皮皮虾我们走

What does 皮皮虾我们走 mean?

A nonsense hook for making an exit. 皮皮虾我们走 is what you type when you want to leave a conversation, a meeting or a mess, and want your exit to be funny instead of rude. The mantis shrimp itself has no role; that is the joke. Sticker makers dressed it as a steed, a spaceship, an avatar of chaos, and the phrase rode all of them. It also works in reverse: 皮皮虾我们回来, for when you storm out and immediately remember you left your phone inside.

Where does 皮皮虾我们走 come from?

The phrase detonated in the first weeks of 2017. Its roots are in Chinese livestreaming fandom, where viewers repeat each other's pet phrases and riding one's favorite into battle became a caption habit; the mantis shrimp was swapped in as the most unimpressive mount imaginable and the absurdity took over. A Zhihu question on 2017-01-31 and a Sina Esports piece on 2017-02-10 were early attempts to log it, and China Daily ran an explainer on 2017-02-15. No single author is documented; the wave is the point.

How to use 皮皮虾我们走

• 群里开始聊加班心得，我发了个皮皮虾表情包：皮皮虾，我们走。
  Qún lǐ kāishǐ liáo jiābān xīndé, wǒ fā le ge pí pí xiā biǎoqíngbāo: pí pí xiā, wǒmen zǒu.
  The group chat started trading overtime stories, so I posted a mantis shrimp sticker: mantis shrimp, we ride.
• “作业截止是今晚。”“皮皮虾我们走，现在去图书馆还来得及。”
  “Zuòyè jiézhǐ shì jīnwǎn.” “Pí pí xiā wǒmen zǒu, xiànzài qù túshūguǎn hái láidejí.”
  “The assignment is due tonight.” “Mantis shrimp, let's ride. There's still time if we reach the library now.”