Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Contemporary (2000–) ·2011
YOLO
you only live once
- Meaning
- A motto for impulsive or risk-taking behaviour: you only live once.
- Source words
- you only live + once
- Coined by
- Drake (popularised)
- Year
- 2011
Background
The phrase predates Drake by decades (Goethe, Mae West, and others have variants), but Drake's 2011 song "The Motto" made the acronym-blend a generational tag. Strictly an acronym but widely treated as a portmanteau construction.
Contemporary (2000–)
Faster coinage, faster canonisation. Brexit and podcast both reached the OED within a decade of first use — historically rapid. Social media has made visibility, not invention, the rate-limiting step.
Two words, one coinage.
Browse every portmanteau on the shelf — or cross over to the loanwords atlas.