Duckroll

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Internet slang for a playful bait-and-switch prank in which a person is lured into clicking a link that shows something unexpected
2. A mischievous online joke where a link promises one thing but delivers a surprise video or image instead, catching the viewer off guard
3. Describing a lighthearted internet trick that disguises an unwanted clip behind a tempting title, leaving the unsuspecting clicker amused or annoyed

Etymology: In 2006, Christopher "Moot" Poole, the founder of the imageboard 4chan, added a wordfilter that replaced "egg" with "duck" in posts. The filter had an unintended side effect: "eggroll" on the site turned into "duckroll." An anonymous user took the joke further by making an image macro of a duck with wheels attached to its body, captioned "duckroll." The picture was then used to prank 4chan users, who clicked what was presented as an interesting link only to find the duck instead. The word is a plain compound of "duck," the bird, and "roll," the verb meaning to move by turning over or to travel on wheels. The "roll" here refers to the wheeled duck, which is the joke's visual gag, and to the rolling of the bait-and-switch. "Duck" descends from Old English "dūce," the name for the diving bird, which traces back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning to dive.