Meanings
alternative no Johns
- slangvideo gamesDo not make excuses (for losing a match).
1 more example
“No Johns” is such a ubiquitous phrase in the Smash scene that it’s even inspired regional variations around the world. No Stacos. No Tiesos. No Joshis. Igna Yunas, in Swedish. It even made it into Smash itself: One of the “random” names that players can assign themselves in the Wii U and Switch versions of the fighting game is NOJOHNS.
2019 September 16, Cecilia D'Anastasio, “How A High School Smash Bros. Joke Became A World-Famous Saying”, in Kotaku
Origin
Coined by Super Smash Bros. player Jesse "Zulu" Fuentes in 1999 in reference to his friend John, who would allegedly often make unconvincing excuses for losing a match.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
no johns. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20johns
“no johns.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20johns. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “no johns,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20johns.
Source: no johns on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.