To discover the truth about something.
(idiomatic, LGBT slang, and, AAVE) To discover the truth about something.
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Clock the tea means to notice or recognise gossip or hidden information. Black queer ballroom origin. Not concerning, just AAVE/queer vocabulary. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in. Most slang of this kind moves through TikTok and group chats, so seeing it in your child's vocabulary just means they are plugged into normal teen internet culture.
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Slang from Black American Vernacular English (AAVE), hip-hop, drag and ballroom culture, the Caribbean, and NYC street vocabulary. The single largest source of new mainstream English slang in living memory.
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To disclose information, especially of a sensitive nature.
The truth — sometimes overlapping with the gossip sense. "Spill the tea" can mean "tell the truth" as well as "share gossip."
A quick request to verify, confirm, or get the latest gossip on a situation — essentially asking someone to spill or update you on current drama. Tea check is both a question and a vibe: you're pulling your friend aside, lowering your voice, and doing a rapid intelligence debrief. It implies the information landscape shifts fast and you need a real-time status update. Used online as a prompt comment ('tea check?') to invite someone to share what they know about unfolding drama.
Noticing or calling out something — particularly noticing the truth behind a deception or recognizing someone's identity. In drag, "getting clocked" means being recognized as a drag queen rather than passing as cis.
To discover the truth about something.
Clock the tea means to notice or recognise gossip or hidden information. Black queer ballroom origin. Not concerning, just AAVE/queer vocabulary. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in. Most slang of this kind moves through TikTok and group chats, so seeing it in your child's vocabulary just means they are plugged into normal teen internet culture.
Clock the tea is informal AAVE and queer ballroom slang meaning to notice, observe, or recognise gossip or hidden truth. Use only in casual contexts. Formal equivalents: "to notice the truth," "to recognise the gossip." Common non-native mistake: combining literal meanings. "Clock" here means to perceive; "tea" means gossip or truth. Together they idiomatically mean to spot the real story. Read or listen to the word in context several times before trying it yourself; the right register is harder to learn than the dictionary meaning.
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