About the remote "not"

Question

Not a native English speaker.
I noticed for a long time now some speakers use a second sentence consisting of a single word, "not", as a way to entirely negate the former sentence and generally in a humorous way.
For example: "I like your shirt. Not."
Is this correct English or just something people understand even though it is not grammatically correct?
I am asking this because in my native language, French, there is no way to negate this easily. I could translate "or not" (by "ou pas") but not just "not".
Any details about this separate "not", historical or linguistic will be appreciated.

user 66974 · Answer

It is an idiomatic nonstandard usage especially in informal, humorous contexts:
Not:

​(humorous, informal) used to emphasize the opposite of a statement.

Well, that sounds like a fun evening—not!

(oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com)
It usage dates back to the beginning of the 20th century but was made popular a few decades ago:
Not:

As an interjection to negate what was said before or reveal it as sarcasm, it is attested by 1900, popularized 1989 by "Wayne's World" sketches on "Saturday Night Live" TV show.

(Etymonline)
From: American Speech
Vol. 68, No. 2 (Summer, 1993), pp. 213
Published by: Duke University Press.

(jstor.org)

About the remote "not"

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