What it means
To spill the tea means to tell the juicy gossip or the real story everybody's dying to hear. The tea is the truth, the drama, the messy little details, and spilling it is letting it all out. You say it when you're begging someone to stop hovering at the trailer and give the full episode.
Usage examples
"We sat her down with a glass of wine and said right, spill the tea, what actually happened on that date last night?"
"Don’t you dare leave out a single detail, spill the tea, I’ve been waiting all week to hear how the interview went."
"Okay, sit down and spill the tea, I want every single detail about what went down at the wedding."
"Girl, quit typing in riddles and spill the tea, did he text you back or not?"
"You can't just say the party was chaotic and log off, spill the tea properly."
Where it comes from
It comes from Black American drag and ballroom culture, where tea or just T meant truth, gossip, or somebody’s business. The phrase was around in that world before mainstream pop culture grabbed it. Then TV, internet slang, and meme culture flung it wide open and made it everyday chat.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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