In Word Through The Times, we trace how one word or phrase has changed throughout the history of the newspaper. In February, The New York Times reported on scientists hoping to throw shade — over Earth. To throw shade means “to subtly insult or blatantly show contempt for” something or someone, according to “The Queens’ English: The LGBTQIA+ Dictionary of Lingo and Colloquial Phrases” by Chloe O.
Davis. (The scientists, we should note, were not insulting Earth: They were devising a sunshade prototype that would block a portion of solar radiation.) Early uses of “shade” in The Times align with an earlier definition, as provided by the Oxford English Dictionary: “comparative darkness.” An article from 1860 shared one scientist’s argument that light was crucial to women’s health. He made this comparison: “a plant or shrub grown in the shade never displayed the same amount of color or strength as those which enjoy the light of the Sun.” Around the 1600s, there was a “boom in poetic and figurative speech,” the lexicographer Kory Stamper said in an interview.
From shade’s literal definition of darkness grew metaphorical meanings. Ms. Stamper offered a few, including the depth of color in drawings and a tinge or degree of something intangible.
Here’s an example of the last meaning: On Dec. 22, 1860, The Times wrote that a book given as a present might express “the most delicate shade of sentiment.” In the 1920s, predecessors to “throw shade” appeared, the lexicographer Grant Barrett said in an interview. To “put or throw in the shade” meant to “obscure” or “darken” someone’s reputation, or to render someone else insignificant by comparison, he said.
“When we talk about shade, we’re talking about hiding someone’s light or brilliance,” he added. Consider this example: A film critic wrote in 1930 that actors in a movie were “put in the shade” by the “knowledgeful” performance of Lee Tracy. An evolution of that meaning, “throw shade,” truly took off after ball culture
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