What Is "Ligma"? Meaning, Origin, Memes & More

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Plus, learn why some folks think “ligma” is a real disease (it’s not, btw)

Co-authored by Amber Crain

Last Updated: May 13, 2025 Fact Checked

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Ligma Meaning

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Origin & Spread

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Ligma vs. Bofa

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Is ligma a real disease?

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Similar Jokes

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Video

If you’re wondering what “ligma” means, you’re in the right place–in this article, we’ll fully explain the viral “ligma” joke, what it means, and where it came from. Hopefully, we’ll be saving you from asking an actual person the question “What’s ligma?” because that's exactly how you become part of the punchline. Read on for the full scoop!

The Meaning of “Ligma”

“Ligma” is a made-up word and popular internet joke that tricks people into asking “What’s ligma?” so the prankster can respond with “ligma balls.” The joke went viral on Twitter in 2018 and has since spawned countless memes, variations, and even an online death hoax when someone posted on Instagram that a famous gamer had died of “ligma.”

Section 1 of 5:

What does “ligma” mean?

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“Ligma” is a popular internet joke because it sounds like “lick my.” “Ligma” is a made-up word that people use to lead others into a crude joke. Typically, users will say something about ligma being a disease to trick others into innocently asking “What’s ligma?” Since “ligma” sounds like “lick my,” users respond with vulgar punchlines like “ligma balls,” ligma butt,” or “ligma nuts.”^{[1]
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- ”Ligma” started as a joke on social media and quickly spread, inspiring countless jokes and memes.
- To troll people even more, some users pretend “ligma” is a real medical condition, making up humorous symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments. This caused a ton of confusion, leading many to believe “ligma” is a real disease.

Section 2 of 5:

Origin of the “Ligma” Joke & Internet Hoax

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“Ligma” started as a joke on Twitter in May 2018. The first appearance of “ligma” happened in May 2018 when Twitter user @Galevik (profile now defunct) publicly trolled the well-known anti-violence activist David Hogg by tweeting that Hogg should “boycott ligma.” After a brief back-and-forth exchange, Hogg asked, “What’s ligma?” to which @Galevik replied, “Lick my balls, b*tch.” @Galevik then posted a video of their entire exchange on Instagram, which went viral.^{[2]
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- It’s unclear why David Hogg was trolled with “ligma” other than he was very active on Twitter at that time. @Galevik may have chosen Hogg simply because his account was highly visible.
- David Hogg was a student survivor of The Parkland High School shooting that occurred in February 2018. In the aftermath of the shooting, Hogg was very vocal online as an anti-violence activist, which is why his Twitter profile was so visible to the public.
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The joke really blew up in July 2018 when it was used in a death hoax. In July 2018, Instagram user @ninja_hater posted that a disease called “ligma” killed popular Fortnite gamer and YouTube streamer Ninja (real name Richard Tyler Blevins). Naturally, plenty of people responded to the post with "what's ligma?” and the rest is internet history. The fake rumor/joke quickly spread throughout the gaming community and beyond.^{[3]
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- After the incident, “ligma” jokes were so rampant on Ninja’s gaming streams that he threatened to ban anyone who used the word during live chats.
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A joke post on Urban Dictionary may have caused additional chaos. On July 20, 2018, a user named User80085 posted the fake medical definition of “ligma” on Urban Dictionary. The post describes “ligma” as a testicular disease and sounds pretty convincing…at first. Many people using the “ligma” joke copy/pasted this supposed “definition” to explain the “disease” to unsuspecting folks. The post says:
- “LIGMA is part of the BOFA spectrum of conditions. LIGMA (Loose Internal Gene Mi-Asintits) is the second stage of BOFA (Biologically Offset Farkwonian Asintits). In this stage, the disease interferes with the immune system and increases the risk of developing common infections such as tuberculosis. Given the weakened immune system, many of the patients, such as popular Fortnite streamer Ninja, die at this stage of the Biologically Offset Farkwonian Asintits (BOFA). It is also the last treatable stage. Although not effective, there are treatments to LIGMA: LIGMA-BALLS (Bi-Asonurdick Lateral Lactatioustits Sequence) that, even though it's experimental, have shown some promise. With stopping the spread of BOFA at the LIGMA stages, it can stop patients from going into the third and final phase of the BOFA sequence: E-TMA (Entrenched Terminal Mi-Asintits).”^{[4]
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In October 2022, shortly after Elon Musk took over Twitter as the new CEO, two pranksters pretending to be former Twitter employees decided to publicly protest their "layoffs" in front of the company’s headquarters. They told reporters at the scene that their names were "Ligma" and "Johnson.” The reporters fell for the joke and published their articles, causing them to be publicly mocked and ridiculed.^{[5]
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Section 3 of 5:

Ligma vs. Bofa

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“Bofa” is a setup to a joke because it sounds like “both of.” “Bofa” is another bait-and-switch joke like "ligma." It's used to lead someone to ask “What’s bofa?” so the speaker can reply with “bofa my balls” or “bofa deez nuts” (referring to testicles). Users will usually drop "bofa" into any random sentence since the only goal is to prompt the question from the other person.^{[6]
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- For example, someone might say "We had a great time at that new club last weekend. The music was bofa!" Naturally, the other person will ask, "What's bofa?"
- "Bofa" is a lighthearted and silly joke to interrupt conversation and make people laugh; it's not cruel or mean-spirited. The person who gets "bofa'd" usually just laughs it off and maybe even goes on to bofa someone else!

Section 4 of 5:

Is ligma a real disease?

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Don’t worry, “ligma” has nothing to do with any kind of health condition or testicular disease–it’s not even a real word, it’s just the setup for a crude joke. If someone uses the word “ligma” around you, don’t fall for it! They’re just trying to trick you into being the butt of their silly joke.

Section 5 of 5:

Similar Slang Jokes

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Arguably, two of the oldest and most famous bait-and-switch jokes like “ligma” are “deeznuts” and “updog.” “Ligma” also spawned new jokes in the same vein such as: sugma (“suck my balls”), sugondese (“suck on deez nuts”), and grabahan (“grab a handful of my nuts.”)^{[7]
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