Slang dictionary
reply guy
[ ri-plahy gahy ]
What does听reply guy听mean?
A reply guy is a term for a man who frequently comments on tweets or other social media posts in an annoying, condescending, forward, or otherwise unsolicited manner鈥揺specially posts by women. It can also refer to a person who frequently and zealously responds to posts from famous people on Twitter.
Where does reply guy come from?
Reply guys didn’t always have such a bad rap.
Many brands, such as Wendy’s and Netflix, personify their brands in their social media accounts. One听early adopter was the restaurant chain Applebee’s in 2012. Their Facebook social media manager would notably reply to comments on the site, earning the nickname Applebee’s Reply Guy thanks to their humorous and endearing replies.
But as early as 2015, reply guy became associated with someone who replies immediately and obnoxiously to posts on Twitter, especially in reply to famous people. As if they have nothing better to do but wait around to weigh in on a topic with their two cents.
I tried to be the douchey first reply guy to the new Texas governor but someone beat me to it with a "please ban sharia law" tweet
— Arturo Beverage (@saltythetrain)
By 2018, the gendered nature of reply guys was on full display, particularly their tendency to mansplain 辞谤听presumptuously flirt. In September of that year, scientists @shrewshrew and @sbarolo offered a hilarious听taxonomy of nine different kinds of reply guys听“who repeat the same unhelpful comments.”
get a lot of 鈥淩eply Guys鈥� who repeat the same unhelpful comments. and I (a woman & a man in science) have attempted to catalog those replies, to save us all the trouble of writing new responses every time.
presenting THE NINE TYPES OF REPLY GUYS
(1/n)
— Scott Barolo (@sbarolo)
In November 2018, author Emlyn Crenshaw wrote a parodical听piece f辞谤听惭肠厂飞别别苍别测’蝉听titled听“Reply Guy Constitution,” an excerpt of which humorously summarizes the reply guy mentality:
For the good of the Internet and the preservation of Male Excellence, We shall weigh in on women鈥檚 thoughts at every possible opportunity. Never shall We leave a comedian鈥檚 jokes un-improved or a female鈥檚 observations un-corrected. Eternally shall We pipe in.
Examples of reply guy
Who uses reply guy?
Despite its initial positive use,听reply guy听is largely used as a dismissive听pejorative.
Like lad > reply guy > dm dude
— need 1 more viral tweet to earn GED (@gloomfather)
Reply guy is sometimes qualified in a specific way, such as blue check reply guy听(referring to verification on Twitter) or first reply guy听(someone who responds first or very quickly to posts).
becoming a verified reply guy , beloved by hundreds
— 馃嚬馃嚛 (@ironicalbionicl)
As the name suggests, reply guy听has its roots in male privilege and online bullying, although women sometimes use it ironically.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of reply guy like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of reply guy that will help our users expand their word mastery.