Where does the expression “spill the tea” come from? [closed]
The expression appears to have originated in American black drag culture:
It appears that T, also spelled tea, had a double-edged meaning in black drag culture. It could refer to a hidden truth, as Chablis uses it, and it could also refer to someone else's hidden truth—that is, gossip:
- Straight life must be so boring. Because everyone conforms. These gay kids carry on. ... They give you dance and great tea [gossip]. — "Nate" quoted in One of the Children: An Ethnography of Identity and Gay Black Men, William G. Hawkeswood, 1991
As drag culture—and particularly black drag culture—gained prominence, so too did this dual meaning use of tea. It's spread far beyond black drag culture at this point. The phrase "spill the tea," used as an encouragement to gossip, has been used in everything from Harlequin romance novels to "RuPaul's Drag Race"; "no tea, no shade" has been featured in explainers on black gay slang; comedian Larry Wilmore used "weak tea" regularly on his 2015-16 Comedy Central show in response to people who weren't telling the absolute truth.
(Merriam-Webster)
The expression is American:
Spilling tea (American Slang)
On the day that I was working on this video, I searched ‘spilling tea’ online and found that it was in the headlines. “Rob Kardashian’s Instagram Is Disabled, But His Tea Spilling Continues On Twitter”. Spilling tea means to gossip about someone. So here, Kardashian was gossiping about his ex-fiance, which included posting naked pictures of her. Not good.
(Rachel's English.com)