Drag dictionary: RuPaul’s Drag Race terminology explained

'AFAB' is an acronym used to refer to drag queens who are assigned female at birth like Victoria Scone, who is the first cisgender female drag performer to appear on any franchise of RuPaul's Drag Race EVER. Generally, AFAB queens prefer to just be called 'drag queens'.

To 'beat your face' is to apply your make-up flawlessly.

'Charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent' are the four qualities Ru is looking for in the next Drag Race Superstar. It's also an acronym for a VERY rude word that we're definitely not allowed to publish. C*nt.

Sometimes shortened to 'cis', 'cisgender' is the label given to someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

'Condragulations' is the dragged up version of 'congratulations' and how RuPaul praises the winners of the week.

A runway 'category' is the the theme of a runway; contestants must serve their best, most elegant drag, using the category as inspiration.

'Glamazon' is another amalgamation of two words - 'glamorous' and 'Amazon' - as well as the name of one of RuPaul's biggest hits, Glamazon refers to a tall, assertive, beautiful, self-confident queen.

The queens who find themselves in the bottom two of the week must battle for their place in the competition in a 'lip sync for their life'. The one who impresses Ru the most gets to stay on the show, while the other must leave the competition.

Essentially, 'reading' is critiquing or criticising and it's usually done in a savage or hilarious way. Each season, Ru opens the 'library' and gives the queens the chance to read each other in a mini challenge. 'Reading someone to filth' means the library session slayed particularly savagely.

'Realness' means to look or do something authentically. The queens usually serve realness with their runway looks.

Whoever wins the lip sync is told 'Shantay, you stay' by RuPaul. This means that they have kept their place in the competition and live to fight another week.

The contestant who loses the lip sync for your life is told to 'Sashay away'. This means they have lost their place in the competition and will be going home.

'Tea' or 'T' usually refers to gossip but can also be used to mean someone's truth, although you should really already know that as we use the word in virtually every heatworld article.

Although not all queens do this before getting into drag, 'tucking' refers to the act of pulling back your, ahem, junk while dragging up.

If a queen is described as 'busted', they are considered unpolished or messy.

If a queen's make-up is 'cooking', they are allowing time for face powder to set.

'Gag', 'gagged' or 'gagging' is another term used in place of 'stunned'.

'Hunty' is a colloquialism used amongst the drag queen community. It is equivalent to a friend or drag sister and is typically said with attitude at the end of a sentence.

A 'death drop' is a popular dance move where a queen dramatically falls back into a stroke pose, usually at the end of a lipsync.

A 'drag king' is a person who performs in drag as a man for entertainment. Generally, drag kings are women, transgender men, or non-binary people.

'Sickening' is another word for 'amazing,' 'wonderful,' or 'excellent' and is frequently used to compliment a performer's look or performance.

A 'drag mother' is a more experienced queen who mentors and supports another queen (often referred to as a 'drag daughter').