What does the ‘Some of y’all lack’ meme actually mean? It depends on who you ask
A new meme format is containing and entertaining the internet in equal measure. The "some of y'all lack" meme, which pairs a photo of a celebrity with a random object or food, has taken over X, prompting users to theorize about what it all means. If it means anything at all. With no clear explanation and a purposefully vague catchphrase, the meme plays on a feeling of inside-joke ambiguity that is part riddle, part gatekeeping, and part brainrot.
What does 'some of y'all lack' mean?
The exact meaning of the meme isn't entirely known—which is part of its success as a viral moment and adds to its intrigue and humorousness. Using the catchphrase and two-panel photo format, the meme is meant to point out a trait (represented by a food or object) that a person (usually a celebrity) embodies, but might be overlooked, subtle, or undervalued.
However, what exactly that trait was was ambiguous, as its expression through food or an object was often hard to interpret. To some, trying to figure out the connection was part of the meme's entertainment value.
Origin and spread
According to Know Your Meme, the original version of the meme was shared on March 30, 2021, when X user @gonorrheapills posted a picture of rapper Common alongside an image of change/cents with the caption, "Some of y'all lack," insinuating that if one puts the photos together, it completes the homophonic caption/pun, creating the phrase, "some of y'all lack common sense/cents."
The post was widely appreciated for its humor and simplicity, garnering over 66,000 likes and nearly 400 comments, mostly jokes or commentary on "solving" the post. "No Cap I said "common change FIRST and hear that out loud and slapped myself," one comment read. Another read, "tf kind of riddle is this?"
Though it felt apparent to many users, @gonorrheapills never revealed the "answer" to or the meaning of their post, establishing the trend's lack of responsibility towards self-explanation.
From there, others created correlations that strayed from the pun but kept the catchphrase and two-panel photo format. The surge in the "some of y'all lack" popularity culminated in mid-April 2025, when the template primarily focused on likening a user's favorite celebrity to a type of food.
The 'some of y'all lack' meme's appeal lies in its confusion
While some enjoyed the meme, many X users were frustrated by their elusiveness. "Some of y’all lack tweets make me feel like I lack intelligence," one post read. "I really don’t like the “some of y'all really lack” trend it’s confusing and I don’t understand it," another user complained. "There are much better things i could be doing please save me from this hell."
But most users who were confused with the trend simply asked what it meant in the many posts' comments section, or guessed. "What is this even supposed to mean?" Read one confused comment. "Whiteness?" Another guessed, referring to a post of Motocross driver Charles LeClerc next to a bowl of cookies and cream ice cream.
Other X users who were more "in on the joke" of the meme's ambiguity took the opportunity to troll those who aired their confusion, baiting them into believing there was an actual answer or concrete connection between the two photos in the "some of y'all" memes.
And yet, there were no concrete answers to what links the two photos in this meme, which is part of the entertainment for some...and the frustration for others.
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