Wasted, the cover art parodies and the jokes that belong to the whole series.
“Wasted”
Added to the end of fail videos and GIFs to show someone (or something) coming off worst, the way the game shows your death.
Where it's from: The death screen used since the first Grand Theft Auto (1997). From GTA IV on it shows the death in slow motion and black and white with "Wasted" in red. In 2014 the /r/wastedgifs subreddit started adding it to real-life fail clips.
Sources: knowyourmeme.com
Used for wholesome twists: someone who looks like trouble turns out to be kind.
Where it's from: "Video Game", a 2006 Coca-Cola commercial by Wieden+Kennedy that copies GTA's look but has the tough guy doing good deeds. It aired at the Super Bowl XLI half-time in 2007. In March 2021 a TikTok of it took off.
Sources: knowyourmeme.com
Used to point out the strange rules and glitches that only make sense in a GTA game.
Where it's from: Image macros about GTA's plot holes, glitches and odd rules. The phrase appears on FunnyJunk in January 2011 and spread on 9GAG from 2012.
Sources: knowyourmeme.com
Squidward throws the series' leads out of his house one by one, voiced with their own lines.
Where it's from: A SpongeBob scene where Squidward throws SpongeBob and Patrick out became a remix format in June 2022. GTA Content Channel's version with the GTA protagonists is one of the most popular edits.
Sources: knowyourmeme.com
Any topic, place or group gets turned into a fake GTA cover.
Where it's from: GTA III (2001) started the series' grid-of-panels box art. Photoshopped parodies date from at least 2005 and continue with every new game.
Sources: knowyourmeme.com
Want to make your own? Try the GTA meme maker with free HD templates.
Meme histories come from Know Your Meme and the outlets linked on each meme, written in our own words. Videos play from YouTube and belong to the channels that posted them.
