What Does the Acronym "PMO" Mean on TikTok? The Answer May P*ss You Off a Little Bit

TikTok is the Wild West of the internet, at times. With a unique language and rhythm, and trends that come and go sometimes in 24 hours or less, it's a wild place to try to learn if you don't spend a lot of time on the app.

Yet most of us have at least some interaction with people who are immersed in TikTok culture, so we have to have a basic understanding of what people are saying when they use TikTok-centric acronyms and references.

One such acronym is "PMO." You'll note it in comment sections and videos, and people use it frequently to express their feelings about a situation. But what does "PMO" mean? There's one clear answer. And one not-so-clear answer.

First and foremost, "PMO" is an older acronym that most people agreed in the earlier days of the internet meant "p--s me off." It's easy to drop in comments and video captions when something angers or frustrates you.

And more than likely, people will agree that whatever you're ranting about is also "PMO." In a world where people love to share their rages and frustrations with like-minded internet denizens, it's one of those increasingly popular acronyms that help to harness the fast fury people feel in certain situations.

A user might say "it really PMO that landlords charge so much upon move out."

But this is the internet, and things can't be completely simple. So there's another meaning for the acronym "PMO," and it started rising in popularity in the early 2020s.

In another world or another corner of TikTok, "PMO" also means "put me on." To older people, this phrase usually suggests that someone is pretending or joking. You might respond to someone who says something outlandish with the phrase, "Are you putting me on?" Especially common in the UK, the original dates back to at least the 17th century when "put me on" wasn't necessarily a positive thing.

On the internet, however, "put me on" means that someone introduced you to something of interest. Someone can "put you on" to a fantastic new musical artist, a favorite dish, or any other interesting topic that they have introduced you do. If someone drops a new way to make s'mores, for instance, you might say "thank you for PMO to this delicious new method."

Or if you've never heard of Clairo before, "thanks for PMO, I love this song."

It can be difficult at times to determine what an acronym means, when there's more than one meaning behind it. In that case, context is everything.

Few people are going to say that a new s'mores recipe p*ssed them off. Then again, it's always possible. With the internet being a wide open book for people to write their rages, loves, dreams, thoughts, and everything in between: it's capable of both PMO and PMO.