for the lulz

English

Alternative forms

• for the lols, for the lolz

Etymology

First online uses appear around 2006 on 4chan.

Prepositional phrase

for the lulz

1. (chiefly Internet slang) For kicks, for personal amusement, especially schadenfreude.
   • 2012, Will Gragido, Daniel Molina, John Pirc, Nick Selby, Blackhatonomics: An Inside Look at the Economics of Cybercrime, Newnes, →ISBN, page 29:

     Still others are looking for a cause; perhaps this is the most dangerous of all, as their desire to be a part of something can have serious repercussions. And still others are in it all for the lulz.

   • 2014, Lev Grossman, The Magician's Land, Random House, →ISBN, page 47:

     […] fairies thought all this military stuff was pretty silly, but they went along with it for the same reason that fairies ever did anything, namely, for the lulz.

   • 2015 October 23, Michael E. Miller, “Controversial blogger, infamous hacker team up to release remaining Planned Parenthood videos”, in Washington Post‎^[1], →ISSN:

     True to his equally controversial reputation, Johnson’s hacker accomplice, Auernheimer, said he mostly did it for the lulz.

   • 2017, Chris Brookmyre, Want You Gone, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

     We're hackers on steroids. Our motivation is twofold. We do it because we can. We do it for the lulz.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:for the lulz.

Translations

for kicks — see for kicks