About

Clock It, or Clock That Tea, are slang terms used to validate someone who is calling out or "spilling tea" on a given subject. The term is heavily associated with the LGBTQ+ and drag communities. Related to the terms is the so-called Finger Thumb Tap hand gesture, which is done by tapping the tips of your thumb and finger together repeatedly, as if clapping. The gesture, which became associated with the slang term in the 2020s, purportedly has its roots in Black LGBTQ+ ballroom culture and is an alternative to giving applause by clapping or snapping. The slang term was first popularized on TikTok by user @queenopplive, and the gesture became notably popularized online in 2025, with a freestyle rap by Ace Greene from Love Island referencing it and going viral as part of a TikTok trend that year.

Origin

The exact origins of the terms "clock that tea" and "clock it" are unconfirmed. Purportedly, according to sites like WikiHow,^[1] 21Ninety^[2] and numerous Reddit^[3] threads, the term likely arose in the 1980s and 1990s from New York City’s ballroom culture, comprised largely of members of the LGBTQ+ community and the Black community. The terms are used to validate and hype someone up for calling something out or "spilling the tea" on someone or something.

The term "clock it" and "clock" in general started to become popularized online and in modern culture in July 2023. For example, on July 14th, 2023, drag queen and contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race, Monica Beverly Hillz, released a song called "Not A Soul Can Clock."^[4][5]

On July 28th, 2023, TikToker^[6] @queenopplive posted a video where Queen Opp repeatedly says "clock it" as someone confronts her off-camera as Dani, the girlfriend Chelle, the woman seen in the foreground staring with a black eye, in relation to an incident where Queen Opp allegedly beat the girls up,^[7] garnering over 960,000 views in two years.

Spread

The audio for @queenopplive's video became notably popular as an original sound on TikTok throughout 2023 and 2024, helping spread "clock it." For example, on October 13th, 2023, TikToker^[8] @perfsocialite posted a meme using a cropping of the video, garnering over 1.6 million views in two years.

On January 12th, 2024, TikToker^[9] @macy.millss posted a lip dub video using the audio, captioned, "when he's talking about the crazy shit I do, but atleast I don't cheat," garnering over 2.5 million views in a year.

It is unclear when exactly the "finger thumb tap" gesture became associated with the term "clock it," however, it appears to have been popularized in 2024 through 2025.^[10][11] Purportedly, the gesture also originates from NYC ballroom culture as an alternative to applause.

Ace Greene's Freestyle / "She Did the Finger Thumb Tap and Said 'Clock It'"

On April 18th, 2025, Ace Greene, a contestant on that year's season of Love Island U.S., released a freestyle rap where he uses the term "clock it" and links it to the finger thumb tap gesture, garnering over 4.1 million likes in four months on TikTok.^[12]

The original sound became notably popular over the following months, inspiring lip dub videos where participants do the finger-thumb tap while lip syncing to the song. For example, on July 25th, TikToker^[13] @camilla posted a video doing the trend, garnering over 5.5 million views in three weeks.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References