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‘Hold My Avocado’ Is the Viral Catchphrase Millennials Have Been Looking For

2 minute read

It’s been a fraught week in politics, but naturally, the internet has been alight with debate and discussion on the hot topic.

But one commentator on Twitter went viral after he decided to compare the struggles of millennials today with those of the Baby Boom generation when they came of age, which was during the the Cold War that shrouded previous generations in related fears about safety in the event of an attack.

In the widely circulated tweet from Google Ventures partner Ken Norton, the former product manager shared his view of the generational differences in a tongue-in-cheek hypothetical exchange — that concludes with perhaps the most zeitgeist-encapsulating catchphrase we’ve seen in a while.

“Hold my avocado” is a riff on two things. First, it takes advantage of the “hold my beer” dialogue construction that’s become an internet joke to represent how politicians, brands, or other entities play a race-to-the-bottom game of putting their feet in their mouths.

It was a fast favorite for some.

But the thing that makes this catchphrase relevant is the canny swap-in of “avocado” for beer. We live in the era of peak avocado consumption. The proliferation of all things avocado-related, from overpriced toast to fancy pizza to elaborate art, has become shorthand for the trends and priorities that millennials, in particular, embody.

In other words, “hold my avocado” is a quick way to denote the contemporary millennial experience: seeking luxury wellness, but potentially derailed by sociopolitical developments.

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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com