dictionary[1] entry was submitted by user newbie on December 8th, 2002.
Spread
On July 16th, 2006, an entry for “GTFO” was created on Wiktionary,[2] defining the abbreviation as an internet slang term used to “express disbelief or displeasure.” On May 30th, 2008, YouTuber Adam Franklin uploaded a music video for a song titled “G.T.F.O.” (shown below), which garnered upwards of 190,000 views and 720 comments in the next six years.
On August 29th, 2010, Redditor m4gnificent_b4st4rd submitted a post titled “GTFO– For when she needs to be dumped” to the /r/f7u12[3] subreddit, featuring a modified version of the Fuck Yearage comic character with a pointing hand and the caption “GTFO” (shown below, left). Prior to being archived, the post received 300 up votes and 30 comments. On the following day, Redditor famouslastwords submitted a rage comic featuring the new stick figure (shown below, right),[4] which gained over 830 up votes and 90 comments before it was archived.
On September 4th, an entry for “GTFO” was added to the World of Warcraft Wiki.[6] On January 5th, 2011, YouTuber JJasonDww uploaded a rap song titled “G.T.F.O – Down With Webster” produced by Marty Martino (shown below). In the first three years, the video accumulated more than 100,000 views and 170 comments.
On March 29th, a Facebook[5] page titled “GTFO” was launched, which received upwards of 21,000 likes in the following two years. On March 9th, 2012, Redditor strawhatmenace submitted an image macro of a cat throwing a squirrel with the caption “GTFO” (shown below, left) to the /r/funny[8] subreddit. Prior to being archived, the post gained over 3,700 up votes and 30 comments. On July 28th, 2013, Redditor andreas8xen posted a Facebook screenshot to the /r/4chan[7] subreddit, showing messages from a young boy ordering someone to “GTFO before I link /b/ your profile” (shown below, right). In the first 10 days, the post garnered upwards of 9,200 up votes and 370 comments.
Notable Examples
On message boards and discussion forums, “GTFO” has been prominently iterated in the form of reaction images.
Tits or GTFO
Tits or GTFO is an expression used on discussion forums and imageboard sites in response to other users who claim to be women.
