Meaning
What does Hold my beer mean?
“Hold my beer” is a humorous statement usually said before you do something you shouldn’t do, that is supposed to impress people.
In most cases said thing goes well, but it usually has a high risk to it.
For example, you are drinking with your buddies and you see a video about a man doing a backflip off his car.
You say “hold my beer” and proceed to go to the car, climb up and attempt to do a backflip, most likely with no experience in backflips.
You do it because you want to impress your equally tipsy friends, and you could look really cool, or you might end up in the ER.
Origin
What's the origin of Hold my beer?
The previous version of the statement was “Watch this!”, while being drunk, so usually the person would need someone to hold his beverage, so the next phase would be “hold my beer”.
The earliest case of the line appearing in popular culture can be linked to the 1959 Warner Bros. cartoon Wild Woolly Hare, where the character Injun Joe says it, right before being shot up by Yosemite Sam.
In 2006, Aaron Pritchett released his song “Hold my beer”, where the lyrics describe him doing something stupid while being drunk.
In 2011, a video of a man drunkenly crashing his car the moment he started to drive included the same statement.
Spread & Usage
How did Hold my beer spread?
“Hold my beer” became an internet challenge, leading to plentiful videos getting uploaded of people drinking and making less intelligent decisions.
In 2018, Shotgun Shane released a song also called “Hold my beer”, with a similar storyline in its lyrics.

External resources
- Dictionary.com – Hold my beer