Meet Me At McDonald's

What Does Meet Me At McDonald's Mean?

The Quick Answer

Meet Me At McDonald's is a hairstyle.

More Detail...

The origin of the phrase Meet Me at McDonald's and, in particular, its use to refer to a hairstyle has still to be established. The cut is similar to styles popular among "New Romantics" in the 1980s, with very short sides, a floppy fringe and a top with a tousled perm. The phrase made the tabloid headlines in the UK in February 2018, when the head teacher at a school in Great Yarmouth banned male pupils from sporting the cut. In a letter to parents, the head claimed that the hairstyle did not comply with school uniform policy, and threatened to suspend or isolate any pupil that came to school with it. The earliest online reference to Meet Me at McDonald's seems to be a in a 1988 Australian advertisement for the fast-food chain, but it is not clear how this ad could have inspired the haircut.

Meet Me At McDonalds - Australia, 1988

Image for Meet Me At McDonald's

When I write Meet Me At McDonald's, I mean this:

A loose perm, with short sides and a floppy fringe.

Summary of Key Points

We have summarized the key points in the table below:

Meet Me At McDonald's
Definition:	A Hairstyle
Type:	Slang Word (Jargon)
Guessability:	4: Difficult to guess
Typical Users:	Adults, Teenagers, and Under 13s

Examples of Meet Me At McDonald's in Sentences

Here's an example of Meet Me At McDonald's in conversation:

• Adult: I have just seen a group of lads with the most ridiculous haircuts I have seen since Depeche Mode were all the rage.
• Teenager: You've just seen a group of lads with a Meet Me At McDonald's. Isn't it cool?!

An Academic Look at Meet Me At McDonald's

When used to refer to a hairstyle, the phrase "Meet Me At McDonald's" serves as a compound noun, i.e., a noun comprising at least two words. Other examples of compound nouns are:

• Crew Cut.
• Mother-in-law.
• Forget-me-not.
• Cooking-oil.

What Did We Say before Texting and Social Media?

Before Meet Me At McDonald's hit the headlines, we might have just said something like "80s-style haircut."

Example of Meet Me At McDonald's Used in a Text

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