{{Short description|Internet meme and onomatopoeia}} {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} {{pp-pc|small=yes}} {{Italic title}} {{Use American English|date=September 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox phrase | title = Hawk tuah | image = Hawk tuah.png | caption = The moment Welch imitates the onomatopoeia in the original video | image_size = | alt = | origin = June 2024 vox pop YouTube interview with a young American woman in the Broadway district of Nashville, Tennessee; onomatopoeic catchphrase | meaning = The sound of spitting on a penis as a form of fellatio | context = "What's one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?"<br>"You gotta give 'em that 'hawk tuah' and spit on that thang" }} {{External media | video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7tydu_erZo&t=592s Interview with Haliey Welch], by [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU9Dxji-LC0jtoknqbwoHFQ ''Tim & Dee TV''], published June 24, 2024. }} {{Listen | filename =Hawk Tuah audio sample.ogg | title = “Hawk Tuah Girl Original Video” | description = Audio clip from the original interview. | pos = right }}
'''''Hawk tuah''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|h|ɔː|k|_|ˈ|t|uː|ə|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hawk tuah.wav}} {{respell|HAWK|_|TOO|ə}}){{efn|While the meme is usually pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˌ|h|ɔː|k|_|ˈ|t|uː|ə|}}, the actual noise Welch made is better represented as a narrow phonetic transcription by {{IPA|en|ˌhɔkʰ.ˈtʼʉ̂ʏ̯ɤː|generic=yes|}}.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/shorts/msSrhYUrY8E |title=This is still funny #linguistics #language #phonology #hawktuah |date=October 3, 2024 |last=Aleksic |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Aleksic|via=YouTube}}</ref>}} is an internet meme originating from a viral YouTube video posted in 2024. During a vox pop street interview in Nashville, Tennessee, Haliey Welch used the catchphrase ''hawk tuah'', an onomatopoeia for spitting or expectoration on a penis as a form of oral sex, specifically fellatio.
== History ==
On June 11, 2024, a ''vox pop'' YouTube channel, ''Tim & Dee TV'' owned by Tim Dickerson and DeArius Marlow, released a video featuring an interview with Haliey Welch in the Broadway district of Nashville, Tennessee, United States.<ref name="Bernstein 1">{{Cite news |last=Bernstein |first=Joseph |date=July 3, 2024 |title=The Guys Behind 'Hawk Tuah Girl' Would Like a Little Credit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/style/hawk-tuah-girl-video.html |access-date=July 26, 2024 |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726001240/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/style/hawk-tuah-girl-video.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Welch and another woman approached Dickerson and Marlow and asked to be interviewed.<ref name="Bernstein 1" /><ref name="Bernstein 2">{{cite magazine | last=Bernstein | first=Jonathan | title=The Men Who Filmed 'Hawk Tuah' Think They Should Be Famous, Too | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=2024-07-04 | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/hawk-tuah-men-who-filmed-video-tim-dee-tv-1235053762/ | access-date=2024-12-07 | archive-date=December 8, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208014725/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/hawk-tuah-men-who-filmed-video-tim-dee-tv-1235053762/ | url-status=live }}</ref> The interview began with what Dickerson and Marlow considered tamer questions, such as, "What makes you {{wikt-lang|en|wifey}} material?"<ref name="Bernstein 1" /><ref name="Bernstein 2" /> Eventually, Dickerson and Marlow stated, Welch encouraged Marlow to "spice up the questions".<ref name="Bernstein 1" /><ref name="Bernstein 2" /> Marlow responded by asking, "What's one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?" Welch's reply, in a strong Southern accent, was "You gotta give 'em that 'hawk tuah' and spit on that {{wikt-lang|en|thang}}", referring to spitting on someone's penis as a form of fellatio for lubricatory purposes.<ref name="l654">{{cite web | last=Abad-Santos | first=Alex | title=Hawk Tuah Girl, explained by straight dudes | website=Vox | date=2024-06-28 | url=https://www.vox.com/internet-culture/357813/hawk-tuah-girl-meme-tiktok-explained | access-date=2024-12-12 | archive-date=December 12, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241212023945/https://www.vox.com/internet-culture/357813/hawk-tuah-girl-meme-tiktok-explained | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="VanityFair">{{Cite magazine |last=Murphy |first=Chris |date=July 3, 2024 |title=The Hawk Tuah Girl: Everything You Need (and Absolutely Don't Need) to Know |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/the-hawk-tuah-girl-everything-you-need-and-absolutely-dont-need-to-know |access-date=July 5, 2024 |magazine=Vanity Fair |archive-date=July 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705023301/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/the-hawk-tuah-girl-everything-you-need-and-absolutely-dont-need-to-know |url-status=live }}</ref> The sound and physical movement by Welch imitated popular depictions of individuals in Old West saloons spitting into a spittoon.<ref>{{cite web | last=Craighead | first=Olivia | title=What's the Deal With 'Hawk Tuah' Girl? | website=The Cut | date=2024-09-03 | url=https://www.thecut.com/article/hawk-tuah-girl-viral-tiktok-video-explained.html | access-date=2025-07-24 | archive-date=July 2, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702235033/https://www.thecut.com/article/hawk-tuah-girl-viral-tiktok-video-explained.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
==Popularity== The next day, Marlow uploaded the clip to TikTok and almost immediately other accounts across social media began reposting the video after scrubbing off the "Tim and Dee TV" watermark.<ref name="Bernstein 1" /> Dickerson and Marlow estimated that they filed at least fifty copyright claims in the days after they first published the clip.<ref name="Bernstein 1" /> The original video had gone viral, receiving millions of views across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, spawning remixes and remakes of the original audio, and gaining Welch the nickname ''Hawk Tuah Girl''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Cosine |date=June 28, 2024 |title=Who's the 'hawk tuah' girl Howard Stern calls 'every father's worst nightmare'? |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3268290/who-hawk-tuah-girl-whos-taken-over-internet-viral-clip-has-spawned-merch-mention-howard-stern-and |access-date=July 3, 2024 |newspaper=South China Morning Post |archive-date=July 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706033007/https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3268290/who-hawk-tuah-girl-whos-taken-over-internet-viral-clip-has-spawned-merch-mention-howard-stern-and |url-status=live }}</ref> The video and phrase turned into a meme.<ref name="Washington Post-2024">{{cite news |last1=Ellwood |first1=Mark |title='Hawk Tuah Girl' found a familiar path to viral fame. What happens now? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/of-interest/2024/07/08/hawk-tuah-girl-viral-fame/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=9 September 2024 |date=11 July 2024 |archive-date=July 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716185938/https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/of-interest/2024/07/08/hawk-tuah-girl-viral-fame/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Welch, who had been a minimum-wage worker at a factory, subsequently created an Instagram account and gained a sizable social media followership and media attention.<ref name="Colyar">{{cite web |authorlink=Brock Colyar |last1=Colyar |first1=Brock |title=Hawk Tuah Takes Long Island |url=https://www.thecut.com/article/haliey-welch-a-k-a-hawk-tuah-parties-in-long-island.html |website=The Cut |access-date=9 September 2024 |language=en |date=18 July 2024 |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909211356/https://www.thecut.com/article/haliey-welch-a-k-a-hawk-tuah-parties-in-long-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref> She also founded a company under which she registered various trademarks, gained representation by an agent,<ref name="Washington Post-2024" /> and began selling merchandise themed on the phrase and making paid appearances.<ref name="Colyar" /> On August 15, 2024, she threw the ceremonial first pitch of a New York Mets game,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Blistein |first=Jon |date=2024-08-16 |title=Hawk Tuah Girl's First Pitch at a Mets Game Got Everyone Unnecessarily Mad |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/hawk-tuah-girl-first-pitch-mets-game-people-mad-1235081665/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |archive-date=September 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910164020/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/hawk-tuah-girl-first-pitch-mets-game-people-mad-1235081665/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and launched a podcast, ''Talk Tuah'', under the Betr media company co-founded by Jake Paul.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gajewski |first=Ryan |date=September 3, 2024 |title=Hawk Tuah Girl Haliey Welch to Launch Podcast 'Talk Tuah' From Jake Paul's Media Company |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/hawk-tuah-girl-haliey-welch-podcast-talk-tuah-1235989879/ |access-date=September 10, 2024 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909121521/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/hawk-tuah-girl-haliey-welch-podcast-talk-tuah-1235989879/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Dickerson and Marlow indicated they were happy for Welch but were upset for not receiving credit for Welch's fame.<ref name="Bernstein 1" />
==See also== {{Wiktionary|hawk tuah}} * List of viral videos * Brain rot
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:2020s viral videos Category:2024 quotations Category:Fellatio Category:Generation Z Category:Internet memes introduced from the United States Category:Internet memes introduced in 2024 Category:Onomatopoeia Category:Oral sex Category:Sexual slang Category:Women-related neologisms Category:Spitting