Franc le bœuf is a user-uploaded soundboard clip, a French-language snippet just a few seconds long whose wider origin is not documented. In French, 'bœuf' means beef or ox, which gives the phrase a faintly absurd ring that meme pages enjoy quoting out of context. Like many tiny voice clips, it travels through soundboard sites and chat apps rather than through any single video or show, picked up by people who find the delivery funny and reuse it as a reaction. Its staying power comes from brevity: at under four seconds it is easy to drop anywhere.