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Joseph Ducreux meme template

Joseph Ducreux is a meme format on WhatiMeme. A modern phrase, slang line, or everyday complaint is rewritten as if an 18th-century gentleman is saying it in absurdly formal English. He seems to be lecturing or addressing you directly.

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An oil portrait of a smiling man in 18th-century clothes against a dark background. He wears a wide black hat, a white powdered wig, a brown coat, and a white ruffled shirt. One hand points straight at the viewer; the other grips a wooden cane.

How to write this meme

Pick a short modern line people already say, then swap every casual word for the stiffest synonym you can. Keep two short lines, address the viewer, and let the gap between street talk and court speech do the work.

Caption zones

  • Top text — Sets up the statement in stiff, old-fashioned wording
  • Bottom text — Delivers the punchline, still in archaic formal English

Example captions

  • Top text: Gentlemen, I inquire
  • Bottom text: Whither lies the privy

A blunt bathroom question becomes courtly speech, and the pointing pose makes it feel aimed at you.

  • Top text: I possess no coin
  • Bottom text: For thy overpriced coffee

Being broke at a café is familiar; the gentlemanly wording makes the complaint sound ridiculous.

  • Top text: Cease thy summons
  • Bottom text: I am occupied with repose

“Stop calling, I’m asleep” is translated word for word into fake period English without explaining the joke.

  • Top text: Mine chariot hath failed
  • Bottom text: Upon the king's highway

A roadside breakdown is ordinary; calling the car a chariot is the whole contrast.

  • Top text: Bring forth the sauce
  • Bottom text: Both secret and special

A fast-food order is delivered like a royal command, which fits the smug pointing portrait.

Common mistakes

  • Writing normal slang and skipping the archaic rewrite
  • Using paragraphs that will not fit the portrait
  • Describing the painting instead of making a statement
  • Stuffing thee and thou onto a line that is not actually reworded
  • Copying the famous currency caption instead of writing a new one

Also known as

Archaic Rap · Ducreux Self Portrait · Joseph Ducreux Rap

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Open the free editor to caption this frame by hand, or use WhatiMeme’s AI tools when they are available on your account.

Open Joseph Ducreux in the editor