If you’ve seen someone say something like “How to get a guy to like you (no glue no borax)” and scratched your head, you’re not alone. The phrase “no glue no borax” sounds like it belongs in a DIY slime tutorial—but in recent years, it’s become part of internet and meme culture, particularly among teenagers online.
So what exactly does “no glue no borax” mean?
The Origin of “No Glue No Borax”
To understand the meaning, we need to go back to the mid-2010s slime craze.
Around 2016, slime became a massive trend on YouTube, Instagram, and DIY blogs. Kids and teens were obsessed with making slime at home using basic ingredients like:
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White glue
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Borax (sodium borate) as an activator
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Shaving cream, lotion, food coloring, glitter, etc.
Naturally, many young people began searching for ways to make slime without glue or borax, either because they didn’t have the ingredients or their parents didn’t want them handling borax (which can be mildly irritating or harmful if ingested).
That led to millions of searches and video titles like:
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How to make slime without glue or borax
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No glue no borax slime recipe
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Slime with no glue no borax that actually works
These videos became so widespread that the phrase “no glue no borax” took on a life of its own—especially among teens and tweens who were part of that online culture.
No Glue No Borax: The Meme Meaning
Now, fast forward a few years.
In online communities like r/teenagers, the phrase is being repurposed into a sort of joke or meme. When someone says something like:
“How to get a guy to like you (no glue no borax)”
They’re not literally talking about slime. Instead, they’re referencing the overly specific, clickbaity tone of DIY slime videos, but using it as a funny metaphor for something unrelated—like dating advice.
It’s a way to say:
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“How do I do this the natural way?”
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“I want a solution without using any tricks or fake tactics.”
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“Help me, but make it simple and wholesome.”
It’s often used ironically, as if saying, “give me advice, but without all the complicated stuff.”
How It’s Used in Reddit Threads
In the now-popular r/teenagers post titled “How to get a guy to like you (no glue no borax)”, the original poster was asking for genuine advice on how to catch a guy’s attention. By putting “no glue no borax” in the title, they were likely trying to add humor, personality, and relatability—signaling to others in the same age group that this is a lighthearted, casual question.
The comments even called out the phrase, asking:
“Completely off topic, can you explain no glue no borax??? Is that just like no cap??”
To which someone replied:
“‘No glue no borax’ is a reference to the 2016 DIY slime making trend. A lot of people would Google ‘how to make slime at home, no glue no borax.’”
So it’s not just about the literal meaning—it’s become internet slang or a cultural nod to that slime-obsessed era of the internet.
“No Glue No Borax” = “No Tricks, No Gimmicks”
In a broader sense, saying “no glue no borax” is like saying:
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No games
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No drama
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No fake behavior
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Just the real, authentic thing
It’s playful, nostalgic, and usually meant with humor. Think of it like a Gen Z version of saying “give it to me straight” or “keep it real.”
Final Thoughts
So next time you see a post or meme saying “no glue no borax”, remember—it’s not about slime anymore (well, not always). It’s a clever, nostalgic shorthand that grew from a DIY trend into a quirky piece of Gen Z internet language.
Whether it’s used in dating advice, school rants, or meme captions, it’s just another way teens express themselves online—with a dash of humor, a nod to the past, and a whole lot of creativity.
TL;DR: “No glue no borax” means “keep it real, no gimmicks,” and it started from slime videos but is now internet slang.