A chaotic new TikTok trend known as the “handyman” prank has women tricking their partners into listing everyday household tools—only to edit the footage so it looks like the men are naming items they’ve “stuck up their butts.”
How does TikTok’s “handyman” prank work?
The trend follows a now-familiar script. A woman announces, “Things that my boyfriend and I have stuck up our butts,” before cutting to her partner listing tools he’s used to fix things around the house. The partners are unaware he’s about to be edited into a wildly different context.
The “handyman” trend’s script goes like this: A woman announces, “Things that my boyfriend and I have stuck up our butts.” She goes on to say, “Me? Obviously nothing.” Then, “Him?” before cutting to a clip of their partner listing obvious items such as “a drill,” and others as varied as “spatula,” “salt and pepper shakers,” and “little pillows.”
When Elsie Hewitt pranked her boyfriend Pete Davidson, his list included “soy sauce packets” and “love notes.” The trend is unbelievably idiotic (and possibly lightly homophobic), but it's a huge hit on TikTok.
The trend evolved to include hilarious reaction videos from partners as they watch viral clips of themselves listing “things they’ve put up their butts.” Men have defended themselves by asserting, “No! She asked what I used to fix stuff around the house!”
“Is that all?”
In a Nov. 15, 2025, video, creator @joannaolandt asked her partner what tools he uses to fix things around the house. Completely unaware of the prank, he earnestly listed: “Silverware. Forks, knives, spoons, spatula, salt, pepper shaker, and pens. Um, decorations. Candles, books, water bottles, little pillows.”
When she followed up with, “Is that all?” he added the names of their cats, Nori and Bento. The clip went viral with 1.6 million views.
Other creators have taken the gag even further. In one video from @hannahcormierr, her partner held up each “tool” he’d used for household repairs, prompting a commenter to reply with an image of a very concerned EMT. The video has nearly 250,000 views.
Falling victim to the handyman trend
After millions watched their original prank, Cidney of @austinandcidney posted her partner Austin’s reaction. Their follow-up clip has 7.2 million views.
“This is so embarrassing… we gotta take this down,” Austin said after discovering how the prank worked.
“He thinks it’s funny. It just took him a minute, lol,” Cidney wrote in the caption—reassuring viewers after comments begged, “Do not delete it 😂😂” and praised Austin’s “sincerity and innocence.”
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