Street voices
Janna
·
United States
"Gag, or to be gagged, is to be left speechless, basically, at something, mainly, usually in a positive way. An example would be, did you see Lady Gaga's concert last night? I was gagged at her outfit."
What it means
Means being so stunned, impressed, or knocked sideways by something that your words basically pack their bags and leave. Most of the time it's praise, especially around fashion, performances, beauty, or wild reveals. It came up through queer and drag slang and now lives all over pop culture, still serving full jaw on the floor energy.
Usage examples
"Did you clock her Met Gala look? I was fully gagged, babe, the dress, the hair, the whole entrance had everybody acting like oxygen was optional."
Where it comes from
Comes from the older idea of being gagged or choked into silence, then got remixed in Black and queer drag culture into a stylish way of saying something left you speechless. From there it spread through ballroom talk, pop culture, and the internet, where being gagged became the gold standard for being stunned in a good way.
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