Meanwhile on TikTok: ‘Devious Lick’ Challenge Is Latest Trend Banned by the Platform, And It’s Not What You Think It Is (Or Is It?)

TikTok rarely restricts or bans a trend or hashtag, but that’s starting to change. First, it was the Milk Crate Challenge. Now it’s the Devious Lick Challenge. Before you get too excited, “devious lick” is probably not what you’re imagining – but it’s still fascinating.

For context, let’s talk about what a “lick” is, at least according to Urban Dictionary. The slang bible declares it’s a “successful type of theft which results in an acceptable, impressive and rewarding payday for the protagonist.”

That translates to tons of videos featuring students stealing, damaging, or showing off items swiped from school on the social media platform. The first is credited to TikToker @jugg4elias, who stole a box of disposable face masks from school and posted a video about it in September.

“A month into school… absolutely devious lick,” he captioned the video, which has since been removed. “Should’ve brought a mask from home. Now look at you walkin round campus maskless you dirty dog.”

His profile is no longer active, but it hasn’t stopped other students from following suit. The thefts have gotten so bad, one institution took to Facebook to plead that teens and their parents stop them.

“Soap dispensers, exit signs, safety signage for fire rescue, and classroom telephones are just a few of the items that were removed and stolen this week,” Sunlake High School in Land O’Lakes, Florida, wrote on FB. “We love our Seahawks and we do not want to see any of them arrested so PLEASE talk to your kids. If they are participating in this activity you will be hearing from an administrator and our School Resource Officer. Let’s work together to put a stop to this now.”

We wish we could show you footage of the dastardly deeds, but all you get if you search for “devious licks” is an error message.

Oh, TikTok, when did you turn into such a buzzkill?

Cover Photo: WestEnd61 (Getty Images)

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