student asking question

What does "teatime" mean in this context? I don't think it literally means afternoon tea.

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

True! Well spotted. While it's not completely clear what "teatime" she's referring to, it does link closely to slang these days where "spilling tea" means "to gossip." So she could be referring to the gossip about her. In relation to the previous verses where she mentions "midnights becoming her afternoons," it could mean that while she sleeps, everyone talks about her when they drink tea. Furthermore, in one of her previous music videos, she was sipping tea on a throne and she received a lot of criticism for the song. Another controversial opinion is that "tea time" often refers to the time someone gets high on drugs. Ex: Have you heard the tea on Taylor Swift? => Tea = gossip Ex: I stopped having teatime a while ago. => stopped taking drugs Ex: Is it teatime yet? => actual tea

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