'Netflix and Chill' Is Today's 'Come Up for a Drink'

How the phrase went from innocent to innuendo
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 2, 2015 3:40 PM CDT
'Netflix and Chill' Is Today's 'Come Up for a Drink'
Ohhhhh yeah.   (Shutterstock)

Hey, do you want to come over, watch some Netflix and chill? For those of you not in the know, "Netflix and chill" is today's euphemism for hooking up, the Guardian reports. (And if you weren't previously in the know, you are not the only one.) Originally (think 2009), the phrase really did mean exactly what it sounds like: People used it to describe their lazy, solo, binge-watching evenings. Somehow, though, those three little words have morphed to the point that Urban Dictionary's definition is: "It means that you are going to go over to your partners house and f--- with Netflix in the background."

Netflix is apparently in on the joke, having recently unveiled hilariously complex instructions to create a device it calls "The Switch," which "dims the lights, silences incoming calls, orders takeout, and turns on Netflix" with just one press of a button. (The Internet is calling it "the Netflix and chill button," the Guardian notes.) The company also tweeted a gif this summer that jokingly incorporated the phrase. This summer, Fusion put together a timeline of the phrase's history, from its apparent first use on Twitter in 2009 ("I'm about to log onto Netflix and chill for the rest of the night") to other, similar phrases ("Hulu and chill") to, finally, the phrase's new meaning in 2014 ("Netflix and chill never means Netflix and chill now a days lol") and its current-day "catchphrase" status. (More Netflix stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X