'You Can't Just Say Perchance': Meme Guide, Meaning, Grammar Rules, and Faqs
By David Miller
On February 19, 2022, comedian and writer Phil Jamesson posted an image of a printed paper to Twitter. The essay opened with a bold title: "Mario, the Idea vs. Mario, the Man." What followed was an exercise in pure rhetorical chaos masquerading as high-minded scholarship.
The first paragraph laid the comedic trap:
"Everyone knows Mario the character, but who is Mario the man? Perchance."
Directly beneath the word "Perchance," a squiggly red pen line led to a teacher's reprimand written in the margin: "You can't just say 'perchance.'" The exchange looked so authentic that thousands of casual readers assumed an exasperated teaching assistant had actually marked up an undergraduate paper. According to documented timeline entries tracking its Know Your Meme origins, the post racked up over 130,000 likes and tens of thousands of retweets within 48 hours.
Jamesson confirmed he wrote the text, printed it out, and applied the red ink annotations himself. The joke relies on contrast. The high-minded cadence of classic philosophy collides immediately with elementary school video game lore, exposing the hollow language often used to fluff out collegiate essays.
David Miller brings 15 years of experience in global economics, personal finance strategy, and market dynamics. He specializes in turning complex economic trends into actionable insights for everyday readers.
