By 3news.co.nz staff
One minute someone says something in an odd accent on YouTube – 'nek minnit' we are inflicted with a meme that just refuses to die.
Now even the supermarket industry is getting in on the act, with a worker at an Auckland New World labelling a piece of minute steak as ‘Beef Nek Minute Steak’.
The photo (pictured right) has been shared around email over the past couple of days.
'Nek minnit' shot to fame after it appeared in a video clip featuring New Zealand street skater Levi Hawken.
In the video Hawken talks in a heavy accent about his broken scooter – the accent is faked.
The phrase, meaning a sudden turn of events, is now an integral part of internet slang.
Well known but surprising people to have used the phrase in public include Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples and Radio New Zealand’s Kim Hill.
At the end of 2011, the phrase was voted as the second most popular word of the year on the Public Address blog.
‘Nek minnit’ was beaten by a handful of votes by the word ‘munted’. No one appeared to be perturbed that ‘nek minnit’ is not so much a word as a phrase.
3 News