Drag Race terminology
A number of slang terms have been used on Drag Race. Some terms in the list already existed within drag culture, but were more widely popularized by their use on various iterations of the show, while others originated within the franchise itself. During his 2018 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, RuPaul described some of the show's terminology to host Stephen Colbert.[1]
Logo for RuPaul's Drag Race
List of terms and definitions
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"Bam" is a joyous expression used by Alexis Mateo (pictured in 2018).
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Tatianna (center) uses the catchphrase "choices".
"Cucu" is Cynthia Lee Fontaine's name for the buttocks.
Yara Sofia (pictured in 2016) uses the catchphrase "echa pa lante", which translates to "go for it" in Spanish.
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Shangela (pictured in 2017) uses the catchphrase "halleloo".
Pit Crew members with RuPaul (second from left), including Shawn Morales (second from right), in 2019
"Purse first" is a catchphrase used by Bob the Drag Queen, who later released a song by this name.
Slang terms used on the series have included:
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| American dream[2] | |
| apolo-lie | a fake apology, coined by Widow Von'Du (season 12)[3] |
| bam | a joyous expression used by Alexis Mateo (season 3; All Stars seasons 1 and 5),[2] originally for season 3's "Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Style" maxi challenge and later repeated by RuPaul[4] |
| beat[5][6] / beat one's face[2][7] | to blend one's makeup, often with a sponge |
| best Judies / Judies[8] | a gay man's gay best friend, usually platonically; the name of an All Stars season 4 makeover challenge |
| BGB / bye, girl, bye[2] | term used when one queen is annoyed with another |
| big girl | a drag queen who wears plus-size clothing[2] |
| booger[2] | a drag queen whose presentation is unpolished or messy, see: busted |
| break the dawn[2] | to give all that one has to something |
| busted[6] | being unpolished or messy |
| Bye, Felicia[9] | |
| chanté, you stay[2] / shantay, you stay[7] / shante, you stay[5] | phrase used by RuPaul to declare then winner of a lip sync |
| charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent[2][7] | euphemism for C.U.N.T, shown by the first letter of each word |
| Chicago[2] | |
| chicken cutlets | gel inserts used to create cleavage[2] |
| choices | a catchphrase used by Tatianna (season 2; All Stars season 2)[4] |
| condragulations[2][7] | drag wordplay for the word "congratulations" |
| cooking | allowing time for face powder to set[5] |
| country realness | "authentic Southern style" and a season 2 runway category[2] |
| cucu | Cynthia Lee Fontaine's (seasons 8 and 9) name for the buttocks[4] |
| death drop[6] | dance move where a queen dramatically falls back into a stroke pose, usually at the end of a lipsync or during a beat drop |
| drag mother[2][6] / dragmother[7] | an established drag queen who mentors a new queen, her "daughter" how to get started; many queens use the same last name as their drag mother, creating "family" lineages, sometimes called "houses" |
| eat it | a "confident expression" used by Latrice Royale (season 4; All Stars seasons 1 and 4) "when she is feeling fabulous... It essentially means that those around you must accept the fact that you're that great."[4] |
| echa pa lante | a catchphrase translating to "go for it" in Spanish, used by Yara Sofia (season 3; All Stars season 1 and 6)[2][4] |
| eleganza extravaganza[7] / extravaganza eleganza[2] | a showcase of a drag queens finest and most fashionable clothing and wigs |
| family[5] | a group of queens who have been mentored by a drag "mother"; the group may also be referred to as a "house" |
| fierce[2][5] | extremely well put together, well-performed, fashionable, beautiful "Her make-up looked fierce." "Her lip sync performance was fierce." Used positively, high praise in the drag world |
| fierce jazzercise realness[2] | |
| fish[5][7] / fishy[2][6] |
a term used to describe when a drag queen looks like a cis-gendered woman |
| gag[6][7] / gagging[10] | another term used in place of "stunned" |
| garage doors[2] | one solid colour of eyeshadow that's heavily applied over the entire lid and up to the eyebrow |
| girl / gurl[7] | nickname for a drag queen from a fellow queen |
| go Mary-Kate[2] | |
| halleloo | an expression of joy or praise used by Shangela (seasons 2 and 3; All Stars season 3)[2] as another way of saying "hallelujah";[4] the phrase is "impossible to forget" and "without question, the first legitimate catch phrase that came out of this franchise", according to Screen Rant's Bernardo Sim[4] |
| heather | "a conventionally pretty drag queen and member of the 'popular' clique", from the film Heathers[2] |
| henny | catchphrase popularized by Stacy Layne Matthews (season 3), who returned for the All Stars season 4 episode "Super Girl Groups, Henny!"; outside Drag Race, the term is sometimes used as another way to pronounce "honey"[4] |
| hieeee | catchphrase popularized by Alaska Thunderfuck (season 5; All Stars season 2), sometimes said high-pitched; later used by other contestants, as well as RuPaul and Michelle Visage on most episodes of the podcast What's the Tea?[4] |
| house[5] | a group of drag queens who were all mentored by the same "mother"; the group may also be referred to as a "family"
See "drag mother, family" |
| hunty[7][11] | Hunty is a colloquialism used amongst the drag queen community. It is equivalent to compadre or friend and is typically said with attitude at the end of a sentence. |
| interior illusions lounge | a backstage room where contestants wait during judge deliberations[2] |
| kai kai[2][12] | when drag queens are in a sexual or romantic relationship |
| ki ki[7] / kiki[6][10] | when two drag queens hang out, talk, befriend one another (not to be confused with kai kai) |
| ladyboy | a synonym for a drag queen, and a song by RuPaul performed by season 2 contestants[2] |
| leotarded | wearing a bodysuit[2] |
| library[5][7] | name of a group act in which queens verbally insult (or "read") each other about their acts, looks or personas, usually meant in jest |
| lip sync for your life[2][7] | when the bottom queens must lip sync to a song in order to keep themselves from being eliminated |
| Meryl Streep realness[2] | serious acting, instead of going big during a performance, you act more reserved |
| Miss Vanjie | a catchphrase made "instantly famous" by Vanessa Vanjie Mateo (seasons 10 and 11) when she repeated the phrase three times while walking backwards during her season 10 sashay away; according to Screen Rant, the catchphrase is "one of the most memorable" in the show's history and how some fans refer to Vanessa Vanjie Mateo[4] |
| okurrr[13] | positive expression, derivative of "okay" usually at the end of sentence or used on its own |
| party | Adore Delano's (season 6; All Stars season 2) catchphrase used "as a reaction to something that was said, and can mean a myriad of things depending on the context"[4] |
| Pit Crew[2][7] | ensemble of male models, often wearing revealing clothing (not in drag), who appear on camera for various segments |
| PMP[2] | |
| purse first | catchphrase used by Bob the Drag Queen (season 8), who later released a song by this title[4] |
| read[2][5][7] / reading[6][10] | verbally insulting another queen about their acts, looks, or persona, often in jest; the act of several queens taking turns to share insults is called a "library" |
| realness[5][7] | appearing to be convincing realistic, authentic, or accurate |
| resting on pretty[2] | using your looks to move forward in the competition instead of being a well-rounded queen that can all act, dance, do comedy, etc |
| sashay away[2][5][7][12] | phrase used by RuPaul when eliminating a bottom queen |
| serve[7] | presenting a specific concept or idea |
| sexcretary | a "sexy-looking" secretary[2] |
| shade[5][7] | an insult or negative comment |
| she done already done had herses[5] | a phrase popularized by RuPaul. It refers to a time when RuPaul was at a restaurant in the pick-up line and somebody tried to take the food that was sitting there that did not belong to her. The woman told the patron "She done already done had herses." RuPaul adopted the phrase and uses it frequently, usually when "she-mail" comes on the screen for the contestants to see a video message |
| she owns everything | to be "the one true queen" or "the most fabulous", according to Marie Claire[5] |
| sickening[2][5][6][7] | used to refer to a queen who is exceptionally “amazing” or “flawless” |
| sissy that walk[5][7] | walk confidently, usually down the runway. Walk like a woman |
| Snatch Game[7] | a main challenge, where contestants showcase their best celebrity impersonations in a game show setting; Snatch Game is a parody of the classic television show Match Game (1962–1991), where contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to "fill-in-the-blank" questions |
| snatched[14] | small-waisted, or having a visually small waist relative to upper and lower body |
| Soul Train realness[2] | refers to the embodiment and expression of the unique style, energy, and authenticity associated with the dancers on the iconic television show "Soul Train," often referenced in voguing and ballroom culture. |
| spilling the tea[10] | sharing gossip |
| sprepper[2] | a combination of Sprite and Dr. Pepper as explained by Carmen Carerra: It's not necessarily a bad thing but it isn't a good thing either; mediocre |
| T[2] / tea[5][6] / tee[7] | gossip, juicy news |
| throw shade[15] / throwing shade[2][6][12] | to insult |
| tuck[2][7] | noun: the illusion of a feminine crotch line; verb: the act of positioning one's penis and testicles back and up into the body to create a feminine silhouette of the crotch area |
| two piece and a biscuit | a Popeyes meal option and Mystique's (season 2) "secret to success"[2] |
| werk / work[2][7] | |
| who-ho | a "ho" dressed like a Who from Dr. Seuss' fictional town of Whoville[2] |
| yas / yas, queen![10] | |
See also
References
- Whitehead, Mathew (January 26, 2018). "RuPaul gives Stephen Colbert a masterclass in 'Drag Race' slang". Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- Etkin, Jaimie (2011-04-24). "RuPaul's Drag Race Slang: Tuck, Sickening, and More Drag Terms". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- "'RuPaul's Drag Race'". Twitter. 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
- Sim, Berarndo (November 3, 2019). "RuPaul's Drag Race: 10 Most Memorable Catch Phrases". Screen Rant. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- Borge, Jonathan (2015-03-16). "Decoding 'RuPaul's Drag Race': 16 Terms You Need to Know". Marie Claire. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- Day, Harvey (2019-10-02). "RuPaul's Drag Race UK quiz: How much drag queen slang do you know?". BBC Three. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- "'RuPauls Drag Race' Slang Definitions". ELLE. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4' recap: A star is born". Xtra Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- "This is what Bye Felicia actually means". PinkNews. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- "How 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Fueled Pop Culture's Dominant Slang Engine". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- Abrams, Sean. "What 'Hunty' Means, And Why Your Gay Friends Are Calling You It". Elite Daily. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- "YAAS, RuPaul's Drag Race Mainstreams Gay Slang". www.advocate.com. 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- "Cardi B Will Trademark "Okurrr"—Even If the Phrase Has a Long History Before Her". W Magazine | Women's Fashion & Celebrity News. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- Borge, Jonathan (2019-04-12). "40 Popular Slang Words, Explained". Oprah Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- Pollard, Amari D. (January 28, 2020). "Here's Where Your Favorite Slang Words Actually Came From". Reader's Digest. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
External links
- "The 2010s: Slang That Stuck". NPR. December 29, 2019 – via Oregon Public Broadcasting.
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