Sir, This Is A Wendy’s is a slang catchphrase used in response to someone saying something out-of-pocket, weird, ranty, or inappropriate to the time and place—such as a Wendy’s restaurant.
Meme basics:
- Meme Creator: Possibly @ethanhunter
- Meme Type: Text
- First Appearance: Circa 2011
- Origin Source: Twitter
- Peak Popularity: 2011-now
- Notable Variations
- Sir, this is an Arby’s.
- Cartoonist SrGrafo’s formatted comic
Where did the phrase “Sir, this is a Wendy’s” come from?
The first use of the meme format referenced the fast-food restaurant chain Arby’s in a tweet by @ethanhunter from 2011.
It may be that Wendy’s took off as the preferred location because of an episode of The Office titled “Chair Model.” Fan favorite Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell) receives the number of a Wendy’s restaurant as a prank after asking for potential dates. When he calls, it’s not a hot lady, it’s a Wendy’s and the worker replies, “No dude, this is a Wendy’s restaurant.”
What does it mean when someone says “Sir this is a Wendy’s”?
It usually means that they think whatever you just said is so irrelevant that you may as well be making a serious announcement in the middle of a Wendy’s restaurant—no one there cares or understands what you’re saying or why you’re talking. They’re just trying to get some food. People say it to take the air out of someone’s balloon and make them feel foolish.
The phrase picked up throughout the 2010s and became a pretty ubiquitous response to other people’s tweets, moving from the joke format @ethanhunter first popularized to a basic one-line reply.
Meme variations
Another popular phrase is “Sir, this is an Arby’s,” just in case a different fast food name puts a spin on things.
There was also a popular comic on Reddit created by cartoonist SrGrafo, which actually takes place in a Wendy’s. Titled “Airport Security,” he posted it to /r/comics in 2019.
According to Know Your Meme, a comment on the post reading, “Sir, this is a Wendy’s” received numerous upvotes, so SrGrafo added panels to the original with the phrase. He later shared another comic featuring a Wendy’s cashier, which became a meme format using the phrase, first edited by Redditor Desnof117.
Recent use
At this point, responding, “Sir, This is a Wendy’s” is on par with saying, “That’s what she said.” It’s a bit corny, repetitive, kind of annoying, and maybe due for a renaissance.
More meme examples:
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