The ‘boy it’s just alcohol’ meme is always doing too much

Boy it's just alcohol is a phrase from a viral TikTok video that became a meme after a barber tried to swab a customer's head with alcohol. The customer immediately ducked and tried to swat away the barber's hand, causing the stylist to object in a heavy Southern accent.

@choppedbystev0 They tuff until that alcohol hits them ????????Soon as I step out ???????? #reels #reelsinstagram #reelsvideos #reelsindia #reelvideos #sonygear #gearaddict #reelslovers #houstonphotography #texasphotography #tomballphotographer #reelviral #barberlife #barber #barber #barbershopconnect #barberclips #tomballtx #magnolia #cypresstx #cameraman #sonyvideo#cameraman #reelsindia #funnyvideos #funnybarber #funnymoments #funnytiktok ♬ original sound - choppedbystev0

"Always doin' too much," he says. "Boy, it's just alcohol. Actin' like a kid, it's alcohol."

What's the "boy it's just alcohol" meme?

TikTok users widely enjoyed this eight-second video due to the heavy and comical accent of the barber, @choppedbystev0. This TikToker often makes videos for his channel that poke fun at customers or fellow barbers and the general everyday adventures found in a hair salon. Many of these entries feature the same Black man from the meme video.

The barber has gained quite a few fans partly due to his accent. People often alter the line from the "boy it's just alcohol" video meme to highlight this manner of speaking, with "alcohol" written as "alkahal" or "alcaha" or something similar.

As a meme, fellow TikTok creators started lip dubbing to the sound of the original video with captions putting the lines into new situations. These often involve outings to a bar with odd or inexperienced friends or getting your scrapes treated by your mom as a kid. Others recreated the original using cheap props or Roblox characters.

Boy it's just alcohol meme origins

The now-famous barber posted the "boy it's just alcohol" video to his channel on March 11, 2024. It was one among many similar videos making fun of difficult customers and featuring the same man in the chair and the same Southern accent, but for whatever reason, this one in particular caught on.

As of June 14, the video has over 76.3 million views and 6.7 million likes, enjoying a pinned spot on the user's account.

"They tuff until that alcohol hits them," the video description reads.

Barbers often swab the foreheads and areas around the hairline with alcohol after a cut to reduce the spread of germs between customers and prevent infection. This is especially important when the stylist is using an electric razor or clippers, which increases the risk of nicks and cuts.

These wounds can be small enough to go undetected but still large enough for bacteria to enter and potentially cause a problem. Swabbing with alcohol helps to kill off most of the germs, though it can sting a bit.

Meme spread

Just days after the "boy it's just alcohol" video hit TikTok, other users began to appropriate the audio for their own entries. The first to be spotted appeared on March 13 from @sweetteataylor, which featured the TikToker lip-syncing to the original video's sound with the caption reading "POV: watching your str8 friend lose their marbles over their first GBP drink from a gay bar."

As of the date of this article's posting, 3,338 videos are using the original sound from the meme'd video.

Examples

Related memes:

• A years-old clip from ‘The Good Doctor’ is now a TikTok meme
• Gen Z’ers are attempting to trigger boomers with ‘Oki Doki Boomer’ TikTok memes
• ‘Her baby starts talking with a British accent’: Here’s what all those Trisha Paytas and King Charles memes are about
• The Edgar Meme: Where a haircut and a baseball hall of famer meet

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