The Brief: "Hits Different" is a phrase used to describe the superior feeling of a certain experience, as opposed to the standard feeling.
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The phrase “hits different” is used when an experience, memory, emotion, feeling, etc. feels better than what the “standard” experience would be, as described by Urban Dictionary.
The phrase is earliest attributed to fans of YouTuber Daniel Howell and Phil Lester. After Howell posted his coming out video, old phans (their fandom) began posting edits of Howell and Lester with “hits different,” in the title according to Urban Dictionary.
The phrase then became popularized outside of the gay community in July 2019 and can be spotted all over the internet.
Trap Music Hits Different On A Friday Mng 🎶 😊🙌 pic.twitter.com/xs28LGOTen
— Wilfred Zahaa🇺🇬 (@WZahaa) May 8, 2020
success hits different when nobody believed in you
— muriuki🥶 (@muriukieugene) May 7, 2020
teenagers playing teenagers hits different pic.twitter.com/PnQGPMccLQ
— charlie dalton (@camfromaway) May 7, 2020