Meaning:
“吃” means to “eat,” “枣” refers to “jujube,” a kind of fruit, and “药丸” means “pills.” Having nothing to do with its literal meaning, this term was coined by Chinese netizens as the funny parodic pronunciation of another phrase “迟早要完” (meaning: destined to fail, sooner or later). Originally this term was used by fans to describe AcFun, one of the earliest streaming sites in China whose hardcore users were animation, comic and game fans. Troubled by constant reshuffles, lawsuits and a lack of licenses for audio and video content, AcFun was disparaged by users who sometimes found it difficult to log onto. “This website is doomed,” they said.
Example:
A: 小丽和她的新男友总是在秀恩爱。
Xiǎolì hé tā de xīn nányǒu zǒngshì zài xìu ēn’ài。
Xiao Li and her new boyfriend are constantly seen on PDA-packed dates.
B: 你等着瞧，他俩吃枣药丸。小丽为了气她前男友才故意这样，她根本不喜欢这个小男生。
Nǐ děng zhe qiáo, tāliǎ chīzǎo yàowán。Xiǎolì wèile qì tā qián nányǒu cái gùyì zhèyàng, tā gēnběn bù xǐhuan zhè gè xiǎo nánshēng。
You just wait and see. This new relationship is doomed. Xiao Li does this just to anger her ex-boyfriend. In fact, she doesn’t even like this young man she’s dating.
(First editor: Debra Li)