-
Kevin
-
September 27, 2023
-
Common Questions
Your writing, at its best
Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant
Unless you’re a fan of 80s pop star Rick Astley or interested in the latest and greatest internet memes, you’re likely unfamiliar with the term “rickrolled.” Not to worry though; The Word Counter is here to help!
In this article, we’re exploring the super popular slang word rickrolled to uncover its meaning, origin, and more. So, if you’ve ever wondered what rickrolled or rickrolling means — keep reading. Here’s our complete guide on the term rickrolled.
What Is the Definition of Rick Rolled?
According to the Collins Dictionary, rick rolled is when someone gets tricked into watching the video for Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
Rickrolling (or a Rickroll) is a bait-and-switch internet prank that involves posting a hyperlink that is supposedly relevant to the topic at hand in an online discussion, but redirects the clicker to Astley’s music video.
What Is the Word Origin of Rick Rolled?
Believe it or not, the practice of rickrolling started in 2007 on the image board of 4chan.
Yup, it’s true — an unknown user posted a link that was thought to be a trailer for the highly anticipated game Grand Theft Auto IV, but in reality, took viewers to a freebooted upload of “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
Rickrolling quickly began to trend on the internet, and the rest is history.
Famous Rickrolls Throughout History
Now that you know all about our word of the day, let’s explore some of the most famous rickrolls of all time, shall we?
February 2008
During the Anonymous’ Project Chanology protests received what some dubbed “a live rick-rolling,” when Rick Astley’s song was performed, shouted, and played from the boomboxes of multiple protestors.
April 2008
YouTube was able to rickroll the internet; on April 1st, 2008, YouTube redirected all the traffic from its front page to the Rickroll music video. Additionally, in April, the Mets inadvertently rickroll’d their fans with the help of more than a few internet users.
At the start of April, the New York Mets professional baseball team posted a poll on their web-site that allowed users to select the song for the 8th inning sing-along by simply clicking their favorite — well, at the tune of 5 million upvotes later, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” was selected as that very song.
November 2008
Some of you may remember this one, when Rick Astley himself was able to help rickroll the crowd, as well as everyone watching at home. We are referring to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2008 when the pop star himself appeared on a float to perform his hit.
January 2009
Nancy Pelosi, United States Speaker of the House, was able to rickroll the public via YouTube when she posted a video to the site in honor of the HouseHub YouTube channel that had just launched.
February 2010
A bipartisan group of Oregon Representatives, unknowingly to their peers, pulled off a quite legendary rickroll. During the legislative discussion, each of the participants read a portion of the lyrics; later, their scheme was revealed via youtube after their video was uploaded in proper lyrical order.
August 2015
The Foo Fighters (rock band) rickroll’d a group of Westboro Baptist protestors when they loaded up into the bed of a truck and blasted Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” — which in turn led to a dance party starting in the streets of Kansas City, Missouri.
September 2015
Forever trendy, Apple was able to rickroll all of its customers, or at least those that were trying to get a little help with their Apple Watch. On the Apple Watch Support Page, Apple added a nod to Astley when they posted an image of their watch’s contact list with the initials spelling out lyrics to his hit song.
How Can You Use the Term Rick Rolled in a Sentence?
Wondering how to use “rickrolled” in a sentence? Check out these sentence examples listed for you to review below:
Jenny got rickrolled in one of the gaming forums when she asked for help yesterday.
I will never understand how Chris was able to become this so-called social media star, all he does is post his friends getting rickrolled on his TikTok and other social media.
I don’t really like getting rickrolled, but I do love a good eggroll.
Mary thought she was reading a reliable source — but then she got rickrolled!
Did you know that the word rickrolled comes from duckroll?
Tom’s colleagues rickrolled him this morning.
Don’t click that Amazon link… you might get rickrolled.
I don’t open random links anymore because I’ve been rickrolled so many times.
After getting rickrolled, my baby sister asked me who Rick Astley was.
The manager was furious about getting rickrolled.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been rickrolled.
What Are Translations of Rick Rolled?
Getting rickrolled may have started in America, but the act of rickrolling can be found all over the globe today. With this in mind, here are some translations of the word “rickrolled” from around the world:
- Afrikaans — rick gerol
- Arabic — ريك تدحرجت
- Czech — rick válcovaný
- Danish — rick rullet
- Greek — ρικ έλασης
- Italian — rick arrotolato
- Japanese — リックロール
- Russian — Рик катится
- Spanish — rick rodado
- Thai — ริครีด
- Turkish — rick yuvarlanmış
- Ukrainian — Рік покотився
- Vietnamese — rick cuộn
- Korean — 릭 롤링
- Norwegian — rick rullet
- Polish — Rick zwinięty
- Portuguese — rick rolou
- Swedish — rick rullade
- Dutch — rick rolde
- Finnish — rick valssattu
- French — rick roulé
- German — Rick gerollt
- Bulgarian — рик валцувани
- Chinese (simplified) — 里克滚
Conclusion
In short, the word rickrolled can be defined as getting tricked into clicking a hyperlink of UK pop singer Rick Astley’s 1987 song “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
With a new understanding of rickrolled, we invite you to rickroll your friends and prosper!
Sources:
The origins of the ‘Rick Roll’: Rick Astley on his role as an internet meme | Here & Now
Definition of Rick Rolled | New Word Suggestion | Collins Dictionary
The origins of the ‘Rick Roll’; 2021 in US labor movements : Here & Now | NPR
