Throw shade
The expressions "throw shade", "throwing shade", or simply "shade", are slang terms for a certain type of insult, often nonverbal. Journalist Anna Holmes called shade "the art of the sidelong insult".[1] Merriam-Webster defines it as "subtle, sneering expression of contempt for or disgust with someone—sometimes verbal, and sometimes not".[2]
History
The term can be found in Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park (1814). Young Edmund Bertram is displeased with a dinner guest's disparagement of the uncle who took her in: "With such warm feelings and lively spirits it must be difficult to do justice to her affection for Mrs. Crawford, without throwing a shade on the Admiral."[3]
Later use
Brown, Kara (17 December 2014). "Shade Court Is in Session". Jezebel.
Lopez, Linette (4 May 2015). "This is where the expression 'throw shade' comes from". Business Insider.</ref> Willi Ninja, who also appeared in Paris Is Burning, described "shade" in 1994 as a "nonverbal response to verbal or nonverbal abuse. Shade is about using certain mannerisms in battle. If you said something nasty to me, I would just turn on you, and give you a look like: 'Bitch please, you're not even worth my time, go on.' ... It's like watching Joan Collins going against Linda Evans on Dynasty. ... Or when George Bush ran against Bill Clinton, they were throwing shade. Who got the bigger shade? Bush did because Clinton won."[4] A New York Times letter to the editor in 1993 criticized the newspaper for commenting on Bill Clinton's hair: "The Sunday Stylers are the last people I'd expect to throw shade on President Bill's hair pursuits."[5] According to E. Patrick Johnson, to throw shade is to ignore someone: "If a shade thrower wishes to acknowledge the presence of the third party, he or she might roll his or her eyes and neck while poking out his or her lips. People throw shade if they do not like a particular person or if that person has dissed them in the past. ... In the playful mode, however, a person may throw shade at a person with whom he or she is a best friend."[6]
See also
References
- ↑ Holmes, Anna (14 May 2015). "The Underground Art of the Insult". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015.
- ↑ "What Does 'Throw Shade' Mean?". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ Austen, Jane (1814). Mansfield Park. London: Thomas Egerton. p. 130.
- ↑ Rose, Tricia (1994). "Nobody Wants a Part-Time Mother: An Interview with Willi Ninja". In Ross, Andrew; Rose, Tricia (eds.). Microphone Fiends: Youth Music & Youth Culture. New York and London: Routledge. p. 174.
- ↑ Goodwin, Barbara S. (4 July 1993). "A Hair-Driven Administration". The New York Times.
- ↑ Johnson, E. Patrick (2003). "SNAP! Culture: a different kind of 'reading'". In Auslander, Philip (ed.). Performance: Critical Concepts in Literary and Cultural Studies, Volume III. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. pp. 178–179.
External links
- Moore, Darnell L. (March 29, 2013). "Tongues Untied: Shade Culture — Throwing Shade, Reflecting Light". The Huffington Post.
- Katy Steinmetz (13 August 2014). "Oxford Dictionary Additions: Hot Mess, Side Boob, Throw Shade". Time. Retrieved 2016-06-02.