Throw shade ( slang ) - wikipedia Throw shade ( slang ) This article appears to be a dictionary definition. Please rewrite it to present the subject from an encyclopedic point of view. If it can not be turned into a full encyclopedia article in the near future, consider moving it to Wiktionary. Steps for moving to Wiktionary : Check that this article meets Wiktionary 's criteria for inclusion. Check that Wiktionary does not have an article on this word or phrase, as verified using the search page. If Wiktionary has a definition already, change this tag to ( ( TWCleanup2 ) ) or else consider a soft redirect to Wiktionary by replacing the text on this page with ( ( Wi ) ). If Wiktionary does not have the definition yet, consider moving the whole article to Wiktionary by replacing this tag with the template ( ( Copy to Wiktionary ) ). This template will no longer automatically categorize articles as candidates to move to Wiktionary. Not to be confused with Throwing Shade. The expressions `` throw shade, `` throwing shade '', or simply `` shade '', are slang terms used as insults. Merriam - Webster defines `` shade '' as `` subtle, sneering expression of contempt for or disgust with someone -- sometimes verbal, and sometimes not ''. OxfordDictionaries.com defines `` throw shade '' as a phrase used to `` publicly criticize or express contempt for someone ''. Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External links History The first known use of `` shade '' is in the documentary film Paris Is Burning ( 1990 ), which is about the mid-1980s drag scene in Manhattan. The expression was popularized by the American reality television series RuPaul 's Drag Race. In 2015, Anna Holmes of The New York Times Magazine wrote : Shade can take many forms -- a hard, deep look that could be either aggressive or searching, a compliment that could be interpreted as the opposite of one. E. Patrick Johnson, who teaches performance studies and African - American studies at Northwestern University, and who has written about the tradition of insults in the gay and black communities, explains : `` If someone walks into a room with a hideous dress, but you do n't want to say it 's hideous, you might say, ' Oooh... look at you ! ' ' '' At its most refined, shade should have an element of plausible deniability, so that the shade - thrower can pretend that he or she did n't actually mean to behave with incivility, making it all the more delicious. See also Look up throw shade in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. LGBT slang List of LGBT slang terms References ^ Jump up to : `` The Underground Art of the Insult ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2016 - 06 - 02. ^ Jump up to : `` What Does ' Throw Shade ' Mean ? ''. Merriam - Webster. Retrieved 2016 - 06 - 02. Jump up ^ Katy Steinmetz ( 2014 - 08 - 13 ). `` Oxford Dictionary Additions : Hot Mess, Side Boob, Throw Shade ''. Time.com. Retrieved 2016 - 06 - 02. External links LGBT portal Moore, Darnell L. ( March 29, 2013 ). `` Tongues Untied : Shade Culture -- Throwing Shade, Reflecting Light ''. The Huffington Post. Brown, Kara ( December 17, 2014 ). `` Shade Court Is in Session ''. Jezebel.com. Rodriguez, Mathew ( April 27, 2016 ). `` Merriam - Webster Threw Shade at People Who Do n't Know the Word Genderqueer ''. Mic.com. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Throw_shade_(slang)&oldid=795219277 '' Categories : 2010s slang LGBT slang Words coined in the 1990s Hidden categories : Flagged dictionary definitions Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 12 August 2017, at 20 : 14. About Wikipedia

Question: what does it mean to throw some shade
Answer: "throw shade" as a phrase used to "publicly criticize or express contempt for someone".