Slay the House Down Boots: What It Means & Where It Comes From

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Plus, more examples of slang from drag and ballroom culture

Co-authored by Aimee Payne, MFA Reviewed by Anyah Le Gilmore-Jones

Last Updated: December 26, 2024 Fact Checked

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What It Means

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When to Use (With Related Phrases)

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Where It Comes From

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Other Drag & Ballroom Slang

You may have seen “slay the house down boots” on social media, but what exactly does it mean? This popular slang term (which originally came from ballroom and drag culture) is a fun and humorous way to tell someone that they’ve done something amazing! In this guide, we tell you more about the meaning of this slangy phrase, as well as how to use it in conversation (as well as its many variations). Plus, we’ll share a few more creative slang terms from the drag world!

“Slay the House Down Boots” Definition at a Glance

“Slay the house down boots” is a way to compliment someone for a job exceptionally well done. “Slay” means to look or do something awesome or fierce. “House down” and “boots” both emphasize the level of fierceness that this person has shown—basically, they really slayed.

Section 1 of 4:

"Slay the House Down Boots” Meaning

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“Slay the house down boots” means that something was done flawlessly. Originally used in drag ball culture to describe impeccable performances or looks, “slay the house down boots” is a purposefully over-the-top, humorous, and exuberant way of telling another person that they’re doing great at something (or looking great!).
- Slay means to present yourself confidently—whether walking, performing, or simply looking very good. If someone shows up to a party in a killer outfit, you could yell “Slay!” or tell them “That outfit is a slay.”
- Boots is like the word “very.” For example, you could say “Girl, that outfit is fierce boots” instead of “Girl, that outfit is very fierce.”
- House down also intensifies the meaning of something. It’s believed to come from the theater phrase “bring the house down,” which means that an audience is cheering so loudly that the roof might cave in.^{[1]
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Section 2 of 4:

Using “Slay the House Down Boots” & Related Phrases

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Compliment someone who looks or did something amazing. This phrase is great to use when you see a friend do something especially well, or when they’re looking especially amazing! Traditionally, “slay the house down boots” is used to compliment a performance or a performer’s appearance. As it’s gained mainstream popularity, it has come to be used to compliment anything a person does well.
- “Her lip-syncing slays the house down boots! It’s that good.”
- “Girl, you slay the house down boots in that dress.”
- “That wig slays the house down boots. You can’t even see the lace up close.”
- “Have you heard her new song? It slays the house down boots.”
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Say “boots the house down” to agree that someone slayed. “Boots the house down” by itself is like a modifier (or an over-the-top way to say “very”). So, when someone says “She slayed!” or “That was incredible!” you can reply with “Boots the house down!” or even just “Boots!’ For example:
- Them: “Did you see her performance? She slayed!”
  You: “The house down boots!”
- Them: “Her outfit is a total slay.”
  You: “The house down for sure.”
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Use “Kitty, Kitty Purr Boots Down” to show off your confidence online. This phrase means that you are feeling confident, beautiful, and powerful. It was popularized by Blue Kim, a contestant on Big Brother, known for using creative slang. She recommends using the phrase “whenever you do anything slay,” like when you’re walking down the street wearing the cutest, hottest, new outfit or you just became class valedictorian.^{[2]
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- For example, you could pair a stunning selfie on Instagram or Snapchat with the caption “kitty kitty purr boots down.”
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Add “Houston, I’m deceased” to further emphasize your amazement. This term is a play on what astronauts say (“Houston, we have a problem.”) when communicating with NASA mission control in Houston, Texas. The idea is that something is so good it has to be communicated to the authorities. “I’m deceased” is a humorous way of giving praise—the speaker is saying the performance or a person’s appearance was so overwhelming they have died. You might say this to a drag artist who owns the stage during their show or a performer whose hair, makeup, and costume are so good that they’ve reached a new level of artistic expression.
- “You were so good up there! Slay the house down boots, Houston, I’m deceased!’
- “Houston! I’m deceased because you slayed the house down BOOTS!”

Section 3 of 4:

Where does “Slay the house down boots” comes from?

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“Slay the house down boots” comes from ballroom drag culture and AAVE. Since the 1920s, ballroom culture has been a safe space for LGBTQIA+ people—especially Black and Latinx individuals—to find community and celebrate their identity. Part of that expression was developing creative and witty terminology that hadn’t been widely used outside the community until recently.^{[3]
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- Phrases like “Slay the house down boots” were used to compliment and fire up contestants competing in fashion and dancing categories. However, this phrase is part of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and associated with the LGBTQIA+ community, so many feel that use by a wider audience is cultural appropriation.
- Drag slang has been popularized by the shows RuPaul’s Drag Race, Pose, Legendary, and more.
- Paris Is Burning, an award-winning documentary about the New York City ballroom scene, also introduced ballroom culture and slang to a wider audience when it was released in 1991 and then when the Criterion Collection version was released in 2020.
- Many modern “gay icons” also use ballroom slang occasionally. For example, English pop star Charli XCX posted a tweet saying “um yes queen, skinny legend Versace boots the house down, slay queen hunty mama and opp daddy, work charli xcx snatch my wig,” on April 20, 2021
- The wider use of slang from ballroom culture is controversial. Many feel the original terms coined primarily by people of color are being co-opted and diluted, losing their cultural significance.

Section 4 of 4:

Other Drag & Ballroom Slang

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Drag and ballroom culture has a whole language of creative slang terms. Many of these terms have seeped into mainstream culture due to the popularity of RuPaul’s Drag Race and contestants like Bob the Drag Queen.^{[4]
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Research source} Here are a few examples of other slang terms that came from ballroom culture:
- No Tea, No Shade: “Tea” is usually defined as the truth or gossip, while shade means delivering a subtle insult. So, “no tea, no shade” means you’re about to tell the truth without gossiping or purposefully insulting anyone. For example, “No tea, no shade, that color is not good with your complexion.”^{[5]
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- Clock: Clocking generally means noticing something or identifying something a person wants to hide. For example, if a person’s lace on their wig is showing, another person might say, “Oh, miss thing, your hairline is clocked.”^{[6]
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- Serving Face: This term means that you’re presenting your face confidently as if you’re being photographed. For example, “Look at her, serving face like she’s on the cover of Vogue.^{[7]
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- Feeling the Fantasy: You’re feeling the fantasy when you really get into your drag character’s persona. For example, “Check you out! You’re feeling the fantasy tonight, aren’t you.”^{[8]
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- She Owns Everything: “She owns everything” means someone looks so rich and fierce that they “own” the walkway, the room, the building, and possibly the entire world. For example, “In those rhinestone platforms, she owns everything.”