What is the ‘let it linger’ meme about? Where does it come from?

A classic lyric from a popular ’90s song has been going viral lately, and it’s working itself into pretty much every kind of meme imaginable.

The catchphrase “Let it linger,” which was taken from the 1993 song “Linger” by The Cranberries, originally referred to lingering feelings a person has from a failed relationship in their past.

But according to Know Your Meme, it’s been popping up in memes, tweets and other forms of media since 2022 and has taken on many new meanings in the process.

One of the earliest viral examples of this was a May 2022 tweet by @Iucyswift, which was a zoomed-in screenshot of Donkey from Shrek paired with the caption, “do you have to let it linger.”

It’s since been used in countless other tweets, TikToks and Instagram posts where people have filled the catchphrase into various sentences or paired it with images to produce different meanings.

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