"Achievement unlocked": Meaning, Usage & Examples

What Does “Achievement Unlocked” Mean? ... This phrase is said when you complete a strange or extraordinary task in a video game. Furthermore, you ... SkiptoContent Sometimes,nomatterhowhardyoutry,thingsjustdon’tgoyourwayinlife.Forexample,youmayhavestudiedhardandtriedyourbesttoearnagoodscoreonaresearchpaper. However,whentheprofessorfinallyreturnedit,yousawthatthescorewasmuchlowerthanyouhadexpected. Othertimes,noamountofpreparationcanshieldyoufromoutsideevents.Aftermonthsofplanningandasunnyforecast,itmaystillrainonyourweddingday. Althoughyoudideverythingrightandworkedhardtoimpressyourboss,theydecidedtogivethepromotiontosomeoneelse. Insuchcases,youmayhearsomeonesay“them’sthebreaks.”Thisphrasesimplymeansthat,whetheryoulikeitornot,somethingoccurredthatisbeyondyourcontrol,soyouhavetoacceptitandmoveon. Thisphrasecanbeusedtoexpressfrustrationandresignation. Occasionally,theuniverseisextremelyunjust.Youcanmakeaperfectplanorputatonofeffortintosomething,butifitdoesn’tworkout,thenyoujusthavetosay“them’sthebreaks”andtrytoforgetaboutit. Onthecontrary,somethingmayworkoutperfectly.Afterall,lifeisn’talldoomandgloom. Youcanbestackedagainstinsurmountableoddsandperseverethroughhardworkanddetermination,oryoumayachievetheimpossibleanddosomethingamazingwithnothingbutluck. Whenyou’resofortunate,youmayhearsomeonesay“achievementunlocked.” Thisphraseisverycommoninvideogames,butithasspilledoverintoeverydayuseamongalargesegmentofthepopulation,solet’stakealookatthemeaningof“achievementunlocked,”itshistory,andhowyoushouldusethisphrase.   WhatDoes“AchievementUnlocked”Mean? Thisphraseissaidwhenyoucompleteastrangeorextraordinarytaskinavideogame.Furthermore,youcanhearpeoplesay“achievementunlocked”inreallifetodescribestrangefeats,uniquesuccesses,andgeneralaccomplishments.In-gameachievementsalwayshaveaclevernameoranamethatreflectsthenatureoftheaccomplishment.Sincethisphraseisslangandisheavilyrelatedtovideogameculture,youshouldnotuseitinmostformalorprofessionalenvironments.   WhereDoes“AchievementUnlocked”ComeFrom? Originally,“achievementunlocked”hasitsrootsintheXbox360console. Wheneveryouwouldaccomplishsomethingspecial,unique,ornotableinagame,youwouldgetauniquelylabeledachievementwiththemessage“achievementunlocked.” Youcanunlockachievementsbytakingzerodamage,completingalevelinacertainamountoftime,doinganinsaneacrobaticstunt,andsomuchmore;achievementsdifferbetweengamesandsystems. Sinceitsinception,moreandmoregameconsolesandserviceshaveincludedachievementsintheirgames,andtheterm“achievementunlocked”isnowusedineverydayspeechtodescribeextraordinaryaccomplishmentsoreventsinreallife.   HowtoUse“AchievementUnlocked” Firstandforemost,you’lloftenseethephrase“achievementunlocked”popupinavideogameafteryoucompleteaspecialtaskorfulfillsomerequirement. Forexample,inHalo3,ifyoukillthreeenemieswithinfoursecondsofoneanotheronline,thenan“achievementunlocked”badgewiththelabel“TripleKill”willpopup. Suchachievementsarecommoningames,butyoucanalsousethisterminreallife. Whenyouorsomeonearoundyouaccomplishessomethinggreat,thenoneofthegamersintheroommaysay“achievementunlocked.”Hereisanexample: Angela:Wow!Ijustthrewthatbasketballfromtheoppositeendofthecourt,anditmadeitthroughthehoop! Raymond:Achievementunlocked! However,inthecontextofthephrase,achievementsaren’talwayspositive.Invideogames,youcangetachievementsfordoingsomethingridiculousorfailingmiserably. Theexamplebelowdemonstrateshowthistermmayalsohighlightmisfortuneorfailureinreallife. Jim:I’veasked20girlstopromsofar,andallofthemhavesaidno! Bob:Achievementunlocked—ForeverAlone! Notethe“ForeverAlone”labelafter“achievementunlocked.” Achievementsalwayshavelabelsingames,sopeoplemayaddalabelaftersaying“achievementunlocked”thatisrelevanttothesituation.Theselabelsareoftenreferencestomemes,popculture,orsomethinghumorous. “ForeverAlone”fromtheexampleaboveisanoldinternetmemethatdepictsalonelymanwhoconstantlyfailstomakefriendsorromanticconnections. SeeingasJimcouldn’tgetapromdateafterasking20girls,thismemereferencewouldbeespeciallysuitable.   WhenIsThisPhraseAppropriate? Noteverybodyplaysvideogames,andmanypeopledon’twanttohearvideogamereferences.Youshouldonlysay“achievementunlocked”aroundfellowgamersininformalsettings. Whilemanypeoplemaybeawareofthisphrase,iftheydon’tplayvideogamesorenjoyvideogameculture,thentheymaybeannoyedwhentheyhearyousayit. Also,youshouldavoidusingsuchinformalphraseswhenyou’reonadate,speakingtoolderpeople,orattheoffice. Inmostcases,youaren’tgoingtoimpressstrangers,coworkers,ornewfriendsbymakingreferencestovideogameculture. Agroupofseniorsatanursinghomemayhavegrownupbeforevideogameswerecommon,sotheywouldbelesslikelytounderstandthisphrase. Onthecontrary,agroupofyoungpeopleatagamingconventionwouldalmostcertainlyunderstandyou. Aswithanyslangterm,youshouldtryveryhardtoreadtheroom,meaningthatyoushouldthinkaboutwhoislisteningandhowtheywouldreacttothephrasebeforespeaking. MarcelIseliHeyfellowLinguaholics!It’sme,Marcel.Iamtheproudowneroflinguaholic.com.LanguageshavealwaysbeenmypassionandIhavestudiedLinguistics,ComputationalLinguisticsandSinologyattheUniversityofZurich.ItismyutmostpleasuretosharewithallofyouguyswhatIknowaboutlanguagesandlinguisticsingeneral. 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