yolo - you only live once
"YOLO" is an acronym for "you only live once". Along the same lines as the Latin carpe diem ('seize the day'), it is a call to live life to its fullest extent, even embracing behavior which carries inherent risk. It became a popular internet slang term in 2012.
Your life is short. You have nothing, so you have nothing to loose. When you go you take nothing with you.
Take on the world – be extraordnary in your own way.
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Background
Similar phrases have been in use for more than a century,including these:
the English translation of “one lives but once in the world" by Johann Wolfgang from his 1774 German play Clavigo;
the title of an 1855 waltz, “Man lebt nur einma!, man"("You Only Live Once!") by Johann Strauss II;
and the Latin phrases, “memento mori” ("remember [that you have] to die") and "carpe diem” ("seize the day").
Emergence of acronym
One of the earliest known examples of the acronym relates to Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Harts's ranch in California, which has been known as YOLO since at least 1996.
Adam Mesh, a contestant on the reality TV series Average Joe, produced and sold a line of YOLO-branded clothing and accessories the early 2000s.
In 2012, the acronym "YOLO" became a staple of music and youth culture being a subject of graffiti, Twitter hashtags, pranks, tattoos, music, television shows and merchandise.
The acronym was most popularized by Canadian rapper Drake, who planned to release a 2011 joint mixtape titled YOLO along with American rapper Rick Ross. To promote this mixtape, "YOLO" was mentioned prominently on several of their tracks such as "The Motto", released on November 29, 2011, with the aim of promoting the tape. This use is said to have elevated the word into prominence and common colloquial use. In late 2012, Drake expressed a desire to obtain royalties for use of "YOLO" due to the proliferation of merchandise bearing the phrase and lyrics from his song, which have been commonly seen at stores such as Walgreens and Macy’s, but he does not own a trademark on the word.
Hip-hop magazine Da South reported that the rapper Lecrae has deconstructed the phrase "YOLO" in his 2012 song ”No Regrets”.
In the opening monologue of Saturday Night Live on January 19, 2014, Drake apologized about pop culture's adoption of the phrase, saying he had no idea it would become so big.
In popular culture
A restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has held a trademark to the phrase "YOLO" in the context of the frozen yogurt business since 2010.
American comedy trio The Lonely Island released a 2013 song titled “YOLO”, featuring Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar, parodying the phrase and the people who use it as a lifestyle meme. The song charted in a few countries, including #60 on the Billboard Top 100.
During the January 2021 GameStop short sqeeze members ohhf Reddit’s WallStreetBets—often touted their long-shot wagers against short selling hedgefunds with the expression "YOLO".
Reception
Online media including The Washington Post and the Huffington Post described YOLO in 2012 as the "newest acronym you'll love to hate" and "dumb". The word was criticized for its use in conjunction with reckless behavior, most notably in a Twitter post by aspiring rapper Ervin McKinness just prior to his death, caused by driving drunk at 120 mph (193 km/h): "Drunk af going 120 drifting corners #FuckIt YOLO."
