do a little trolling
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editPopularized by a 2020 speech by then-US president Donald Trump (see quotation below).[1]
Verb
editdo a little trolling (third-person singular simple present does a little trolling, present participle doing a little trolling, simple past did a little trolling, past participle done a little trolling)
- (Internet slang, humorous) To cause a significant amount of trouble or mischief.
- 2020 March 2, Donald Trump, President Trump Rally in Charlotte, North Carolina[1], via C-SPAN:
- We like to troll, we like to go the night before one of their primaries, we just, we do a little trolling, it's called we do a little trolling.
- 2021 May 30, u/cosmicmangobear, “Fuck David Chipman”, in Reddit[2], r/PoliticalCompassMemes, archived from the original on 7 April 2024:
- When the 86 civilians, including women and children, are sus so you do a little trolling by burning them alive and take a selfie smiling over their smoldering remains
- 2021 November 16, @real_lord_miles, Twitter[3], archived from the original on 7 April 2024:
- When I went to Pompeii I found a coin (might be a replica), when I go to South Sudan I'll drop it somewhere to confuse future Archaeologist. We do a little trolling
- 2022 July 25, u/Omandaco, “Explain Canadians”, in Reddit[4], r/HistoryMemes, archived from the original on 7 April 2024:
- Yeah, the Brits and french did the original gift tossing, then the Canadians saw what they were doing and would toss tin can grenades in socks thier[sic – meaning their] way to do a little trolling.
- 2023 May 20, @Wasting_Night, Twitter[5], archived from the original on 7 April 2024:
- Epic doing a little trolling by making these two weekly quests mutually-exclusive.
- 2024 March 13, u/mechwarrior719, “Guy I swear I didn't do it (maybe)”, in Reddit[6], r/NonCredibleDefense, archived from the original on 6 April 2024:
- Alright. My NCD prediction is some madlads in a US Navy submarine sneak into the Black Sea to do a bit o' trolling.
Usage notes
edit- Humorous variations of the phrase, such as "an infinitesimal quantity of shenanigans", "minuscule amount of silliness", or "a tiny bit of tomfoolery", are common.
References
edit- ^ “It's Called We Do a Little Trolling”, in Know Your Meme, launched 2007