“Send it”: where the phrase comes from, and why we put “please” in front

At the edge of a dock, at the top of a ramp, in front of a snow kicker that looks a bit too big, someone yells: “Send it!” Loosely translated: go, stop thinking, commit. Among teenagers and young adults the phrase is everywhere, from ski slopes to TikTok.

It has a history, and an unlikely hero. It also says something very true about the moment we commit, even when the leap comes down to pressing a button.

What does “send it” mean?

The meaning of “send it” fits in a few words: go all in, without hesitating. Dictionary.com's slang dictionary describes it as a phrase popularised by a viral video, used humorously when performing audacious or dangerous stunts (Dictionary.com (opens in a new tab)). On Urban Dictionary, the top definition reads “whole heartily throwing caution to the wind” (Urban Dictionary (opens in a new tab)).

The word comes from climbing. A “send” is a route completed without falling or resting. According to Dictionary.com, the term is said to have originated in climbers' slang in the 1990s before spreading to snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking and skateboarding. Its most extreme form, “full send”, emerged in the 2010s.

Where does the “I'm still gonna send it” meme come from?

From a young Canadian in denim and his old snowmobile. He's known as Larry Enticer, a nickname taken from his machine, a Yamaha Enticer (Racer X (opens in a new tab)). He grew up on an acreage on the outskirts of Toronto, and his videos jumping a 1979 Yamaha were already making the rounds in February 2017 (Vice (opens in a new tab)).

On 1 March 2017, he posted another snowmobile jump attempt on Facebook. In it, he says the line that would travel the world: “Are you guys silly? I'm still gonna send it!” (Know Your Meme (opens in a new tab)). The jump ends in a crash. Two days later, a YouTube channel reposted the video, which went on to pass 6.7 million views according to Know Your Meme. In June, Tosh.0 featured him. In July, YouTuber Jake Paul told reporters “I'm still gonna flippin send it” before riding off on a dirt bike, and the phrase went fully mainstream (Dictionary.com).

Larry didn't invent “send it”: climbers said it before him, and Urban Dictionary has a definition dated 2011. But his video is what turned it into a rallying cry.

A serious note: in this article, the jump is only an image. Don't jump just anywhere, not from a bridge, not from a cliff, not off a makeshift ramp, and never for a video. The only leap we recommend here is done sitting down, with one finger.

What “send it” says about commitment

What people love about “send it” isn't the jump. It's the instant right before, when you've finished thinking. You've looked at the run-up, pictured the landing, weighed the pros and cons, and at some point you have to stop weighing. “Send it” marks that switch. After that there's no going back, and that's exactly what feels like relief.

It's also something you shout for someone else. Friends yell “send it” at whoever is hesitating at the edge of the water. They don't jump for them. They give them the push.

The small leaps of everyday life

Our own leaps are tiny. The tax notice to send for a rental application. The form to sign for the bank. The school form, half filled in, waiting on the fridge. The reply to an email, written, reread, and sleeping in the drafts.

None of them is dangerous. None of them takes long. And yet we put them off, sometimes for weeks. They all look the same: a finger hovering over the Send button, and that moment when nothing happens. It isn't that it's hard. It's that it's the last gesture, the one that commits you: once it's gone, it's gone.

I see it in myself every day. My follow-up emails and my replies are prepared for me by my AI assistants. All I have to do is send them. And sometimes I don't even do that: out of laziness, because it isn't the right moment, or for other reasons still. The last click, the “send it”, is my own leap.

Why add “please”?

The game is simple: whenever someone says “send it”, you add one word in front. “Please send it.” The battle cry becomes a request. You're no longer yelling “go!” at someone on the edge, you're saying: please, send it.

“Please” adds politeness to courage. And for everyday leaps, that's often what's missing: not one more order, but a kind request, at the right time, through the right channel, that comes back without getting annoyed until the thing is done. Whoever sends the reminder doesn't jump for the other person. They do what friends do at the water's edge: they give the push. For the tone of those messages, see how to follow up without being pushy; for the channel, how do you like to be reminded; and for the exact words, our six missing document reminder emails.

In the end, that's the meaning of “send it”: the decision belongs to whoever jumps, but the push can come from someone else.

What if the click weren't up to me anymore?

Since my last click is what holds things up, the idea came on its own: stop depending on it. Everything is scheduled, the computer sends the reminders, and I know I'll get my answers.

That's what Please Send It does: you request documents, and the reminders go out on their own, by email, text, letter or phone call, until everyone has sent their file. And that's where we're heading now: at the end, through the channel of your choice, a little WhatsApp for instance, you get a single message: “All done, everyone has replied.”