TikTok’s latest unhinged meme trend takes a line from the 2013 animated DreamWorks film The Croods and applies it to taboo subjects. Dubbed the “Rhymes With Grug” meme, users are pairing scenes of the caveman character Grug with topics like Hiroshima, child labor, and vehicular manslaughter—none of which actually rhyme with “Grug,” and that’s exactly the point.
What started as fan edits and appreciation for the DreamWorks character has spiraled into a competition to see who can attach the darkest or most absurd concept or event to the phrase.
What is the ‘Rhymes With Grug’ meme?
Classic Rhymes With Grug memes on TikTok consist of still images representing whatever messed up thing they’re not rhyming with Grug, plus the character himself, usually badly Photoshopped over the first image. This is typically accompanied by theme music from the DreamWorks film, sometimes remixed with the character’s grunting.
Some of the most popular videos involving Grug are fan edits celebrating his strength and his big heart. Others are creating fan art, which they claim rhymes with Grug.
The crux of the joke appears to be the absurdity of quoting a line in a pretty mid film from 12 years ago combined with shock value inappropriate for a PG movie.
We call it meme history (rhymes with Grug)
DreamWorks Animation released The Croods to U.S. audiences on March 22, 2013. The film made a solid profit at $106.5 million, eventually becoming the studio’s second highest grossing original release. Critic opinions were mixed, however, giving it an average score of 71 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The scene referenced in the meme shows the Croods coming upon the character Grug in the jungle. He then demonstrates some of his inventions, including a wig that he calls a rug, adding that it “rhymes with Grug.” He then presents a large boulder that he calls a ride, again saying that it rhymes with Grug.
@s.harts02 Grug has ideas 🪨#CapCut #fyp #foryoupage #foryou #thecroods ♬ original sound – Summer
Although the Grug memes really took off in early May 2025, appreciation for the character appears in TikTok videos going back to 2023. On Jan. 28 of that year, TikToker @s.harts02 posted a clip of the “rhymes with Grug” scene. It didn’t do numbers, but by 2024, the odd post would pop up featuring the Crood saying the line.
Meme spread
On April 10, 2025, user @fear.films posted the Grug video that would earn them 5.3 million views. The fan edit shows a compilation of the character’s best scenes, starting with the one that launched the meme.
@fear.films Grug might actually be the tuffest character oat | #edit #movie #croods #trending #grug ♬ original sound – 𝙁𝙀𝘼𝙍.𝙁𝙄𝙇𝙈𝙎
On May 3, @lilbiggefatmonke would gain over 690,000 views with one of the first examples of what is now known as the definitive version of the Rhymes With Grug meme. This one rhymes it with vehicular manslaughter.
Other horrors that would not rhyme with Grug include Hiroshima, problem gambling, and domestic violence.
By May 6, the TikTok hashtag #grug boasted over 10,500 videos, and the related #croods over 13,600.
More Grug memes
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