The phrase “nailed it” has been so overused in the last year, it may be impossible for future generations to nail anything. We nailed it at a nice moderate pace in 2007 and 2008 and picked up steam in 2009. But since November 2010, nearly every completed project, fancy homemade baked good, three-point shot or any small achievement is punctuated with “Nailed it.” In some cases, when the nailer was unsure if he or she has in fact nailed it, they would ask for approval with a “Nailed it?”
These Google trends don’t lie. For whatever reason, the use of “nailed it” jumped in October 2010. Some have theorized the increased use came after the San Francisco Giants won the World Series. The phrase was popular in the Bay area and, when interviewed by reporters on national TV, many Giants players used the phrase to describe the Cinderella season.
We nailed rock bottom during Halloween 2011. Every costume picture posted online either confidently nailed the costume or coquettishly asked friends if the costume had in fact nailed it.
Below are the top “Nailed it” reddits – notice that every post was submitted since October 2010.
People will phase out nailed it eventually but by that time, the phrase will be branded as a fad and lose all of it’s original appeal. Rather than wait for nailed it’s death, let’s take the next year off and start nailing it again in 2013.
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