thatoften

Thatoften is a neologism in online discourse that compresses the phrase 'that often' into a single lexical item. It functions as an adverbial marker to signal unusually high frequency of a described event or phenomenon, typically in informal writing, comments, or memes. The term is not widely standardized and appears mainly in discussions about language use, data interpretation, and user experience.

Etymology and spread: The form arises from concatenating 'that' and 'often' and has circulated mainly in internet communities and linguistics blogs since the mid-2010s. It gained traction as a playful label for recurring patterns in social media, datasets, and rhetorical devices. Variants such as 'that often' with a space, or hyphenated forms, appear in related discourse.

Usage and examples: Thatoften is common in informal posts, comments, and charts. It is used to annotate observations or data visuals indicating high recurrence. Example: a chart might label a trend as 'thatoften' to flag that the behavior occurs far more frequently than baseline expectations. In some circles the term is used humorously or critically to call out overgeneralization.

Reception and lexical status: Thatoften is not recognized in major dictionaries and remains a niche item. Linguists describe it as an instance of lexicalization of a common phrase and a reflection of fast-changing online rhetoric. If usage grows, it may appear in future lexicographic resources as an example of contemporary internet language.