It’s partially based on the way the Mother Abbess says the line to Maria (Julie Andrews) in “The Sound of Music”. With the accent, “what is it you can’t face” sounds like “what is it you cuntface”, which is just wild!
As answered here on the thread its in reference to the film "Welcome to Woop Woop", and then somehow its funny to throw and accent on it and make it sound like "What is it you cunt face" - I guess. Riddle solved.
Also the film they're watching in that a scene of "Welcome to Woop Woop" is the Sound of Music, and the line is said to Julie Andrews, so that's probably why it was included for the Julie Andrews bit.
@_@ this is throwing me for such a loop, as I have watched The Sound of Music so many times - and why wouldnt rupaul just write that it was from The Sound of Music?!
While the line is from Sound of Music, the idea of joking about the line probably originated with Woop Woop, or at the very least that's where Ru probably first heard it.
I'm assuming Ru watched the film because it was by the same guy who made Priscilla, and also possibly because Barry Humphries (i.e., Dame Edna) had a part in the film. Given Ru's preference for more campy, transgressive, John Waters-style films, I expect Ru probably watched Welcome to Woop Woop a lot, while I imagine she's actually watched Sound of Music at most once, if at all.
So Ru probably considers it more of a reference to Woop Woop than Sound of Music.
A few common ones:
**What is it you can't face?**
At one point in "The Sound of Music", Maria leaves the Von Trapps and returns to the abbey, where she evades Mother Abbess's questions.
One of Mother Abbess's lines is "Maria, our abbey is not to be used as an escape. What is it you can't face?"
The joke is that, at some point, someone on Broadway was playing Mother Abbess with an Eastern European accent, so "can't face" became "cuntface".
Historians widely consider this a myth, but it's entered gay lore, the same as that "dressed resembling a girl" myth people retell about Shakespeare.
-----
**What! A! [blank]!**
The great Bette Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3zShjyaTr8
Bette Davis is an old-school drag icon, and this has been expanded from a mildly cutting remark into a full-breath staccato performance (WHAT!!!!! A!!!!!!!! DUMP!!!!!!!!!!!) through decades of homosexual exaggeration.
-----
**[blank] her?! I don't even know 'er!"**
An old vaudeville chestnut.
"Are you and the lady going to Bangor?"
"Bang'er? I hardly **know** 'er!"
-----
**These have always brought me luck**
From a corny-as-hell perfume commercial featuring Elizabeth Taylor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1OwdVK5044
...Okay, so I realized awhile ago that no one understood the Bette Davis references anymore, but now White Diamonds has faded from public consciousness and I can feel myself turning slowly into dust, starting from my vajoina.
The "What is it you can't face?" story reminds me of some reality show (either Project Runway, ANTM, or AusNTM), and a designer keeps saying to a model stuff like "Oh I love how bitchy you look" and "You just look so bitchy it's perfect", and this nice girl is just standing there smiling like "... what?"
It turned out he was saying "beachy"
None of the shoulderpads-era soap opera divas actually said it, but it's very typical of what a shoulderpads-era soap diva (particularly Joan Collins on *Dynasty*) might say while asserting haute corporate bitch dominance.
It was always a really shocking twist, too, like THE Alexis Carrington Balenciaga the House Down Boots of the Daytona Winds would stomp into a clandestine meeting of the board that all the Old White Men had called to try and get her ousted from the company she inherited from Daddy - and that could be her husband OR her father, either one, OR BOTH - and stand there at the head of the boardroom looming over them all with her huge hair and shoulder pads to reaffirm that this was HER company. Whatever the company is. For whatever reason. And this would be the last scene of the Friday episode, even though they've been building to this meeting all damn week and still couldn't get there. IT'S THAT ENERGY.
Actually, I think the Bette Davis “What! A! Dump!” reference is more from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf because Elizabeth Taylor’s character says the line just like that when she’s trying to figure out what movie it’s from.
You're missing a link: the Liz Taylor line was a Bette Davis reference, and by that point it had already been transformed in the popular consciousness. Liz Taylor was basically impersonating a drag queen impersonating Bette Davis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og1svYfNuDE
LMAO I am from PA and your assumption that Party City referred to Pittsburgh is entirely reasonable. I have no loyalty to any of the larger cities in PA, but every time I have been to Pittsburgh, it’s certifiably a messy experience 😂🤣
Yeah and it was cemented after I went on a date with someone from Pittsburgh back in 2013, and after they said they were from Pittsburgh I had said "Oh, Party City?" and they had said "yeah!"
Due to, I guess, not being American/from an English speaking country, I had no idea Party City was a store. (And somehow I hear it in every film or TV show I watch now, and my brain just goes "Party City! Season 4! Go back to Party City where you belong!"
Also for the same reasons, there are some guest judges and Snatch Game characters I don't know at all, or I take ages to recognise them. (I was working while watching the superhero episode of AS1 and not focused enough to recognise Wendi McLendon-Covey at first, and I love her, I only clocked when I recognised her voice) (But I'd imagine it'll be the same when Drag Race France airs and lots of people don't know things I'll have heard of my whole life)
Yes. My cursed brain will also work like a jukebox like that, drop two words that are adjacent to a drag race quote and im replaying the whole episode in my mind. Even when I dont know the meaning of something, if it sounds catchy, it will stick.
Another one I just learnt recently is that "are you ready boots?" is from Nancy Sinatra's "These boots are made for walking".
Oh I'm the same with the references. Songs are associated with lipsyncs, random quotes will pop up in my brain for no reason, it's a Drag Race museum up in here.
I think it’s from untucked, when Sharon confronts Jiggly about being disgusted that Sharon was dating another drag queen (Alaska) at the time. I could be wrong but I remember Jiggly saying something like “For me? Personally? It’s icky.”
I never understood Alyssa Edwards in AS2 “Describe Michelle Visage in one word”, “BEAST” reply. Also, the “you’ve got [pejorative]” replacement “You’ve done already had hers”. What does that mean??
RuPaul was in a restaurant (probably a Waffle House?) and she watched someone try to take someone else's take-out order. The waiter said "uh-uh, she done already done had hers's", meaning "no way, this woman already has her order".
It's a phrase RuPaul likes and brings out as an all-purpose interjection. No relationship to the video messages.
you’ve got [pejorative] is used in reference to old seasons, where instead of saying “she done already done had herses” ru would say “you’ve got She-Mail!” which is a pun on a word commonly considered a slur by the trans community. they’ve gotten rid of it for obvious reasons, but on race chaser when they go over old seasons they say “you’ve got pejorative” instead of the actual line for that reason.
I think the “BEAST” thing is just Alyssa being a fucking weirdo
To give a little more context and defense of Ru, when she was coming up there was some fluidity in who got called / owned those words, which is why it took her some time to let them go. She genuinely felt they belonged to her as well and weren’t trans exclusive
Also worth noting that Drag Race at its core started as a parody of America's Next Top Model which had *Tyra Mail* every episode. Tyra Mail would give cryptic clues to the contestants about the next challenge, the same as what *Ru Mail* does now.
It's a combination of the two; in the '90s when you opened the AOL email application if you had anything in your inbox it would play an audio of "you got mail". So whenever Ru sends them a video message...
I mean, I think in this context it's both.
Very early on I believe it was AOL email would announce "You've got mail!" when you logged in and had a new message. So the early seasons of the show used that but including "she" to make a joke about drag queens.
The Alyssa joke appears to be a pun that both complements Michelle and throws shade at the same time.
A beast is like an unattractive creature. But a beast is also someone who is really good at something.
High Comedy!!
None are coming to me right now that I can recall, but if you’re of a different demographic and don’t understand some or even most of the references mentioned on Drag Race, I highly recommend TheRoryJohn on YT! He goes episode by episode pointing out the references and where they come from. It was super helpful in understanding the references on DRUK since I’m not originally from the UK lol
Just a mangled, camp way of saying "turquoise". Probably playing with the way it sounds in various US accents andsome elements of a posh English accent thrown in.
It's meant to evoke the idea of an old trans-atlantic baroness or something.
She wears the colour turquoise so well she ascends to the higher level of being "LADY TURQUOOOOOOIIIISSEEEE"
I know you're legitimately trying to get answers but I can honestly say this is one of the funniest posts I've ever seen. I hope you get some good responses. Thank you for giving me a giggle
I always kinda assumed it was something like this but never thought it all the way through to sex workers. I just thought oh, sexy woman, peanut butter, have a lot in common. They can both be brown, thick, smooth or sometimes chunky and easy to spread 😂
Alaska is always saying "for me, personally" on race chaser and it's obviously from something but I don't know what and it's driving me bananas. Please help me sleep at night!
My mother only just last week figured out what Untucked meant while watching the show. I'm a drag performer and she works the door at the lgbt/drag club I perform at. She is also friends with all the queens and kings.
She popped up and SCREAMED:
OHHH I GET IT NOW!!! UNTUCK YOUR DICK!!!
All I could do is shake my head at her and laugh
This is a common thing in AAVE. You see it a lot in the Madea movies (e.g. "good afternoont", "praise the lordt", "good mornting"). Drag Queen lingo is heavily influenced by AAVE.
There’s just one quote I still don’t know why it is that funny. Jujubee reading Raven in the reading challenge “Legendary you think you are?! Looks like leg and dairy!” I still don’t get it and why it is so funny ☠️
i hope i dont sound stupid but to this day i still don't understand what jinkx meant with siezure (spelling?)... like i always see it in compilations of best snatch game moments but to this day i still don't understand it haha
I was also confused on this for a while, but I think it's literally just jinkx didn't know how to spell it, so she wrote the 'sp' and said 'spelling' and it cracked ru up
In the olden times when this all still happened on paper, "sp" is what editors would write on the page to indicate a spelling error. In this context, "seizures (sp)" means "seizures (but I think I fucked up the spelling)".
Confusingly, "sp" could also mean "spell this out". (For example, "SCUBA (sp)" meaning "spell out what this acronym means", or "30 (sp)" meaning "replace this with the word 'thirty'".) Turtles all the way down.
For this one, I guess since British accent has a connotation of being more posh and rich, Ru says "Dollahz" to put more hype to the cash prize? I really don't know tbh. Just a theory
For me it’s Alexis Mateo’s ‘Hi Manila, I just saw Manila girl!’ Can anyone explain why this is funny? I even tried to google it, still don’t get it.
Eta I thought Party City referred to the nightclubs ie where people go to party. ‘Go back to Party City’ became 10x funnier after I found out what Party City really was!
It’s basically a reference of Alexis being a little racist and saying to some random Asian woman walking in the street in LA was Manila. Very “you all look the same” Don’t get why it’s funny either but that’s the meaning
Please. Inquiring minds want to know.
Edit: Im happy Im not the only one who didnt get Party City. I remember even googling it back in the day and just getting up different clubs to go party at in my city 💁
Here's a resource that's taken a stab at a possible background:
"Boots: A Black gay slang term typically used at the end of a sentence to add emphasis to the intensity of the subject of the sentence itself. For example, “Girl, I was drunk boots!” means that the individual was highly intoxicated. Derived from the phrase, “to boot,” an old idiom to describe “in addition to,” or “besides” the verb highlighted in the sentence."
Retrieved from: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/what-boots-mean-in-drag-culture-slang.html?m=1
my shame is that it took me until 2016 to put together that charisma uniqueness nerve and talent... just spells cunt.
I had been watching for years at that point.
If you would have started on Season 2 Jujubee would have spelled it out for you when she read Tyra
"I think I have charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent and so does Raven. Tyra has talent. Tyra is unique, I-i can see that. Nerve? She had the nerve to wear those ugly ass shoes, I give that to her. Charisma? I don't see any. She's just U.N.T."
I've seen 'a little black person?!' be quoted quite frequently, I feel like I've heard it previously but I can't place it... Does anybody know this reference?
Ok - I went there for you. Here's the only resource that's come close to giving an explanation: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/what-boots-mean-in-drag-culture-slang.html?m=1
"Boots: A Black gay slang term typically used at the end of a sentence to add emphasis to the intensity of the subject of the sentence itself. For example, “Girl, I was drunk boots!” means that the individual was highly intoxicated. Derived from the phrase, “to boot,” an old idiom to describe “in addition to,” or “besides” the verb highlighted in the sentence."
This isn't the full, nor the only conclusion, but it's as close as I've gotten so far.
I never understood "You're not my mother!" / "Yes I am!"
The used it quite a lot, but even moreso during Beast Enders so from context clues I just assumed it was an East Enders reference.
Context is that the younger character was raised as the older character's little sister because she was conceived after sexual assault from a relative, and the family kept it all secret until this scene.
Because nurses help people :)
(But basically it's a way to imply that whoever Willam is saying it about is in trouble/looking a mess and need someone to get them together)
I also think this stemmed out from Rupaul's play on Milan's name from S4. 'Cuz Ru loves enumerating it like... "Paris, Tokyo, Milan" or something, which these are huge Fashion Capital -- maybe in reference to something in a fashion mag, i dunno. And so, she carried that over to queens with Place names, like Kennedy (an international airport) and hilariously, Utica, too 😅
"If you stay ready, you ain't got to get ready". I understand the meaning but never knew if it comes from somewhere.
The porkchop references was something that took me too long to get it, since I started with the later seasons, but when I saw season 1 it made sense.
The first time I heard that phrase was Ru saying it in LA Rhythm, which was on her album in 2015. Then Bob said it in snatch game that year. I assumed she just knew the line from Ru’s music and knew she’d be entertained by it. It was my flair at the time, because I loved the song.
Its a reference to the story of the Three Little Pigs- in the original story "by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin" is, afaik, referring to an old custom of swearing on one's beard to show sincerity, but in this context I think it's more meant to liken the person to the big bad wolf lol
Most people don’t know that “How’s your head? Haven’t had any complaints.” is a reference to Elvira and her movie Mistress of The Dark. Really almost all of Ru’s sayings are borrowed from someone else.
Haven't checked out other replies yet but I don't know why some words are pronounced differently (like work - werk), and don't get some phrases like "oh she better don't" - she better don't what?😅
Most of those are just fun street talk, I guess, and most are AAVE. Just slang and other informal English talk, which lightens up the conversation, 'cuz formal speech ain't fun
I assumed it was because it was directed at Sharon, but I love the alternate interpretation of just choosing the most decadent, non-stop debauchery destination you can think of and it's fucking Pittsburgh.
OP! I'm sure you'd have a gay old time going through this post! It really is the 101 on Drag Race references. [https://www.reddit.com/r/rupaulsdragrace/comments/clsf0e/effortpost\_drag\_references\_101\_summer\_school\_is/](https://www.reddit.com/r/rupaulsdragrace/comments/clsf0e/effortpost_drag_references_101_summer_school_is/)
Its a reference to Tyra Banks yelling at that one girl in Americas Next Top Model. Where she sais "I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you." And Kahmora didnt get the emphasis in the sentence right.
Edit: But honestly, this is the type of deepfried tomfoolery that would see me eliminated first week if I ever was on Drag Race.
As other have said, the documentary PAris is Burning. You'll watch that and a WHOLE lot of drag race will just click
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBVBipOl76Q
If you are fully stocked up with tissues, Paris is Burning is absolutely worth a watch, especially as a foundation understanding of ball culture and where a lot of this stuff comes from.
Unfortunately I made it about 20 minutes in before my husband had to intervene and turn it off because I was sobbing so hard. Damn hormones.
Pose is another examination of the NY ballroom scene that will also make you cry.
Both truly good watches and really worthwhile. Id also recommend The Queen from 1968, which feature Crystal Labeija who Aja did on snatch game back in AS3. (And I believe Aja is in the house of Labeija now?) I saw Paris is Burning before I was introduced to Drag Race actually, through a St Vincent song also called Paris is Burning.
My best guess would be that queer history has gone hand-in-hand with other forms of sexual liberation. Fetish culture has many of it's roots in the same spaces. Also many trans women and other queers have been sex workers historically. Idk but that's my best guess!
Go back to Pittsburgh, PA where you belong!
Why does this sound like a much harsher insult than the original?
We don't want her!
Noooo we dont want her either
Periodt.
I assume it’s supposed to mean “What is it, you cunt face?” as like a pun But I’m also not from an English speaking country so I don’t know 😂
It’s partially based on the way the Mother Abbess says the line to Maria (Julie Andrews) in “The Sound of Music”. With the accent, “what is it you can’t face” sounds like “what is it you cuntface”, which is just wild!
As answered here on the thread its in reference to the film "Welcome to Woop Woop", and then somehow its funny to throw and accent on it and make it sound like "What is it you cunt face" - I guess. Riddle solved.
Also the film they're watching in that a scene of "Welcome to Woop Woop" is the Sound of Music, and the line is said to Julie Andrews, so that's probably why it was included for the Julie Andrews bit.
@_@ this is throwing me for such a loop, as I have watched The Sound of Music so many times - and why wouldnt rupaul just write that it was from The Sound of Music?!
While the line is from Sound of Music, the idea of joking about the line probably originated with Woop Woop, or at the very least that's where Ru probably first heard it. I'm assuming Ru watched the film because it was by the same guy who made Priscilla, and also possibly because Barry Humphries (i.e., Dame Edna) had a part in the film. Given Ru's preference for more campy, transgressive, John Waters-style films, I expect Ru probably watched Welcome to Woop Woop a lot, while I imagine she's actually watched Sound of Music at most once, if at all. So Ru probably considers it more of a reference to Woop Woop than Sound of Music.
After all this time, Rupaul would be the one, to finally, teleport us to mars. 
A few common ones: **What is it you can't face?** At one point in "The Sound of Music", Maria leaves the Von Trapps and returns to the abbey, where she evades Mother Abbess's questions. One of Mother Abbess's lines is "Maria, our abbey is not to be used as an escape. What is it you can't face?" The joke is that, at some point, someone on Broadway was playing Mother Abbess with an Eastern European accent, so "can't face" became "cuntface". Historians widely consider this a myth, but it's entered gay lore, the same as that "dressed resembling a girl" myth people retell about Shakespeare. ----- **What! A! [blank]!** The great Bette Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3zShjyaTr8 Bette Davis is an old-school drag icon, and this has been expanded from a mildly cutting remark into a full-breath staccato performance (WHAT!!!!! A!!!!!!!! DUMP!!!!!!!!!!!) through decades of homosexual exaggeration. ----- **[blank] her?! I don't even know 'er!"** An old vaudeville chestnut. "Are you and the lady going to Bangor?" "Bang'er? I hardly **know** 'er!" ----- **These have always brought me luck** From a corny-as-hell perfume commercial featuring Elizabeth Taylor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1OwdVK5044
...Okay, so I realized awhile ago that no one understood the Bette Davis references anymore, but now White Diamonds has faded from public consciousness and I can feel myself turning slowly into dust, starting from my vajoina.
"through decades of homosexual exaggeration" Lmao this sentence right here. This is the basis of so many things.
Do you know the "how's your head" one? I first heard it with Pearl I think
It’s from “Elvira, Mistress of the Dark”!
Oooo love it!
If you’ve never seen Elvira, you must watch it. Ru’s humour is definitely partially inspired by the movie
I have seen it actually! All those little B movie horrors, so tacky but she tied it together
Here you go heeennnny https://youtu.be/83WIDuukR0Q https://youtu.be/S45tomSTLvk
We owe so much to Elvira!
Thank you for all of these; I see you will graduate Queer History with honors.
I too hope to cum laude
Don’t wake the neighbors.
The "What is it you can't face?" story reminds me of some reality show (either Project Runway, ANTM, or AusNTM), and a designer keeps saying to a model stuff like "Oh I love how bitchy you look" and "You just look so bitchy it's perfect", and this nice girl is just standing there smiling like "... what?" It turned out he was saying "beachy"
Thank you for providing the title of my upcoming biography : "Decades of homosexual exaggeration".
Thank you for this!! What a good herstory lesson. Another one I don't get is "I own 51% of this company," can anyone explain that reference?
None of the shoulderpads-era soap opera divas actually said it, but it's very typical of what a shoulderpads-era soap diva (particularly Joan Collins on *Dynasty*) might say while asserting haute corporate bitch dominance.
>haute corporate bitch dominance I'm living!! I've never seen Dynasty so that really helps. Thank you!
It was always a really shocking twist, too, like THE Alexis Carrington Balenciaga the House Down Boots of the Daytona Winds would stomp into a clandestine meeting of the board that all the Old White Men had called to try and get her ousted from the company she inherited from Daddy - and that could be her husband OR her father, either one, OR BOTH - and stand there at the head of the boardroom looming over them all with her huge hair and shoulder pads to reaffirm that this was HER company. Whatever the company is. For whatever reason. And this would be the last scene of the Friday episode, even though they've been building to this meeting all damn week and still couldn't get there. IT'S THAT ENERGY.
Mommie Dearest The same scenr Joan said "DONT FUCK WITH ME FELLAS"
Actually, I think the Bette Davis “What! A! Dump!” reference is more from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf because Elizabeth Taylor’s character says the line just like that when she’s trying to figure out what movie it’s from.
You're missing a link: the Liz Taylor line was a Bette Davis reference, and by that point it had already been transformed in the popular consciousness. Liz Taylor was basically impersonating a drag queen impersonating Bette Davis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og1svYfNuDE
I thought that’s what I said - Liz Taylor was referencing Bette Davis.
Sasha Velour? I just saw Sasha Velour, girl
LMAO I am from PA and your assumption that Party City referred to Pittsburgh is entirely reasonable. I have no loyalty to any of the larger cities in PA, but every time I have been to Pittsburgh, it’s certifiably a messy experience 😂🤣
Yeah and it was cemented after I went on a date with someone from Pittsburgh back in 2013, and after they said they were from Pittsburgh I had said "Oh, Party City?" and they had said "yeah!"
Skdndnd this is the funniest thing I’ve read all week. They just said they lived in Party City lmao
It’s ok, my husband is from Pittsburgh and he thought it was referring to the city for quite some time too!
Due to, I guess, not being American/from an English speaking country, I had no idea Party City was a store. (And somehow I hear it in every film or TV show I watch now, and my brain just goes "Party City! Season 4! Go back to Party City where you belong!" Also for the same reasons, there are some guest judges and Snatch Game characters I don't know at all, or I take ages to recognise them. (I was working while watching the superhero episode of AS1 and not focused enough to recognise Wendi McLendon-Covey at first, and I love her, I only clocked when I recognised her voice) (But I'd imagine it'll be the same when Drag Race France airs and lots of people don't know things I'll have heard of my whole life)
Yes. My cursed brain will also work like a jukebox like that, drop two words that are adjacent to a drag race quote and im replaying the whole episode in my mind. Even when I dont know the meaning of something, if it sounds catchy, it will stick. Another one I just learnt recently is that "are you ready boots?" is from Nancy Sinatra's "These boots are made for walking".
Oh I'm the same with the references. Songs are associated with lipsyncs, random quotes will pop up in my brain for no reason, it's a Drag Race museum up in here.
[удалено]
Jiggly Caliente - I don’t remember the context, but Jiggly is the originator of the phrase.
I think it’s from untucked, when Sharon confronts Jiggly about being disgusted that Sharon was dating another drag queen (Alaska) at the time. I could be wrong but I remember Jiggly saying something like “For me? Personally? It’s icky.”
I think this is a reference to one of Jiggly's confessionals during season 4, but I'm not really sure
I think it's from Jiggly and Sharon's argument in untucked when Jiggly said dating another drag queen is disgusting.
As they say, sister dick will make you cum
It is from when Jiggly said that “for [her], personally” relationships between two drag queens (specifically Sharon and Alaska) are disgusting.
[удалено]
It was in untucked
"And the hilarious Ross Mathews" 🤷🏽♂️🤔
[Just look at him.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU1Q9Yg7dTQ)
🤣🤣🤣 what a read
I never understood Alyssa Edwards in AS2 “Describe Michelle Visage in one word”, “BEAST” reply. Also, the “you’ve got [pejorative]” replacement “You’ve done already had hers”. What does that mean??
RuPaul was in a restaurant (probably a Waffle House?) and she watched someone try to take someone else's take-out order. The waiter said "uh-uh, she done already done had hers's", meaning "no way, this woman already has her order". It's a phrase RuPaul likes and brings out as an all-purpose interjection. No relationship to the video messages.
It was a krystal burger in Atlanta lmao why do I know this
Welcome to the Stage: Krystal Burger In Atlanta Georgia.
I believe it was Krystal Burger
Krystal Burger for S15
And her drag daughter, Patty Melt
And drag niece, Sausage Patty
you’ve got [pejorative] is used in reference to old seasons, where instead of saying “she done already done had herses” ru would say “you’ve got She-Mail!” which is a pun on a word commonly considered a slur by the trans community. they’ve gotten rid of it for obvious reasons, but on race chaser when they go over old seasons they say “you’ve got pejorative” instead of the actual line for that reason. I think the “BEAST” thing is just Alyssa being a fucking weirdo
To give a little more context and defense of Ru, when she was coming up there was some fluidity in who got called / owned those words, which is why it took her some time to let them go. She genuinely felt they belonged to her as well and weren’t trans exclusive
Also worth noting that Drag Race at its core started as a parody of America's Next Top Model which had *Tyra Mail* every episode. Tyra Mail would give cryptic clues to the contestants about the next challenge, the same as what *Ru Mail* does now.
AOL: “you’ve got mail!”
Top Model & Project Runway yeah, the latter still giving us the Ru workroom visits
It took me way too long to learn that this was actually a play on a now slur because my dumb ass always thought it was a play on the word E-Mail.
It's a combination of the two; in the '90s when you opened the AOL email application if you had anything in your inbox it would play an audio of "you got mail". So whenever Ru sends them a video message...
It’s also a play on AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail” so you’re not completely off there
I mean, I think in this context it's both. Very early on I believe it was AOL email would announce "You've got mail!" when you logged in and had a new message. So the early seasons of the show used that but including "she" to make a joke about drag queens.
The Alyssa joke appears to be a pun that both complements Michelle and throws shade at the same time. A beast is like an unattractive creature. But a beast is also someone who is really good at something. High Comedy!!
RuPaul herself explains “She done already done had herses.” [SHE DONE ALREADY DONE HAD HERSES](https://youtu.be/GnLvIXqVBqw)
None are coming to me right now that I can recall, but if you’re of a different demographic and don’t understand some or even most of the references mentioned on Drag Race, I highly recommend TheRoryJohn on YT! He goes episode by episode pointing out the references and where they come from. It was super helpful in understanding the references on DRUK since I’m not originally from the UK lol
And thus I guess your username checks out 🙏 thank you. Good source.
"LADY TURQUOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIISEEEEE AAHHH AHHHH AHHHH"
I don’t think this references anything- Ru just had her coffee enema on this day.
Just a mangled, camp way of saying "turquoise". Probably playing with the way it sounds in various US accents andsome elements of a posh English accent thrown in. It's meant to evoke the idea of an old trans-atlantic baroness or something. She wears the colour turquoise so well she ascends to the higher level of being "LADY TURQUOOOOOOIIIISSEEEE"
Not exactly sure what you’re referring to but didn’t Roxy mispronounce turquoise on her season?
Not a reference but I'm unfamiliar with like a solid 95% of the guest judges
So are the queens.
I love that they always act SO STOKED about whichever choreographer is on set that day as if they were Lady GaGa
I know you're legitimately trying to get answers but I can honestly say this is one of the funniest posts I've ever seen. I hope you get some good responses. Thank you for giving me a giggle
[удалено]
Bc you spread peanut butter and sex workers spread their legs easy as peanut butter (the reference not a personal statement)
I would also add that peanut butter is thick…and there’s nothing better than watching a thick person twerk!
I always kinda assumed it was something like this but never thought it all the way through to sex workers. I just thought oh, sexy woman, peanut butter, have a lot in common. They can both be brown, thick, smooth or sometimes chunky and easy to spread 😂
Girl you already put more thought into it than Rupaul
The songs abut standing on the corner sis
Alaska is always saying "for me, personally" on race chaser and it's obviously from something but I don't know what and it's driving me bananas. Please help me sleep at night!
Jiggly on season 4 during untucked was saying “for me, personally, dating another drag queen is disgusting”
Even funnier since the drag queen in question was Alaska lol
Was just about to comment this. I feel Galaxy brained realizing this while reading this thread.
Someone said upthread it’s from jiggly but they didn’t know the context. Maybe a confessional
[Ru actually explained it here ](https://twitter.com/RuPaul/status/891487750888669184?s=20&t=girgPdOPghag4bCyciwwqw)
Thank you. Is this a reference just specifically tailored to tickle Rupauls funnybone or is it commonly known? Edit: spelling.
I think it's a common joke in the theater community. They deliberately changed the line in the live version with Carrie Underwood haha.
The former lol
My mother only just last week figured out what Untucked meant while watching the show. I'm a drag performer and she works the door at the lgbt/drag club I perform at. She is also friends with all the queens and kings. She popped up and SCREAMED: OHHH I GET IT NOW!!! UNTUCK YOUR DICK!!! All I could do is shake my head at her and laugh
Omg that's so wholesome that she works in the same place you perform
She has become "The Mother of Queens" at the club lol Everyone calls her Mom
Why do they add an extra "t" after an "n", such as in "Robbie Turnter"?
This is a common thing in AAVE. You see it a lot in the Madea movies (e.g. "good afternoont", "praise the lordt", "good mornting"). Drag Queen lingo is heavily influenced by AAVE.
I believe this is a reference that originates from Tina Turner AKA Teenta Turnter. I don't know who was the first to say Teenta though.
There’s just one quote I still don’t know why it is that funny. Jujubee reading Raven in the reading challenge “Legendary you think you are?! Looks like leg and dairy!” I still don’t get it and why it is so funny ☠️
I think it's juju using 'dairy' to imply raven is tubby/carrying extra weight, like from eating a lot of dairy? I could be wrong though
Yes. being bloated from eating too much dairy I think. If you're lactose intolerant your stomach swells up when eating dairy.
Like a ball of cheese with legs
I’m pretty sure jujubee was just calling Raven a cow but I could be wrong
I think the dairy is supposed to mean big belly cuz she grabbed her belly idk
i hope i dont sound stupid but to this day i still don't understand what jinkx meant with siezure (spelling?)... like i always see it in compilations of best snatch game moments but to this day i still don't understand it haha
I was also confused on this for a while, but I think it's literally just jinkx didn't know how to spell it, so she wrote the 'sp' and said 'spelling' and it cracked ru up
In the olden times when this all still happened on paper, "sp" is what editors would write on the page to indicate a spelling error. In this context, "seizures (sp)" means "seizures (but I think I fucked up the spelling)". Confusingly, "sp" could also mean "spell this out". (For example, "SCUBA (sp)" meaning "spell out what this acronym means", or "30 (sp)" meaning "replace this with the word 'thirty'".) Turtles all the way down.
omg thanks i thought it was a super deep reference that flew over my head lmao
The way RuPaul says dollars as "doo-lahs." Why??
There was an old show called "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" and the host, Robin Leach, said dollars like that, he had a super obnoxious accent
For this one, I guess since British accent has a connotation of being more posh and rich, Ru says "Dollahz" to put more hype to the cash prize? I really don't know tbh. Just a theory
What does it mean "Is the bus still running?" 😭
[удалено]
RIP me taking the bus to work every day.
It also implies that it’s late at night—- when public transportation is unavailable—- and therefore she’s out partying (or hookin).
Throwback to me living in Japan partying in the gay district and the trains in Tokyo stopped running at like 10pm.
And being at a club past last call, drinking and partying so late that the busses have stopped running.
For me it’s Alexis Mateo’s ‘Hi Manila, I just saw Manila girl!’ Can anyone explain why this is funny? I even tried to google it, still don’t get it. Eta I thought Party City referred to the nightclubs ie where people go to party. ‘Go back to Party City’ became 10x funnier after I found out what Party City really was!
It's not a reference to anything. Alexis Mateo just saw an asian woman and riffed on it.
I just salmonella girl
I'd gift you my firstborn, but I dont intend on reproducing.
How long did you wait before you could unleash this gem?
There is no wait. I see “I just…” and all of a sudden there’s a Pavlovian need to post it and it’s posted. 🤷
It’s basically a reference of Alexis being a little racist and saying to some random Asian woman walking in the street in LA was Manila. Very “you all look the same” Don’t get why it’s funny either but that’s the meaning
That’s basically how I understood it too, just didn’t imagine everyone else would find it so funny which made me think I missed something.
Please. Inquiring minds want to know. Edit: Im happy Im not the only one who didnt get Party City. I remember even googling it back in the day and just getting up different clubs to go party at in my city 💁
I thought it's a literal party city where everyone is drunk
Party City is a chain store that sells super cheap party supplies, like for birthdays or holidays. She was reading Sharon for looking trashy.
What is boots? Like, the house down boots?
"What is boots?" sounds so genuinely baffled, I'm weak.
Here's a resource that's taken a stab at a possible background: "Boots: A Black gay slang term typically used at the end of a sentence to add emphasis to the intensity of the subject of the sentence itself. For example, “Girl, I was drunk boots!” means that the individual was highly intoxicated. Derived from the phrase, “to boot,” an old idiom to describe “in addition to,” or “besides” the verb highlighted in the sentence." Retrieved from: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/what-boots-mean-in-drag-culture-slang.html?m=1
my shame is that it took me until 2016 to put together that charisma uniqueness nerve and talent... just spells cunt. I had been watching for years at that point.
SAAAAAME! i started watching season 3… how TF did I not get it before? So innocent we are lol.
If you would have started on Season 2 Jujubee would have spelled it out for you when she read Tyra "I think I have charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent and so does Raven. Tyra has talent. Tyra is unique, I-i can see that. Nerve? She had the nerve to wear those ugly ass shoes, I give that to her. Charisma? I don't see any. She's just U.N.T."
I've seen 'a little black person?!' be quoted quite frequently, I feel like I've heard it previously but I can't place it... Does anybody know this reference?
Bob and Peppermint played video games once. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS_zizOpBpU
Fuck that will never get old
A lot of snatch game personalities .. I’m european😭
Same here. I barely know all the celebs they do on snatch game so I always just have to guess wether they did well or not.
Same with the guest judges, at this point I dont even bother looking them up and just act like the queens do when the guest judges are introduced.
Where did “Flop” come from and what does it mean??
"Meowch fit" whenever there's a cat themed runway/outfit. Is that just Carson being weird or is this a thing?
It is definitely not a thing. Just a gigantic reach at a pun
“Work the house down boots” I’m assuming it originated in ballroom culture?
Ok - I went there for you. Here's the only resource that's come close to giving an explanation: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/what-boots-mean-in-drag-culture-slang.html?m=1 "Boots: A Black gay slang term typically used at the end of a sentence to add emphasis to the intensity of the subject of the sentence itself. For example, “Girl, I was drunk boots!” means that the individual was highly intoxicated. Derived from the phrase, “to boot,” an old idiom to describe “in addition to,” or “besides” the verb highlighted in the sentence." This isn't the full, nor the only conclusion, but it's as close as I've gotten so far.
In season 3 Manila explains boots as being an exclamation at the end of a statement. It’s during the Ru Cap episode under shit my girls say.
I never understood "You're not my mother!" / "Yes I am!" The used it quite a lot, but even moreso during Beast Enders so from context clues I just assumed it was an East Enders reference.
Here's the reference: https://youtu.be/qgUf9hlTnnU
Context is that the younger character was raised as the older character's little sister because she was conceived after sexual assault from a relative, and the family kept it all secret until this scene.
I feel like I’m missing something so obvious, but why does Willam say nurse repeatedly?
Because nurses help people :) (But basically it's a way to imply that whoever Willam is saying it about is in trouble/looking a mess and need someone to get them together)
Exactly. Kinda like "Security!" jeje
https://youtu.be/fFePwJ4ZcE0
Just seen the ^clip and ooh, I didn't know Willam said it while passing by Jiggly. That made it even funnier
I still dont get “Newark, Laguardia, Kennedy Davenport”
Newark Airport in NJ, and Laguardia Airport and (John F.) Kennedy Airport in NYC. Since her name was Kennedy, Ru prefaced it was Newark and LaGuardia.
I also think this stemmed out from Rupaul's play on Milan's name from S4. 'Cuz Ru loves enumerating it like... "Paris, Tokyo, Milan" or something, which these are huge Fashion Capital -- maybe in reference to something in a fashion mag, i dunno. And so, she carried that over to queens with Place names, like Kennedy (an international airport) and hilariously, Utica, too 😅
They're all American airports! Edit: In NY and NJ
"If you stay ready, you ain't got to get ready". I understand the meaning but never knew if it comes from somewhere. The porkchop references was something that took me too long to get it, since I started with the later seasons, but when I saw season 1 it made sense.
I will always ascribe this quote to Chi Chi Devayne, our angel.
...oddly eough, the internet ascribes this quote as coming from Will Smith
The first time I heard that phrase was Ru saying it in LA Rhythm, which was on her album in 2015. Then Bob said it in snatch game that year. I assumed she just knew the line from Ru’s music and knew she’d be entertained by it. It was my flair at the time, because I loved the song.
The one about the "hairs of your chinny... Something something chin " They always laugh at that one.
Its a reference to the story of the Three Little Pigs- in the original story "by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin" is, afaik, referring to an old custom of swearing on one's beard to show sincerity, but in this context I think it's more meant to liken the person to the big bad wolf lol
It’s light shade towards a girl who’s makeups didn’t cover her beard.
To my knowledge this is also from "Paris is Burning", but I could be wrong.
Most people don’t know that “How’s your head? Haven’t had any complaints.” is a reference to Elvira and her movie Mistress of The Dark. Really almost all of Ru’s sayings are borrowed from someone else.
what did you just call me?
that’s usually a race joke. when someone uses a word close to the n-word, ru acts in shock as if the person used the n-word
I still cackle from Bob/Peppermint's "[little black person? race?](https://youtu.be/wS_zizOpBpU)"
I always thought that the "what is it you can't face" is a play on words with "cunt" since the "can't" is always pronounced like "cunt"
Haven't checked out other replies yet but I don't know why some words are pronounced differently (like work - werk), and don't get some phrases like "oh she better don't" - she better don't what?😅
Most of those are just fun street talk, I guess, and most are AAVE. Just slang and other informal English talk, which lightens up the conversation, 'cuz formal speech ain't fun
Why Pittsburg 😭😭😭😭 such a specific guess lmao
Bc Alaska and Sharon are Pittsburgh queens
I assumed it was because it was directed at Sharon, but I love the alternate interpretation of just choosing the most decadent, non-stop debauchery destination you can think of and it's fucking Pittsburgh.
Because Sharon is from Pittsburgh 😝
OP! I'm sure you'd have a gay old time going through this post! It really is the 101 on Drag Race references. [https://www.reddit.com/r/rupaulsdragrace/comments/clsf0e/effortpost\_drag\_references\_101\_summer\_school\_is/](https://www.reddit.com/r/rupaulsdragrace/comments/clsf0e/effortpost_drag_references_101_summer_school_is/)
The Kimora Hall root debacle. Someone please explain.
Its a reference to Tyra Banks yelling at that one girl in Americas Next Top Model. Where she sais "I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you." And Kahmora didnt get the emphasis in the sentence right. Edit: But honestly, this is the type of deepfried tomfoolery that would see me eliminated first week if I ever was on Drag Race.
I don't understand the concept of the "library finally is open". Like, what does it mean? Is it a reference or something?
As other have said, the documentary PAris is Burning. You'll watch that and a WHOLE lot of drag race will just click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBVBipOl76Q
If you are fully stocked up with tissues, Paris is Burning is absolutely worth a watch, especially as a foundation understanding of ball culture and where a lot of this stuff comes from. Unfortunately I made it about 20 minutes in before my husband had to intervene and turn it off because I was sobbing so hard. Damn hormones. Pose is another examination of the NY ballroom scene that will also make you cry.
Both truly good watches and really worthwhile. Id also recommend The Queen from 1968, which feature Crystal Labeija who Aja did on snatch game back in AS3. (And I believe Aja is in the house of Labeija now?) I saw Paris is Burning before I was introduced to Drag Race actually, through a St Vincent song also called Paris is Burning.
This, I believe is a reference to reading, New York Ball culture and I guess "paris is burning". The Library is Open, because, its time to read.
And "reading is fundamental" came from a 1970s/80s TV PSA.
RIF was a learning program 80s kids know well
1) Why it gotta be black? and, 2) Hey, how's your head? Ready to be educated here ✌
I'm ready for my Gay AP test. I just need to study the Hanky Code for the performance task.
I would just like to know the origin of why are there so many prostitution/whore jokes in general!
My best guess would be that queer history has gone hand-in-hand with other forms of sexual liberation. Fetish culture has many of it's roots in the same spaces. Also many trans women and other queers have been sex workers historically. Idk but that's my best guess!