Drag Queen's Dictionary

 Drag is constantly expanding its horizons and is an art form known literally everywhere. But there are still people who are new to this world and who want to enter it. So as a nice fairy godmother, which I obviously am, I’m going to help you with that.

The first thing that comes to my mind with discovering something really new is the language. I mean maybe it’s English, but if you don’t know the right vocabulary, you’re going to be definitely lost. Drag queen slang is really comprehensive and it evolved and changed over the time. We have phrases that were there always, and we also have phrases that popped out recently.

I became familiar with drag slang when I started watching Rupaul’s Drag Race which is American reality competition tv series. It’s basically about Rupaul (the most famous and iconic drag queen all over the world) being in the search for “America’s next drag superstar”. The show is known on the global scale, it’s been on air since 2009 and it became the whole franchise, also it has international franchises including British, Canadian, Thai, Dutch, Spanish, Australian and many, many more. So I really recommend you watching that, it’s funny, entertaining, fabulous and you can learn a lot about the drag world.

But going back to the topic, I think it’s important to know a little more than just the basics, so I prepared for you list of words and phrases that you definitely have to know beginning this journey. Ladies and gentlemen, here I present you:

apolo-lie - a fake apology

ball/drag ball - competition that consists of individuals (drag queens, gay men etc. but now all people are welcome), who perform different drag genres and categories, at ball you can win prizes for each category and you are judged by the official jury

beat/beat one’s face - to put makeup on your face / when your makeup looks flawless, e.g. Her face is beat to the gods!

bye, girl, bye - term used when you are annoyed with someone or when you heard something really weird; often used in short form girl, bye, e.g. What did you just say? Girl, bye.

booger - a drag queen that looks really unpolished or/and messy

boots/boots the house down - phrase that is often used to express enthusiastic approval or admiration for a performance, look or action, e.g. Her look was fabulous! She boots the house down!

break the dawn - to give all that one has to something

busted - being unpolished or/and messy

camp - something that is eccentric, ridiculous, unexpected or/and over-the-top, sometimes it can be associated with a bad taste, e.g. Omg, her dresses are always made from kids toys! That is so campy.

cooking/baking - allowing time for face powder to set

death drop - dance move when you dramatically fall back into a stroke pose

drag king - opposite of a drag queen; a female who dresses and impersonates male characteristics

dusted - opposite of busted; looking flawless, polished

eleganza extravaganza  - a showcase where drag queens show their most fashionable and finest clothing and wigs

fierce - it means a lot of good things like excellent, fabulous, well-performed, beautiful, it is really high praise in a drag world, e.g. Your makeup is fierce. / Wow, these shoes look fierce with this dress!

fish/fishy - a term used to describe that someone or something looks very, very feminine, e.g. She is known for her fishy looks, I always mistake her with a real woman! / it also means something really doubtful and shady, e.g. I don’t believe her, there is definitely something fishy going on.

gag/gagging - another term to describe something really fierce, e.g. I was gagging your whole performance. It was amazing!

heather - a conventionally pretty drag queen, a member of the “popular” clique, from the movie Heathers

herstory - the same as history, just with her to acknowledge woman empowerment

house - a group of drag queens that were mentored by the same “mother”, which is the oldest or the most experienced drag queen and who started the house, e.g. She’s from the Davenport House, her mother is such an icon!

house down - it is something similar to exclamation point, used to show approval/excitement, e.g. That girl can sing the house down! She’s so good.

hunty - it is a mix of two words (honey and cunt/y), a sassy term of endearment, it can also be used ironically, e.g. Oh hunty, your look is fierce, but you better fix that busted mug of yours.

kai kai - term used when two drag queens are involved sexually or romantically, e.g. Did you see them? I think there was some kai kai going on with these two yesterday.

kiki - term used when two drag queens hang out, talk, have a good time (don’t confuse with kai kai), e.g. We have to kiki more often girl!

mamma/momma/mawma - term of endearment, like honey, babe etc.

mug - a drag queen’s face, it came from the word mugshot, e.g. Your mug is beat the house down, momma! I’d kill for these makeup skills!

no tea, no shade - phrase you add to the sentence that can be seen negative to someone, but it’s not supposed to, e.g. Okay, no tea no shade, but you have to do something with this wig, girl.

read/reading - verbally insulting another person/people about something like looks, behavior etc., often in joking way, but not always, e.g. She just said that if you’re America’s sweetheart, America needs a heart transplant. That was a nice read!

realness - the ability to embody the truest version of something or someone, e.g. I see you’re serving Jessica Rabbit realness with those red locks. I love it!

resting on pretty - when someone is only using theirs looks, instead of focusing on acting, comedy, dancing etc., e.g. Only resting on pretty is not gonna make you a great performer.

serve - presenting a specific concept or idea, e.g. On today’s show we have Alyssa Edwards serving dance queen realness!

slay/slaying - often used to describe someone who has done exceptionally well or impressed others, e.g. You’re slaying today! The show was amazing.

shade - an insult or disrespectful comment, often used in an expression “throwing shade”, e.g. Be careful with her, she was throwing a lot of shade at you back in the days.

sickening - it means “wonderful”, “amazing” etc.

snatched - it means that something is on point, excellent, e.g. I see you put a lot of work on these brows, they’re snatched as hell.

spilling the tea - sharing the gossip, e.g. Spill the tea, girl! Was she really with the producer?

t/tea/tee - it originated from the word ‘truth’, but it cuts off to just letter T, and it means gossip, juicy news

to vogue/vogueing - it originated from Madonna’s song ‘Vogue’ and it means to dance imitating poses struck by a model on the catwalk

werq/werk/work - putting an effort and using your skills to perform or to do something effectively, e.g. I saw you at the rehearsals and you need more practice, so you better werk, girl!

yas/yas queen - an emphatic term of encouragement, enthusiastic support and celebration, e.g. I got my dream dress for Christmas! - Omg, yas queen!

by Weronika Sawicka