About

The Dildo of Consequences Rarely Arrives Lubed is a catchphrase and internet proverb similar in meaning to proverbs such as "you reap what you sow" and "fuck around and find out." The saying emphasizes that actions have consequences, which are often harsh. Used online as early as 2017, the expression was popularized on Reddit and X / Twitter in the fall of 2022.

Origin

Prior to June 6th, 2017, X user @auntyamerican (account since removed) wrote, "the dildo of consequences rarely arrives lubed." The context of the original post is unknown, nor has the original post been preserved.

On June 6th, 2017, Tumblr^[1] user krusca quoted the post, attributing the phrase to @auntyamerican. The post (shown below) received over 30 reblogs and 50 likes and is the earliest found instance of the proverb being used.

Spread

The catchphrase did not see spread online until late September 2022 when it achieved popularity on social media. While the trigger point for the spread of the phrase is unknown, the earliest found repost made at that time is a September 24th, 2022, post by iFunny^[2] user thra5hm3.

On September 25th, Redditor jmoney864337 posted a screenshot of krusca's Tumblr post in the /r/BrandNewSentence^[3] subreddit, where it received over 40,000 upvotes in two years (shown below).

The saying continued to see viral spread on social media in late 2022. For example, on October 13th, X user @whotheFisfran wrote, "'The dildo of consequences rarely arrives lubed' might be my favorite saying of the week." The post saw viral spread online shortly after.

For example, on October 15th, 2022, Redditor imprettynaive posted it in the /r/brandnewsentence^[4] subreddit, where it received over 2,300 upvotes in two years.

In the following years, the catchphrase maintained its popularity as a saying, typically used to highlight that actions may have harsh consequences. Photographs of missiles tagged with the phrase have been circulated online.

For example, on May 30th, 2023, the Instagram^[5] page saintjavelin made one such post that received over 12,500 likes in roughly a year (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References