Meaning of throw shade | Babel Free

Definitions

1. To subtly insult someone.
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see throw, shade.

Equivalents

Examples

“To begin with, I need to make it clear to those who don’t know that the throwing-shade, dissin’, “reading” style that carried Miss Camille to fame was a persona she assembled after years of ethnographically studying the mannerisms of vernacular black culture, especially black gay sub-culture, and most especially the culture of the black queen.”

“Wait, 1989 is actually really, really good. It feels genuine, and only slightly entitled, and mostly awesome. You like how it throws shade, but not too much shade.”

“And while the meeting made headlines in other ways -- like when POTUS left the queen waiting for 10 minutes on live TV as he was running late -- no one picked up on the subtle shade Queen Elizabeth may have thrown at Trump on three separate occasions.”

“First we pick out an overhang which will throw shade most of this time, but at the same time will not cast too much shade during those hours which are not overheated.”

“A neighbor once asked me to remove a tree that threw shade onto his plot.”

CEFR level