RuPaul's Drag Race UK returned to our screens for a fourth series last month, following the end of All Stars 7 and let's face it, it's taken till late October to actually get good. Lairy Poppins: The Unauthorised Rusical and Danny Beard sashaying down the runway as Audrey II will both forever live in our minds rent and bills free.
The US edition, of which there has been 14 seasons, first aired in 2009 but has seen a major increase in popularity since it became available to watch across the world on the likes of Netflix, Paramount+, and WOW Presents Plus. The Drag Race franchise is now bigger than ever, with Mama Ru launching spin-offs this side of the pond and in countries like Canada, Spain, Holland, France, Spain, Italy, Australia, and Thailand.
If, like us, you’re an OG fan of the show, you’ll be well versed in the lingo used on the show, but don’t worry if you’re not quite as au fait as we’ve put together a handy guide to Drag Race terminology.
What do AFAB and cisgender mean? Your ultimate guide to the terms and slang used on RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul's Drag Race terminology
1 of 19AFAB
'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.
2 of 19Beat
To 'beat your face' is to apply your make-up flawlessly.
3 of 19Charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent
'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.
4 of 19Cisgender
Sometimes shortened to 'cis', 'cisgender' is the label given to someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
5 of 19Condragulations
'Condragulations' is the dragged up version of 'congratulations' and how RuPaul praises the winners of the week.
6 of 19Category
A runway 'category' is the the theme of a runway; contestants must serve their best, most elegant drag, using the category as inspiration.
7 of 19Glamazon
'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 woman.
8 of 19Lip sync for your life
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.
9 of 19Reading
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.
10 of 19Realness
'Realness' means to look or do some authentically. The queens usually serve realness with their runway looks.
11 of 19Shantay, you stay
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.
12 of 19Sashay away
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.
13 of 19Tea
'Tea' 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.
14 of 19Tuck
Although not all queens do this before getting into drag, 'tucking' refers to the act of pulling back your, ahem, junk while dragging up.
15 of 19Busted
If a queen is described as 'busted', they are considered unpolished or messy.
16 of 19Cooking
If a queen's make-up is 'cooking', they are allowing time for face powder to set.
17 of 19Gagged
'Gag', 'gagged' or 'gagging' is another term used in place of 'stunned'.
18 of 19Hunty
'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.
19 of 19Death drop
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.
WATCH Bimini, Ellie Diamond, Lawrence Chaney & Tayce react to UK Drag Race iconic moments!
The third series of Drag Race UK has recently drawn to a close and saw a brand new batch of queens competing to be crowned the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar. Krystal Versace took her place among an elite (but ever growing) club of UK champions including Lawrence Chaney and The Vivienne in 2019.
AFAB Queen
Ahead of series three, we caught up with series two’s fashion queen A’Whora who hinted that the new series of Drag Race UK will “make history”.
Chatting exclusively to heat, A’Whora told us, “All I’m going to say is, for the first time in Drag Race herstory, something has happened and that goes for US seasons and UK seasons.”
She added, “There’s two big things that have never happened in Drag Race. One is with a contestant and one is with what happens with the results.
“It’s really very exciting. We’re making history, baby!”
And she wasn't wrong, at the series featured the first ever AFAB drag queen. The term means Assigned Female at Birth and Cardiff Queen Victoria Scone made herstory when she was the first cis-gender woman to take part in the competition anywhere in the world.
“Drag’s always been a part of my life,” she told BBC Three. “I genuinely think I was born to be a drag queen.”
She said, “Hopefully there’ll be a million more AFAB drag queens, drag kings, non-binary performers and so on.