Chonk

Description[]

Chonk is a 2018 internet slang term meme that refers to an informal term, meaning "fat". Chonk is often associated with pictures of fat animals. It grew in popularity in the late summer of 2018 after a photoshopped chart of cat body-fat indexes renamed the "Chonk" scale grew popular on Twitter and Reddit. Additionally, "Oh Lawd He Comin", the final level of the Chonk Chart, was adopted as an online catchphrase used to describe large objects, animals or people. It is also not to be confused with the Saturday Night Live sketch of the same name.

History[]

The term "chonk" was popularized in a photoshopped edit of a chart illustrating cat body-fat indexes and the risk of health problems for each class. The first known post of the "Chonk" photoshop, which classifies each cat to a certain level of "chonk"-ness ranging from "A fine boi" to "OH LAWD HE COMIN", was posted to Facebook group THIS CAT IS C H O N K Y on August 2, 2018 by Emilie Chang.

Web usage[]

The chart surged in popularity after it was tweeted by @dreamlandtea on August 10, 2018, gaining over 37,000 retweets and 94,000 likes.

After the chart was posted there, it began growing popular on Reddit. It was reposted to r/Delighfullychubby on August 13, 2018, and r/fatcats on August 16. Additionally, cats were shared with variations on the phrase "Chonk." In @dreamlandtea's Twitter thread, she rated several cats on the Chonk scale. On r/tumblr, a screenshot of a post featuring a "good luck cat" titled "Lucky Chonk" gained over 27,000 points.

The popularity of the phrase led to the creation of a subreddit, r/chonkers, that gained nearly 400 subscribers in less than a month. Some photoshops of the chonk chart also spread on Reddit. For example, an edit showing various versions of Pikachu on the chart posted to r/me_irl gained over 1,200 points. The chart gained further popularity when it was posted to r/pics September 29, 2018. The poster claimed one of their coworkers at a vet clinic put the chart in their office, gaining over 13,000 points.

Chonk Chart[]

The Chonk Chart is a meme chart that shows how much "chonk" an animal is. The photo of the chart is an edited picture of an actual weight chart to determine if a person's pet is healthy.

16-25%=A fine boi
26-35%=He chomnk
36-45%=A heckin' chonker
46-55%=HEFTYCHONK
56-65%=MEGACHONKER
65%=OW LAWD HE COMIN'

Oh Lawd He Comin'[]

As the chart grew in popularity, the final level of "Chonk", known as "Oh Lawd He Comin", became a frequently-used caption and catchphrase for images of large animals and objects online, both facetiously and sincerely. For examples, on October 4, 2018, Twitter user @dgahk captioned an image of a kitten with the phrase. The post received more than 64,000 retweets and 171,000 likes in less than two months.

However, animals and objects other than cats were also labeled "Oh Lawd He Comin". For examples, Twitter user @homo_cidal tweeted an image of a lizard with the caption. Twitter user @TheJWittz tweeted a video of the Pokémon Snorlax with the caption. The post received more than 1,500 retweets and 10,000 likes in less than one week.

Abby the Otter[]

On December 18, 2019, Monterey Bay Aquarium posted on their Twitter account "Abby is a thicc girl. What an absolute unit. She c h o n k. Look at the size of this lady. OH LAWD SHE COMIN. Another internetism." Later on, Monterey Bay Aquarium deleted the original tweet and later apologized for fat shaming Abby the Otter.