It's Joever
/its JOH-ver/interjection · catchphrase
A joking, dramatic way to say that a situation is over, doomed, or going badly.
- #internet slang
- #reaction meme
- #Joe Biden
- #political memes
- #sports slang
Meaning
“It’s Joever” is an informal reaction phrase meaning that a situation is finished, doomed, or going badly. It began as a pun on Joe Biden’s name and “It’s Over,” paired with a downcast Biden image, but it can now stand alone or describe non-political setbacks such as a bad turn in a game. The declaration is often knowingly exaggerated rather than a literal prediction.[2]
- 1. A Biden-specific reaction meme: the phrase captions an image of Joe Biden looking resigned, especially in jokes about elections or political setbacks.
- 2. A broader dramatic catchphrase for defeat or an apparent reversal. It can be used without the original image and applied to events unrelated to Biden, including sports situations.
Examples
“It's Joever; the deadline passed and the file is still missing.”
“We lost in stoppage time. It's Joever.”
“The forecast changed again, so it's Joever for our picnic - unless it clears.”
Origin and spread
Know Your Meme traces the Biden pun to an anonymous /pol/ post captioned “IT’S JOEVER,” reported on October 14, 2020; its separate “It’s Over” entry records a similar post dated October 15, so the exact first post is uncertain. That documents an early image-captioned use, not a requirement that the phrase always appear with an image. The older “It’s Over” reaction format is connected to a 2016 Huffington Post election graphic, a precursor rather than evidence that the Biden pun existed then. Know Your Meme reports that the image began gaining popularity on Twitter in September 2022, with more active use in early 2023. In 2023, users also paired it with “We’re Barack,” an Obama-name joke linked to the “It’s So Over / We’re So Back” pattern. The Daily Dot describes “It’s Joever” as a standalone catchphrase used beyond politics, including in sports reactions. The supplied sources do not establish who coined the phrase.[3]
How to use it
Use it informally for a deliberately dramatic declaration of defeat, bad luck, or an apparent turning point. It can refer to politics, sports, or ordinary mishaps, and it does not require the Biden image. “We’re So Back” signals the optimistic reversal; “We’re Barack” is the related Obama pun, not another spelling of “It’s Joever.”
It does not need the Biden picture
The Daily Dot describes “It’s Joever” as a catchphrase often used without an image, including in sports-related reactions. The Biden pun remains recognizable even when the subject is unrelated to politics.[2]
A paired comeback format
Know Your Meme documents “It’s Joever” and “We’re Barack” as paired images and connects the joke to the “It’s So Over / We’re So Back” pattern. This is a related meme format, not a fixed continuation required whenever someone says “It’s Joever.”[1]
The older phrase is a precursor
Know Your Meme traces the “It’s Over” image format to a 2016 election graphic. That is historical context for the template, not evidence that the Biden-specific “Joever” pun was already in use then.[3]
Questions people ask
Is “It’s Joever” only about Joe Biden?
No. It began as a Biden pun, but later use applies the phrase to non-political setbacks and sports situations, often without the original image.[1][2]
Sources
- 1. Know Your Meme — It's Joever / We're BarackSupports: form.
- 2. The Daily Dot — It's Joever Memes (AKA It's Joever, We're So Barack)Supports: meaning.
- 3. Know Your Meme — IT'S OVERSupports: origin.
