Although the phrase has a long history of including a description portion (such as the old, mostly harmless insult "your mother wears combat boots"), the phrase "yo mama" by itself, without any qualifiers, has become commonly used as an all-purpose insult or an expression of defiance. The insult may fall flat if it is true and should be used with caution.

William Shakespeare used such a device in Act I Scene 1 of Timon of Athens:

Painter: "Y'are a dog."Apemantus: "Thy mother's of my generation. What's she, if I be a dog?"

Also in Act IV, Scene II of Titus Andronicus, Aaron taunts his lover's sons:

Demetrius: "Villain, what hast thou done?"Aaron: "That which thou canst not undo."Chiron: "Thou hast undone our mother."Aaron: "Villain, I have done thy mother."

Mexican film Y tu mamá también's title is an equivalent usage in Spanish ("and your mother too"). There is also a television show Yo Momma featuring contestants "playing the dozens". The Australian hiphop outfit Butterfingers released a song called "Yo Mama" that made number 17 on the 2004 Triple J Hottest 100.