XPost: alt.usage.english, rec.puzzles
From: HenHanna@NewsGrouper

it's a new expression for me!


       >>>  No, the phrase “spill the tea” was not used in Victorian times
to mean sharing gossip.

 The expression as it's used today originates from 20th-century American Black
drag and LGBTQ+ culture, becoming popular in mainstream slang only recently,
especially from the late 2010s onward.


_________________


  ...........  it has become a mainstay among Gen Z and online communities
since its surge in popularity from 2017, thanks to social media.

     Recent British Council research (2025) shows that while millennials are
more likely to say "spill the beans,"    Gen Z overwhelmingly favors "spill
the tea."

The phrase continues gaining momentum rather than returning from obsolescence.


______________________

The English phrase “spill the tea” means to gossip or share juicy,
typically secret information.


French:

“Raconter des potins” (to tell gossip)

           ex: « Allez, raconte les potins ! » ("Come on, spill the tea!")

      “Balancer les ragots” (“to dish the rumors”)

German:
“Auspacken” (literally “to unpack” — to reveal secrets/gossip)

              ex: „Komm, pack aus!“ ("Come on, spill the tea!")

“Tratsch erzählen” (“to tell gossip”)

               ex: „Erzähl mir den Tratsch!“ ("Tell me the gossip!")

Spanish:
“Contar el chisme” (“to tell the gossip”)

              ex: « Cuéntame el chisme. » ("Spill the tea.")

“Suelta la sopa” (“Drop the soup” — colloquial Mexican/Latin
American slang for spilling juicy info)

              ex: « ¡Suelta la sopa! » ("Spill the tea!")

Italian:
“Spettegolare” (to gossip)

            ex: « Dai, spettegola! » ("Come on, spill the tea!")

“Dire i pettegolezzi” (“to tell the gossip”)

            ex: « Dimmi i pettegolezzi! »

Russian:
“Расскажи сплетни” (Rasskazhi spletni — “Tell me the
gossip!”)

“Сливай инфу”      (Slivai infu — "Spill the info!" — more
slangy, online)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
 * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)