Acronym
What does TL;DR mean?
Too long; didn't read: a summary for whoever refused the text — or a slap of “I didn’t read.”
Definition
Whoever refused the text — or already knows the reader will — stamps TL;DR on the block. At the top of a post it is manners: here is the shortcut for anyone who will not scroll. In a comment the same letters turn into contempt: I did not read, too long. The form TLDR lives beside it; the semicolon is optional and often drops on a phone keyboard. People say tee-ell-dee-arr or the whole phrase.
Origin
English too long; didn't read. The OED points to 2002 on Usenet rec.games.video.nintendo, in Re: My Thoughts on Metroid Prime (Long). By 2009 the form is in Mo' Urban Dictionary and David Pogue’s tweet anthology; Oxford Dictionaries Online logged it in August 2013.
History
It started as a slap at a long thread — Something Awful, FARK, 4chan — and became the habit of opening a post with a short paragraph. Newspapers picked up TL;DR as a summary hat; Reddit still marks the block. The semicolon drops on a phone keyboard; the gesture stayed.
How it emerged
The timeline shortened patience and needed a stamp. Without it, a long text got a raw “didn’t read” or a nameless summary; the acronym covers both gestures in the same coat.
Usage examples
TL;DR: the film is bad and the ending worse.
If the author already puts TL;DR, they know the reader.
Translations
- pt TL;DR / resumo
- en TL;DR
- es TL;DR / resumen
Synonyms
- summary
- didn't read
- too long
Acronyms
- TL;DR
- TLDR