mic drop

The gesture of dropping the microphone to indicate that the speaker has had the last word originated with rappers and stand-up comedians in the 1980s, people who engaged with their audiences and expected to be heckled. It was part of the act that they would come up with a brilliant riposte that would silence the opposition. 

It was probably Obama who popularised the gesture, in particular by using it to close his address at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2016. But what has happened more recently is that people are dropping things other than microphones to indicate a stunning success.  Joe Root, the England cricket captain, dropped his bat when he achieved his second 100 against India in 2018. It was described as a mic-drop celebration, one which Root apparently regretted although the public liked it.  A fortnight later Virat Kohli mimicked the mic drop when he ran Root out.

Just this year Bill Murray, the comedian, was playing golf at Pebble Beach. He missed a put but then walked past it, knocking the moving ball back into the hole without looking. To the approval of the crowd he then threw his golf club away. This has also been described as a mic drop moment.

So in the future to drop the mic and or to perform a mic drop or a mic-drop moment may not be limited to people with microphones.