Memes / Dead by Daylight

A collection of the memes about Behavior Entertainment's Dead by Daylight.

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General

• You have to be so good to pull anything resembling infinite juke. ^ExplanationDuring the game's 19th developer Twitch stream, this quote was said by game director Mathieu Cote. Of course, considering how bad infinite spots were at the time, this resulted in backlash from the game's community and mockery of Mathieu.
• Basement party. ^ExplanationWhen a person is hooked inside the basement, survivors might come to save them even if the killer is still near. This usually leads to both the guy from before and one or two of the attempted rescuers being hooked in the basement at the same time.
  • Sex Dungeon. ^ExplanationA Fan Nickname given to the aforementioned basement.
• Entity Jizz. ^ExplanationThe Legacy prestige rewards, which cover survivors and killers in a glowing fire-like light similar to Wraith when he uncloaks, look somewhat like orange sperm.
• Shrine Perk: Saboteur. ^ExplanationSaboteur has appeared in almost every Shrine, making some think the developers want people to sabotage or that Sabo_Jake is controlling the shrine.
• The Glorious Hug Spider! ^ExplanationA Fan Nickname given to the Entity. A joking Alternate Character Interpretation in the fandom portrays the Entity as a giant spider monster that just really wants to give hugs.
  • Hugs!
• I think we did a pretty good job so far. ^ExplanationA quote said by Mathieu, one of the game's developers, in a interview. This quote is usually said when the game glitches out.
• Lobby Simulator ^ExplanationThe game is rather infamous for players having to wait for a long time in lobbies for a game to start.
• Just break the pallet ^ExplanationInitially a snarky remark at killers complaining about pallet looping, "just break the pallet" devolved into a memetic response along the lines of "stop complaining".
• The Second Anniversary Tournament^ExplanationThe tournament for the game's Second Anniversary was a mess. The commentators' hours on Steam and comments revealed that they knew very little about the game. In addition, multiple cheaters were caught and the commentators/judges didn't care.
  • Hillbilly can sprint?^ExplanationA commentator openly expressed surprise over the Hillbilly being able to cover/close distance in chases. Which is the primary point of the Hillbilly's power; the instadown is usually used as a secondary feature.
  • Dash Punch^ExplanationThe commentators referred to the Nurse's blinks as Dash Punches.
  • Valhalla^ExplanationThe commentator referred to the sacrifices as "going to Valhalla", which is the exact opposite of what actually happens in the game's lore.
  • Nurse vs P3 Claudette^ExplanationThe rules forbade perks and add-ons, so most of the top tier players were Nurses; a killer who doesn't rely on perks or add-ons (with some add-ons actually messing with the player's muscle memory). In addition, these same rules had many players choose Prestige 3 Claudette due to her insanely low visibility. Every match in the finale ended up being Nurses against four P3 Claudettes.
  • Marth Was Robbed^ExplanationIn addition to having survivors fighting killers for the grand prize (which is like literally comparing apples to oranges), the last match was Marth 88 vs "The Depip Squad". The survivors won through ambiguous definitions of a "hatch standoff" that cost Marth 88 the grand prize.
• ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ Summon the chapter ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ^explanationA copypasta message mainly used on the r/deadbydaylight subreddit when a new chapter is close to release, which was first used back on the Curtain Call chapter's release day.
• Give us Carl the Cashier! ^ExplanationWhen the Ghost Face trailer was released, people were quick to become attached to the cashier Ghostface kills, later named by one of the developers as Carl, leading to people asking for BHVR to make him into a playable Survivor. The requests and memes further increased once it was revealed that Ghostface was a solo DLC and would not come with a new Survivor or map alongside him.
• Doing gens, you?^ExplanationPopular DBD player No0b3 lost his 21-escape streak when the sole remaining survivor he was with camped the escape hatch and left him to die instead of doing gens. After the match ended, No0b 3 asked what the survivor was doing the entire match. This was their rough response.
• The Smash Bros of horror games. ^ExplanationDead by Daylight has had quite the plethora of guests as both killers and survivors. With so many different franchises in a single multiplayer, it has lended the game to comparisons of the mascot platform fighter and its own insane roster, pointing out that you can have situations such as Bill Overbeck saving Steve Harrington from a Xenomorph in Midwich Elementary or Ash Williams facing off against Michael Myers in the Raccoon City Police Station occur regularly..
• Fat shame/I just got fat shamed!^ExplanationThere are areas on many maps that look like you can pass between two pieces of map geometry but an invisible wall stops you, the joke being that your character is too wide to fit through and the developers are fat-shaming you.
• Reverse chainsaw into Quentin hiding in a corner.^Explanation Twitch Streamer Otzdarva demonstrated his skill with Hillbilly on stream by downing a Quentin who was cleansing a totem. By charging backwards with the chainsaw.
• come cowshed 1v1.^Explanation Otzdarva is also known for organizing 1v1 duels at the Fractured Cowshed map against survivor players that challenge him.
• Maurice RIP/Have You Seen This Horse? ^ExplanationMaurice, the Clown's mutated horse, disappeared without explaination from the Crotus asylum map in June 2022. This prompted many memes and worried campaigns about where he had gone, with one suggestion being the horse that falls from the then recently released Dredge's idle lobby animation is Maurice, hence the RIP memes. These memes are usually accompanied by a crying Clown or a fusion of him and John Wick. On the flip side, some players have joked since the Dredge is a Hive Mind of lost souls, Maurice is techincally the Killer/is the Dredge's real name. These memes finally got a resolution on January, 31st, 2023, where he was returned to the map along with a event (and a horse styled Dredge skin....)
• The Hole. ^Explanation Youtuber The JRM has a slight obsession with baiting killers into chasing him and forcing them into lunging near a hole on the top floors, causing them to fall. It has happened to the point that "holing" someone is considered a skilled play.
• The rampant horniness in the fanbase in itself is a meme, made more noticeable after the release of the dating sim.

Survivors

• Sabo Jakes. ^ExplanationJake's third perk is Saboteur, which allows him to destroy hooks and traps without the need of a toolbox while also increasing the speed at which he sabotages things while using one. So it's not uncommon to see a Jake carrying a toolbox as a killer. Most of the time, these Jakes do nothing but sabo until every last hook and trap is gone. However, with the addition of respawning hooks, this meme has pretty much died.
  • op iron guard ^ExplanationOn the Dead by Daylight subreddit, there are accounts called "sabo_jake(insertnumberhere)" that make numerous troll posts. One of the most notable complaints from these accounts are how overpowered the killer perk "Iron Guard", aka Iron Grasp, is amongst other complaints.
  • I hate hooks. ^ExplanationWhen the Left Behind update came out, which added Bill Overbeck as a new character, Jake and the other three original survivors got outfits based on Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 characters. Jake's outfit was based on Francis, so when Sabo Jakes began wearing this outfit, "I hate hooks" jokes were inevitable.
• Closet Dwight Strats. ^ExplanationThe default character when someone first installs the game is Dwight Fairfield, so most of the time, newcomers play their first few games as him. Most of these players always try to hide in closets when something happens, like blowing up a generator or hearing the killer's heartbeat. They are also usually the first to die.
• Blendette. ^ExplanationClaudette is the shortest character in the game as well as having the best camouflage with her clothing. Her Prestige 1 and 2 rewards also make her even harder to see. This has lead to many people picking Claudette when trying to be a stealthy survivor, with this nickname being given to such players.
• The Cult of Dwight / PRAISE. ^ExplanationWhen a four player survivor group joins in as all Dwights with the customization combo of the See Me Now Cap, First Job T-Shirt, and Watermelon Pants with one having a Dweard instead of the hat along with their names all being Cultist (with the Dweard player named Cultist Leader). When the game begins, they will not play the game normally, but will instead act weirdly by doing things such as bobbing their heads up and down, travel from location to location while crouching, performing a conga line when opening the exit gates, and more. After the game is over, they will spam the end game chat with PRAISE. You can watch the first ever spotting of this kind of group in this video by Darkwraith Turk.
• Where are the fingerguns? ^ExplanationWhen the teaser for the Of Flesh and Mud chapter was released, Ace was seen performing finger guns at the end of the video. Many were hyped for a new finger gunning emote for survivors, but when the chapter came out, there was no such emote. It's now a common question to ask the developers for fingerguns, to the point of it becoming a meme within the community.
• I can't believe they added Gollum into the game. ^ExplanationWhen Nea was first revealed, many people began to talk about how ugly her face was. As a result, comparisons to Gollum of The Lord of the Rings have been made. This meme has mostly been transferred to Quentin.
• Ace vs Bill. ^ExplanationBoth are Cool Old Guys who are taller than all other male characters and have beards. However, one is a Vietnam Vet that fought endless hordes of mutated zombies before dying and the other is a gambling conman gambler who ran away from a mafia gang he owed money to.
• The Price is Dwight, It's Gonna Be Al-Dwight, ect. ^ExplanationIt's very easy to make a pun out of Dwight's name, resulting in many puns and jokes involving his name such as the above examples. Ascended by the Dweard/Dwearder's description, which says that the style is "aldwight".
• Make Survivors Legless ^ExplanationOften a memetic response to killers suggesting stuff deemed as unreasonable or objectively overpowered. Expect variations like "all survivors should start hooked" and "survivors should be pre-downed for the killer when the match starts."
• Kool Aid Man / Heinz/Ketchup Ace. ^ExplanationBefore 1.5.0, the blood on Ace's prestiged clothing was incredibly bright to the point of being nearly pink. As a result, many have joked that Ace was covered in pink paint, Kool-Aid, or ketchup instead of blood.
• Built In Iron Will. ^ExplanationAce's breathing is VERY soft, to the point of being nearly unhearable. As a result, people have said that he has built-in Iron Will, a survivor perk that decreases the volume of your breathing when injured.
• Questionable Moaning Grandpa. ^ExplanationA Fan Nickname given to Bill due to his age and because he makes a rather suggestive moaning sound when he's trying to free himself from a hook.
  • Praise Grandpa! ^ExplanationBill is something of a badass grandpa. Which is unsurprising, considering his home franchise.
• M'Lady *tips fedora* ^ExplanationAce got a new head cosmetic in the Headcase DLC that gave him a white panama hat, which bears a striking resemblance to a fedora, which is a hat that is often associated with stereotypical fat neckbeard virgin losers.
• Handheld Burrito. ^ExplanationA nickname given to the Map, due to its resemblance to a burrito. Referenced in the name of the fourth Anniversary challenge, which involved the survivors having to successfully use the map 250,000 times, Chop Shop & Stuffed Burrito.
• Nea being a Killer. ^ExplanationThis meme started due to a image of a glitch where a Killer perk showed up in Nea's Bloodweb, but took off in popularity mostly due to how unappealing her face looks and how many fan works over-emphasize how she looks, almost to the extent of what a killer might look like.
  • Nea is the Entity.^Explanation Samination took the Nea meme and ran it to the extreme in his animated parodies.
• Pebbles. ^ExplanationDiversion, one of Adam Francis' perks, allows the survivor to pick up a pebble and use it to cause a distraction. Cue the memes of Adam Francis and his obsession with pebbles.
• "You're a survivor, Hagrid." ^ExplanationAs soon as Jeff Johansen's design was revealed, comparisons to Hagrid began to surface.
• DUMMY THICC. ^ExplanationA common reaction to Jane Romero, as she's significantly... 'wider' than the other female survivors.
• Oh no, he's hot! ^ExplanationMany fans were quick to point out how attractive Felix Richter was when he was first revealed.
• Guy Fieri^ExplanationThe immediate reaction to Jonah Vasquez was to point out his canny resemblance to the "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" host.
• Feng's equal attention cosmetic. ^Explanation The developers odd obsession in giving Feng cosmetics whenever possible resulted in the equal attention cake scene from a Family Guy episode being used as a comparison, specifically when the release of Jill's S.T.A.R.S uniform and Cheryl's Princess Heart outfit came with matching Feng cosplays.
• Vittorio x Haddie ^Explanation When Vittorio released with almost the same amount of cosmetics at the at that point 6 months old Haddie, it caused....division in the fanbase. In response to the two specific characters who were fighting, many users began to jokingly ship then in response, with art and memes on top of memes ''rebuking'' the idea (given Haddie is in her mid 20s and Vittorio is a man who's been alive since the 14th century with visible gray hair
• Does he know Ed?/Is he friends with Ed? ^ExplanationThe perk No One Escapes Death is often abbreviated NOED and pronounced phonetically as Know Ed. Survivor streamers have taken to asking if the killer knows Ed/is friends with Ed when NOED could be a possibility.
• Petunia ^ExplanationDuring the aforementioned discourse around the amount of Haddie's cosmetics, one Twitter user (while looking at Haddie's then only available highest rarity skin, "Waterfront Massacre") dubbed the strange squid monster lying dead on her back Petunia. The name stuck and lore for the creature (such as it actually being alive and a close friend of Haddie) took off similar to Maurice
• It wasn't programmed to harm the crew. ^ExplanationGabriel Soma's dialogue during the End Transmission trailer, primarily the starting line, became a meme in the community due to how many times players heard it during the first month of the chapter's release, as it would play every time you launched the game.
• There is nothing more powerful than imagination. ^ExplanationIn a similar vein to the meme above, after the release of Nicolas Cage, the cinematic trailer for him was made a part of the game's bootup sequence, with this line being the first thing the player hears after starting the game.

Killers

• *METAL MUSIC INTENSIFIES* ^ExplanationIt's a common joke that Trapper players listen to high-volume metal music while playing their games.
• SQUAWK! ^ExplanationThe shrieking sounds the Nurse makes sound very similar to a bird squawking.
  • Bird Nurse.
• Dabbing Nurse ^ExplanationThere's a glitch where, after performing a blink attack as the Nurse, the animation will freeze, causing the Nurse to look like she's dabbing.
• I have special eyes. ^ExplanationThe Doctor's eyes are forced open wide by a speculum, causing them to be very wide. The "special eyes" comes from this commercial, which was already somewhat of a meme.
  • "Oh that's nice... oh wait◊, OH NO^ExplanationAfter the release of Pride flags in 2021, memes sprouted about The Doctor realizing that his tactics resembled an antiquated Cure Your Gays method.
• Basement Dweller Bubba ^ExplainationBubba tends to camp basement a lot, leading to infinite memes about Bubba in the basement.
• Johnny Lueger. ^ExplanationDuring the 74th developer stream, where they revealed The Nightmare's perks and addons, they constantly refer to him as "Johnny Lueger" instead of his real name. Possibly for legal reasons.
  • Sweaterboi ^ExplanationAnother nickname for Freddy.
  • Sharp Hand Joe. ^ExplanationA nickname for Freddy based on an infamous bootleg toy, especially used after the severe nerf that made him essentially inoffensive in the eyes of many. Basically, people refuse to believe this is the real Freddy, but a cheap knock-off.
• darn. ^ExplanationA stretched out image of a Freddy mask with the word DARN next to it, usually to express disappointment. It originates from this reddit post back when Freddy's sound files were leaked, leading to several other posts.
• "X should be the next killer!" or "I hear X is going to be the newest killer!" ^ExplanationFans tend to speculate a lot about who or what the next killer is going to be in the game, especially potential new licensed killers.
  • Springtrap.^ExplanationFive Nights at Freddy’s has been a popular concept in the fanbase since the game announced licensed Killers, which caused a lot of Broken Base and borderline Fandom Rivalry, but it reached its peak during the time Chapter 21 was being teased, since Dead by Daylight's social media featured vague hints at Pinhead that could easily be misinterpreted to be hints towards Springtrap. Fans have both jokingly and seriously interpreted them to mean Five Nights at Freddy's references, with some joking examples going as far as calling entirely different characters “Springtrap”.
• "Surprise, motherfucker!" ^ExplanationA reference to another meme (namely from the series Dexter). Used whenever either Michael Myers, the Pig or Ghost Face manages to stalk and perform a surprise attack on a survivor.
• Tier 4 Myers. ^Explanation Michal Myers's two iridescent add-ons, when equipped together, make it take six times longer to reach Tier 3 of his power, Evil Within, but make it permanent and allow him to instantly kill any survivor he attacks, so fans have joked about the build allowing him to reach "Tier 4".
• Bing Bong Boi ^Explanation A popular nickname for the Wraith.
• Smol Billy ^ExplanationOn the Dead By Daylight subreddit, memes not directly related to the game are removed. In response, users began to photoshop small pictures of Hillbilly's face onto otherwise unrelated memes. This was dubbed "Smol Billy" by users.
• Spirit Ass ^ExplanationThe Spirit is... not wearing much. In addition, she has a very well-toned nearly nude butt that is almost completely exposed on the loading screen.
• Similarly, Thicc Pyramid Head, though the skin was later revised to be less form-fitting. Later referenced via an Expospeak Gag in the patch notes, noting that they actually made Pyramid Head's ass more prominent, and are expecting people to say it's still not enough.
• "THE MIRROR IS THE KILLER" ^ExplanationA teaser for The Legion featured Frank looking in the mirror, with several rippling reflections of him and the rest of his gang. The fanbase didn't think to realise that maybe, JUST MAYBE, it's the people IN the mirror that may be the focus, and began coming up with potential perks for the Mirror as a killer.
• Ghost Face: Son of Michael and Amanda ^ExplanationGhost Face's power, Night Shroud, plays a lot like a mixture of The Pig's and The Shape's powers. He can crouch around freely and remove his terror radius like Amanda while also stalking survivors to be able to down them in one hit like Michael. This has led a few to conclude that Michael and Amanda are Ghost Face's parents.
• Bam Bam ^ExplanationThanks to wielding a giant club used to bash people's heads in, The Oni has been compared to a certain cartoon toddler who also wields a giant club.
• New Killer: The Chain Chomp ^ExplanationWhen the first teaser for Chapter 15 was released, many jokes were made about the new killer being a Chain Chomp.
• BIG IRON ^ExplanationThe Deathslinger is a western bounty hunter carrying a giant rifle. Jokes about Big Iron and cowboys ensued upon his reveal.
• Caleb vs. King^Explanation The Deathslinger is Irish, and David King is from England. Considering, historically, the British haven't been too kind to the Irish, this has lead to a fanmade 'rivalry' between the two.
• The Onion ^Explanation A recent Fan Nickname used by some players for The Oni. It originated from an autocorrect mistake altering his name and changing it into “The Onion”. Despite being accidental, it ended up catching on with some players and they’ve been using it to tease Oni players ever since.
• The Pinball ^ExplanationA community nickname for The Blight, since his power is essentially acting like a pinball and bouncing off walls.
• Drug Dealer/Meth Head Grampa ^ExplanationOther nicknames for The Blight related to his power essentially coming from weird drugs and because he looks like a demonic wrinkly old man. Some people have also noticed that his weapon even kind of looks like one of those walking canes that old people tend to use.
• Boop the snoot ^Explanation It's become popular for players to turn around and face The Pig, sometimes mid-chase, and do the pointing emote at her, making it seem like they're poking her mask/snout. Most Pig players in on the meme leave the survivor alone for a while or even give them the hatch.
• Kick the baby!^Explanation The smaller half of The Twins, Victor, can be dealt with as a survivor by crushing/kicking him. Many people have attributed the South Park quote to this action due to Victor's baby-like appearance.
  • "He's not a baby, he's a small adult."^Explanation Because of how laws in other countries regard violence towards children, even horribly deformed and murderous ones, Behavior had to be very firm that their official content creators cannot refer to Victor as a baby when it comes to stomping him to cover their asses. They made the above phrase reasoning that since Charlotte is an adult, Victor would be too, just a tiny one.
• I'm da Joker baby ^Explanation Thanks to his flashier attire, constant laughter, and his backstory painting him as a flamboyant serial killer who loves to put on a show, The Trickster has been referred to as "Korean/Kpop Joker" by both fans and detractors, specifically to Jared Leto's Joker and Injustice 2's Joker.
• Nemesis = Tunnel ^ExplainationNemesis players tend to tunnel a lot, especially Jills
• "The box...you opened it...I came." / "You summoned me; I came!"^Explanation With the addition of Pinhead as a killer, survivors can find the Lament Configuration in the map and cause him to instantly track them down and utter one of these lines. Since Dead by Daylight's fanbase has their collective head in the gutter, the lines became an instant meme.
• Pinhead sends them to Brazil/Detroit/the Shadow Realm ^Explanation Pinhead's Memento Mori animation summons a torture pillar that the victim gets impaled on, and then it sinks into the ground along with them. This has sparked a crossover with "You're going to Brazil" and "Take him to Detroit" memes, as well as the classic Shadow Realm joke from ''Yu-Gi-Oh".
• "My name is Blindako and I am Lostako."^ExplanationSadako is far shorter than any of the other killers, which causes problems on several maps where she can't see over things that survivors can with their third-person perspective. The worst of these is Rotten Fields, where the tall fields of corn can completely obstruct the players sight and cause them to get lost.
• "Seven minutes. Seven minutes is all I can spare to play with you."^ExplanationAfter the announcement that Albert Wesker is a new Guest Fighter has appeared, jokes were instantly made that Wesker players will quit the match if it lasts more than 7 minutes.
• "It's Weskin' Time" ^ExplanationAn adaptation of the popular "It's Morbin' time" meme.
• Me and the boys killing survivors ^Explanation The Knight's power of summoning his Guards quickly led to a resurgence of the popular "me and the boys" format
• Demodog^ExplanationThere are memes of the Killers treating the Demogorgon like their big, fluffy, Survivor killing community puppy with Amanda being the one taking him out for walkies for example.
• Kris ‘3 Genner’/Dull Merchant ^ExplainationThe Skull Merchant has a striking resemblance to Kris Jenner, and games against her had a tendency to be pretty dull when she held a 3 gen, which she used to be exceptionally good at, much to the chagrin of many. As of October 2023, she is no longer able to do this due to a major rework of her power, but for some players, the damage has been done
• ‘Game of Chess’ ^ExplainationA reference to a post-game comment where a 3 genning Skull Merchant (pre-rework) said playing her was like a game of chess
• Meatball/Larry ^ExplanationThe fandom nickname for the Singularity, both based off SinguLARitY and him shooting orb shaped, fleshy Biopods for his power
• "X Killer is overpowered, so we decided to nerf The Pig." ^ExplanationDue to her status of being nerfed into oblivion over and over since 2019, the fandom love to joke that a nerf to Pig is the solution for any game problem.
• PTB Clown. ^ExplanationThere is a particular trend where Killer players on Public Test Builds, typically for new chapters, will play as Clown for some unknown reason. This has led to many jokes that PTBs for chapters are, in-fact, just releasing the Clown again and everyone anticipating going against Clowns whenever a new chapter is revealed.
• Xeno Queen's cake. ^ExplanationIt didn't take long for the community to realize the Xenomorph Queen had some... noticeable curves and buttocks, most prominently shown in her character select animation, leading to various memes and posts talking about said buttocks or how they want their "Xeno Mommy" to take them back to her nest.
• gendah flooid ^ExplanationAny discussion of Chucky, especially on the subreddit will inevitably result in references/an image macro based on the much memed line from the show.
• LIVE ??? REACTION^ExplanationWhen the teaser video of The Unknown was released four days prior to the full reveal and PTB release, Reddit user SirChoobly69 made a post of an edit of the Live Tucker Reaction meme featuring the killer (referred to as simply ??? in the image) titled "Spread this before the 20th". Fellow members of the Dead by Daylight subreddit complied with the request and almost all posts relating to the upcoming chapter would have at least one highly upvoted comment linking to said image.