"Hold", a primary school vocabulary word, became buzzword among Chinese netizens in 2011 after Xie Yilin, a 21-year-old drama major in Taiwan, popularized it during her debut performance on the well-known TV variety show "University."

With her heavy makeup, theatrical gestures and mixed Mandarin and English dialogue, Xie played a hilarious character called Miss Lin who taught college students how to behave like fashion queens at parties or even on the bus. "Don't worry. The situation is under control. I can hold it," the character announced repeatedly for all kinds of impossible or embarrassing occasions. A video clip of the show got 1 million hits within 11 days after it was put on the Youtube, and Xie Yilin has been acknowledged as "Sister Hold" ever since.

The word has soon gained huge popularity among the public and even celebrities. Former Super Girl He Jie, who was moved to tears upon signing a record deal, said self-mockingly later on her microblog "Sorry for not able to hold it." Likewise, before attending an awards ceremony, Singaporean Mandopop singer-songwriter JJ Lin joked "Always make sure to be snapped with a decent pose. I can hold the situation."

Before long the word has been used everywhere, from sales promotion ads to wanted postings on police microblogs. Some net users say the popularity of the word shows people's admiration for an attitude of staying calm and confident in stressful or embarrassing situations.