Who is ankh and is he a skuf – we explain the new meme and where the word comes from

One of the top new words on the internet since the start of 2024 is the word scuf. Users decided to use it to call out ordinary men who do not monitor their weight and appearance in general.

The common name skuf comes from the surname of Alexey Skufin – this is how the moderator of the political section of the Dvach resource, popular among fans of online communication, was introduced. The moderator’s special appearance and manner of conducting a conversation became the starting point of a new meme, which very quickly went beyond the boundaries of “Dvach”.

Read also: Horoscope memes. Aren’t you a troll face based on your zodiac sign?

Judging by the strong reaction online and offline, the meme describes a real phenomenon, as the scuf image began to acquire details: it was found that typical features, for example, are a T-shirt stretched stale and a tendency to drink beer in any situation and comment on everything. For example, the viewer, the hero of Sergei Svetlakov from the cult comic series “Our Russia”, was called a classic skuf.

However, such a name is not so harmless, because skufs are called real people who are usually not at all pleased with the negative and derogatory connotation that this word has received. And it is still unclear whether they will be happy to learn that skuf has a “brother” called ankh. Who is better to be – a scuf or an ankh? Netizens have yet to give a definitive answer, but it appears to be neither.

It all started with a post on the social network X, published in mid-May 2024. At first it went unnoticed, but a few days after its publication it went viral. More and more users are reacting to it and finding their own confirmation that there is indeed someone to call with this term.

So, the word ankh comes from the English uncle, “uncle”, and describes another recognizable type: an adult man who behaves and looks like a representative of youth culture, trying his best to appear young.

Read also: When Harold wasn’t yet hiding his pain: what the grandfather of the popular meme looked like in his youth

They called it a “mid-life crisis” – but ankh, of course, is shorter. Network theorists point out that ankh became ankh so as not to be called a skuf, but they do not say unequivocally whether one type should be called a variety of another; this is a debatable question; It is alarming that some descriptions specify that an “adult” is a man over 30 years old (which we personally do not entirely agree with and thus push our companions on the path of the Ankh!)

Some men in the comments ask to immediately call them grandfathers, without going into details, others suggest creating the most complete classification of the types of memes.

We are for freedom of speech and are sure that if people of any gender want to walk around in stretched T-shirts with the image of a brewer or ride skateboards and say “yo” after the eleventh grade, that only looks at their business (especially if they don’t blow onions at us in the subway and sit somewhere on the Internet). But the anonymous culture of memes still accurately, although sometimes in an exaggerated and even offensive way, emphasizes phenomena – and, as you know, you cannot throw a scarf over someone’s mouth ‘other. So we can only hope that things will get to the point where perks and perks of any type start becoming memes.