RuPaul's Drag Race UK kicked off to an impressive start back in 2019, when season one birthed iconic queens such as Baga Chipz and Colwyn Bay winner The Vivienne. With the US version of the show almost in its 15th season, the UK version is heading into its fourth with some legendary names making the cast. From the impeccable dance moves of Baby, to the bearded Danny Beard, it's lining up to be one memorable season.
With the premiere in mind, online learning platform Preply has showcased some handy drag vocabulary that you can easily learn before watching the show. With drag rooted in a decades long sub-culture, queens from the past have passed on their unique phrases which are still used today. In no particular order here are the phrases and words that might pop up during the show.
READ MORE: Drag Race UK: The fabulous Welsh acts that should be on our TV screens
‘Beat’ face (or, to beat your face)
The term ‘beat’ is often used by queens in the show to describe to use of makeup to achieve a perfectly pristine look. The phrase comes from the action of dabbing makeup onto your face using a sponge or brush.
Death drop
A ‘death drop’, also known as ‘a dip’ or ‘shablam’, is a dramatic dance pose in which a queen falls backward to the floor with one leg extended and one leg bent. This is an iconic move that originates from the drag ballroom culture and is a key element of voguing. You can definitely expect to see this pose feature on RuPaul’s runway!
Gag (or, gagging)
This term is used to describe your reaction to something that you are amazed or stunned by. You can expect to hear the contestants using this to compliment other queens, such as “her performance was so good it had me gagging”.
Serve (or, serving looks)
To ‘serve’ simply means to look good and offer something amazing when walking the runway. It can be used to refer to someone’s makeup, hair, outfit, etc.
Realness
In the show, ‘realness’ means to embody the closest and truest version of a certain persona. You can often hear the queens describe their look as ‘serving realness’ meaning being able to blend into the look they are presenting.
Shade (or, to throw Shade)
To ‘throw shade’ means to insult or criticise someone. This is often done in a sly way and can be non-verbal. While the term is now used in mainstream media, it is thought to have originated from the 1980s ballroom drag scene and was brought to fame in the 90s documentary ‘Paris is Burning’
Sickening
Surprisingly, the term ‘sickening’ is actually used as a compliment on the show and means to be ‘amazing’ or ‘incredible’. The thought behind this one is that you are so good you make everyone sick.
Snatch Game
This is a RuPaul Drag Show-specific term that describes one of the viewers' favourite challenges the contestants face. The ‘Snatch Game’ sees the queens perform their best celebrity impressions in a parody setting of the 70s game show ‘The Match Game’.
Tea (or, spill the T)
The term ‘Tea’, or simply ‘T’, refers to gossip. Asking someone to ‘spill the tea’ is asking them to disclose information - normally of a sensitive nature.
Slay (or, slay queen)
In drag culture, to ‘slay’ means to do something well, often resulting in winning or being the best. If contestants do a good job performing in the lip-synch battle the winning queen will have ‘slayed’ it.
Okurrr
The term ‘oukrrr’ is just another way to say ‘ok’ when used to affirm something. The trick to this one is to really roll your r’s. Cardi B and the Kardashians are often associated with this term due to their use of it, however, it actually originated from drag culture.
Condragulations
The term ‘condragulations’ is a clever play on words of ‘drag’ and ‘congratulations’. RuPaul will often use this phrase in the show to announce the queen of the episode "Condragulations you are the winner of this week's challenge.
Drag mother
A ‘drag mother’ is used to reference an experienced drag performer who acts as a mentor to younger queens. In the show, the term ‘drag mother’ can refer to RuPaul or contestants from older seasons
Sashay away
‘Sashay away’ is one of the show's most well-known phrases. It is used by RuPaul to dismiss a queen from the competition by telling the eliminated contestant to walk off the runway.
Shantay, you stay
‘Shantay, you stay’ is the flip-side of ‘sashay away’. This phrase is how Ru tells a queen she has survived the lip sync and that she remains in the competition for another week.
RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 4 premiers on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer tonight at 9pm.
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