No One Knows What The "H" In "IMHO" Stands For & Now I'm Questioning Everything

Leave to social media users to come up with some new idea that'll rock your world entirely and change everything as you once knew it to be. That's what happened on May 2, when Twitter users launched a debate over the true meaning of the acronym "IMHO." Just take a look — I guarantee once you see the tweets about what the "H" in "IMHO" stands for, you'll be just as puzzled as I am right now.

This whole ordeal started after BuzzFeed posted an article about their in-office debate on May 2 over the real meaning of "IMHO." One writer said she told her co-worker it meant "it my honest opinion," however, within moments, other staff members challenged her, insisting the acronym stood for "in my humble opinion" instead.

Now, if you would've asked me what I thought the acronym stood for before I caught wind of this debate, I would've told you, "in my honest opinion." But now that I've seen all of these tweets, I have no idea about anything at all anymore, so I've decided to tap out of this debate altogether.

But Buzzfeed asked for the public to share their interpretation of the acronym. So take a look at what others are saying, and decide for yourself.

@juliareinstein wrote, "if I ever say IMHO to you please know I don't mean 'humble' because all my opinions are actually quite arrogant" and honestly, same.

And, of course, there were some really bizarre interpretations of "IMHO," too.

One user wrote that it stood for "in my historic opinion," so there's a third option to confuse us even more. Great.

In all seriousness, though, I'm not sure on this one anymore. I feel like "in my honest opinion" is like a double negative or redundant or something. Because opinions are already honest, right? But then again, "in my humble opinion" just seems like some unnecessary razzle-dazzle that came out of nowhere... IDK. My head is starting to hurt and I need a nap.

The Atlantic chimed in on the debate in efforts to put a stop to it once and for all, and one writer, Alexis C. Madrigal, reached the conclusion that "IMHO" stands for "in my humble opinion." She claimed that dozens of guidebooks that date back to the early days of the internet apparently say the "h" represents "humble." However, Robinson Meyer — also for The Atlantic — maintained that "IMHO" has taken on a new context today. He wrote:

Think about it: 'Honest' and 'humble' have two wildly different meanings. They’re not even talking about the same quality. 'Honest' conveys something about the truth value of the statement that follows. 'Humble' communicates its tone and emotional charge.

Yeah, what he said!

We may never get to the bottom of this, but I'm sure there will be a new debate in a matter of time that'll take our minds off this completely. After all, it's not the first time something like this has happened.

Back in February, Twitter users argued over what the "mac" in "mac and cheese" actually stood for. Some people said "mac and cheese" could technically stand for “macaroni and cheese and cheese.” Others, however, claimed that "mac" simply stood for "macaroni." The debate is still up in the air, which I'm gonna guess will be the ultimate fate of this "IMHO" ordeal, too.

Regardless of where you stand on this debate, as long as you keep your use of the phrase limited to the acronym, we should be just fine and can pretend that none of this ever happened.