Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - a drag queen｜又中又英

I read an interesting article recently about rivalry and jealousy among some of America’s well-known TV anchors. The article had an interesting expression I had not used in a long time. It said rival anchors often spill the tea on each other. To spill something means to accidentally cause liquid to flow over the edge of its container. I sometimes accidentally spill hot tea from the teacup onto my hand. But the American slang expression “spill the tea” has a completely different meaning. It means to reveal sensitive secrets about other people or to share gossip about other people. If your best friend confidentially tells you he has an unhappy marriage but you tell other people about this secret, you are spilling the tea.

This expression has an interesting origin. It came from the 1994 novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil which is based on a true story. A movie based on the book and with the same name came out in 1997. I enjoyed the movie but critics and audiences gave it bad reviews. It is about two gay lovers, a transgender called Lady Chablis, and a reporter. Lady Chablis is a real person who was born male and became a transgender person and a drag queen. A drag queen is a man who dresses like a woman. In the book she uses the phrase “spill the t”. Although the letter “t” sounds like “tea” it actually means “truth”.

The slang expression “spill the t” means telling true secrets. But the expression evolved into “spilling the tea”. The expression was originally popular among African-Americans, drag queens, and gay people. But as society gradually accepted drag queens the expression became more widely used. It has a similar meaning to the more common expression “spill the beans”. To spill the beans means to tell people secret information that you are not supposed to reveal. Reporters always try to get their sources to spill the beans on top government officials.

我最近读到一篇有趣的文章，是关于美国知名的电视新闻主播之间的竞争与嫉妒。那篇文章中有一个有趣的习语，我很久没有用过了。它说竞争的主播之间常常互相「溅茶」（spill the tea）。To spill something是指意外让液体从容器的边外溢出来。我有时也会不小心让热茶从茶杯边溅泻（spill）到我手上。但美式俚语“spill the tea”却有着截然不同的意思。它是指去揭露他人敏感的私事，又或去聊他人的八卦。若你的好友私下跟你说他婚姻很不美满，但你却跟其他人爆了这个秘密，那你就在 spilling the tea。

这个习语有一个有趣的来源；它来自一九九四年根据真人真事编写的小说《午夜善恶花园》，而改编自小说的同名电影则于一九九七年推出。我喜欢那套电影，但影评人和观众却给了负评。电影是关于两个同性恋人、一个名为夏布利夫人的变性人，以及一个记者。夏布利夫人是个真实人物，出生时是男性，但成为了变性人和a drag queen—— a drag queen是变装皇后：装扮穿着成女性的男性。在书中她用了习语“spill the t”，虽然“t”跟茶的“tea”发音相近，但它其实是指真相“truth”。

习语“spill the t”意即透露隐私与真相，但这个习语慢慢演变成“spilling the tea”。习语本来于非裔美国人、变装皇后（drag queens）和同性恋者之间流行，但随着社会逐渐接受变装皇后（drag queens），这个习语亦变得更为普及。它跟更为常见的习语“spill the beans”意思相近。To spill the beans是指去泄漏一些你本来不应披露的秘密。记者就常常试图从各种消息来源去泄露（spill the beans）高官的秘密。

中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁