Edging / Edge

About

Edging and Edge are slang terms used in memes and online discourse that mean the act of preventing oneself from orgasming just before reaching climax and ejaculation to prolong sexual activities like masturbation, with an Edger being someone who participates in such methods. Memes about edging often use the term nonsensically, highlighting the action's apparent absurdity. Various catchphrases and spam comments like "I edge to you" and "I edge to your videos" notably trended on websites like TikTok, Twitter / X and Instagram, predominantly starting in the early 2020s, further spreading it online. "Edging" is used in memes similarly to the term "gooning." The idea of "edging" is also frequently used in No Nut November (NNN) memes.

Origin

Inherently, the term "edging" uses the base word "edge," which symbolizes the "edge of orgasm" but stopping oneself before reaching it.

It is ultimately unclear where and when the term "edging" originated, though it likely predates its usage on the internet. However, its earliest addition to Urban Dictionary ^[1] was on December 16th, 2003, submitted by a user named Edge. The definition has since been deleted. Regardless, it's still accessible via links on the Internet Archive (shown below).

Spread

Usage of "edging" and "edge" in a sexual context surfaced across the web going into the 2000s and 2010s. For instance, "edging" was used twice on March 3rd, 2010, in a thread on /tg/. ^[2][3] NSFW subreddits centered on edging also surfaced in the early 2010s, such as the explicit subreddit /r/edging^[4] that was created on October 26th, 2012.

Going into the early 2020s, the concept of "edging" was increasingly written about by sexual health blogs, often promoted as a way to increase sex drive or make orgasms more powerful and long-lasting. For instance, the website Medical News Today^[5] published an article about the pros and cons of edging on July 20th, 2020.

Memetic and satirical usage of the terms "edging" and "edge" began surfacing in the late 2010s, becoming prevalent on websites like Twitter / X and TikTok. For instance, the earliest discovered viral example of an edging-related post was a tweet sent by X^[6] user @CornOnTheGoblin on June 22nd, 2017, which received roughly 4,000 likes in six years (shown below, left). Two years later, on September 13th, 2019, X^[7] user @w0a0i0f posted a tweet about edging which received roughly 11,000 likes in four years (shown below, right).

Memes about edging became increasingly viral due to creators on TikTok in the 2020s. For instance, an early viral example was a video posted by TikToker^[8] @lust4honeymoon on May 24th, 2021, that used a scene from Twilight, gaining over 3.9 million plays and 922,600 likes in two years (shown below, left).

In late 2023, edging memes on TikTok became increasingly common, evident in a post shared by TikToker^[9] @bofem who was seen "edging" his microwave, gaining over 8 million plays and 1.6 million likes in two months (shown below, right).

The aforementioned video from TikToker^[10] @bofem also used the slang term "gooning" in its description, which trended in memes on TikTok and elsewhere starting in early 2023. These gooning-related memes plausibly led to the late 2023 resurgence in edging-related memes.

Also, many edging-related memes on TikTok and elsewhere referenced trends and terms like Looksmaxxing and Mewing, among other Lookism terms, humorously alluding to the imagined benefits of edging for men. For instance, on October 28th, 2023, TikToker^[11] @edgemaxautist posted a Jordan Barrett meme that followed the Looksmaxxing trend, receiving roughly 363,300 plays and 49,900 likes in 10 days (shown below).

Also in late 2023, image-based memes that referenced "edging" and "edge" surfaced on Instagram^[12][13] and iFunny^[14] among other platforms.

Edgin The Bard Dungeons & Dragons Movie

On July 21st, 2022, the trailer for the live-action Dungeons and Dragons film was released, which notably debuted actor Chris Pine's character, a bard named "Edgin." In the days following the trailer's reveal and Pine's character, many online made jokes and memes about his name, humorously perceiving it as a euphemism (example shown below).

Honestly, that’s their business and you don’t need to share it on the internet. Please respect the privacy of Chris and the bard https://t.co/yfKCUl99gC

— Gaius (@guy_freire) July 22, 2022

Related Memes

I Edge to You / I Edge to Your Videos

I Edge to You as well as I Edge to Your Videos are spam comments prevalent on TikTok that use the slang "edge." In 2023, many TikTokers started writing the catchphrases in comment sections, humorously making the video's creator uncomfortable akin to the I Know It's Pink trend and Grip Reaper. The trend culminated in the Vivek I Edge to You comments left under 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's TikTok videos.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References