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Friday, June 11, 2021

What "She Snatched My Edges" And "Her Edges Are Snatches" REALLY Mean

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post quotes various online entries that provide vernacular definitions for  the term "edges" and the term "snatched" (as in the sentences "She snatched my edges" and "Her edges are snatched".)

The content of this post is presented for linguistic and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/06/videos-and-article-excerpts-about-doing.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Videos And Article Excerpts About "Doing Your Baby Hairs" ("Laying Your Edges")."

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/06/examples-of-comments-from-youtube.html for another closely related 2019 pancocojams post entitled "Comments About Wigs Being Snatched (From The YouTube Discussion Thread Of Todrick Hall's Video "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels")."

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VERNACULAR MEANING OF THE WORD "EDGES"
From 
https://medium.com/@uhaihair/baby-hairs-the-history-of-edges-edge-control-9e5b2d2ee006
"Baby Hairs: The History of Edges & Edge Control"; August 11, 2020 [no author cited]

"If you pay any attention to trends and fashion, you can see black influences everywhere — including hair styles. Laying down edges is a unique staple in black hair style and culture...

... baby hairs are the short hairs growing at the edges of a woman’s hairline (particularly women of color). Laying down edges is the act of styling these baby hairs and gelling them down.

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VERNACULAR MEANINGS OF THE WORD "SNATCHED"

The American slang word "snatched" is used as a verb or as an adjective.
Verb Example:  She snatched my edges.

Adjective Example. Her edges are snatched.

My guess is that the verb form of "snatched" came before the adjective form. I also think that the phrases "snatched my weave" and "snatched my wig" were used before the phrase "snatched my edges".

It seems to me that the verb form "snatched my edges" or snatched my wigs or snatched my weaves" and the adjective form "snatched" aren't used as much now (2021) in African American Vernacular English. This may be a result of the fact that those terms began to be used by mainstream (i.e. "White") American culture in 2018 and 2019. (African Americans often move on to new venacular terms when White Americans start using vernacular terms that we [African Americans] adapted or created.) 

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ONLINE QUOTES ABOUT THE VERB FORM OF "SNATCHED MY EDGES"
These quotes are given in no particular order. Numbers are given for referencing purposes only.

Source #1:
From 
https://www.shondaland.com/live/beauty/a20079041/snatched-edges-natural-hair-hollywood/ 
"Snatched Edges

I learned the hard way that Hollywood still needs to learn how to style natural hair." By Danielle Pinnock, May 2, 2018
..."Edges, a term born in the black community*, are the baby-hairs that grow on the perimeter of one’s forehead. Slayed edges are like a soft-kiss from God, and styling them is truly an art form. Like any craft, it requires the right tools and training. Traditionally, an old toothbrush, boar-bristle brush, or small comb can be used in the shaping process. When I was child, my mother would style my edges with Jam (not the one you put on sandwiches) while we listened to Luther Vandross on our record player.

[…]

In the black community*, we have a lot of phrases that have double meanings. When edges are snatched, it doesn’t mean someone literally stole them from your forehead. "Snatched edges" is used as a metaphor for true excellence and a job well done. With the rise of Black Twitter memes and "RuPaul’s Drag Race," the term has resurfaced in all its glory; e.g., Beychella snatched my edges; my Aunt Winsome’s mac and cheese snatched my edges; the crossover episodes of "Scandal" and "How to Get Away With Murder" SNATCHED my EDGES.
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*"black community" in this article refers to the Black Americans (African Americans)

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Source #2
From 
https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/3462616
1. "milymilanga23,  Jun 2017

Question about English (UK)

What does snatching edges mean?"

**
Reply
2. 
Deleted user, 23 Jun 2017
"As in: 'She snatched my edges with that performance'??

 It's like when something amazing happens or you're really surprised (positively) . I don't really know how to explain it but I hear drag queens say it a lot lol"

Edges is also used by black people* to talk about their hair (I've only heard females use this though so Idk about men ) and I think this is where the phrase originated from ^^
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*“black people” in this quote refers to Black Americans (African Americans).

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Source #3
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ04gPb4LlY
Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels by Todrick Hall, Todrickhall, May 23, 2019 [Comments]
1. themadusacascadeguy, 2019

"Breaking news:

Reports of wigs and edges launching into the atmosphere all around the world has suddenly escalated at an alarming rate. We'll keep you updayed"

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3. Jazmine, 2019
"Hunty I just grew my edges back why did you snatch them back off Todrick? Lmbooo"

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Source #4
From 
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/12-times-beyonce-snatched-my-edges-and-wig 
12 Times Beyoncé SNATCHED My Edges And Wig, Alexis Gardner, Feb 06, 2017
..."Ok, let’s do this. You read the headline, so you already know what this is about. 12 Times Beyoncé SNATCHED my edges and wig. And yes, SNATCHED has to capitalized because she didn’t just snatch it, she SNATCHED it. There’s a difference. Do I even wear a wig? No. But did that prevent her SNATCHING it? No. So let’s look at this very small list because we all know Beyoncé stays SNATCHING edges and wigs all day. These are also in no particular order because it would take me 21,345,960,386 years to think of what order to put these in. Here we go."...

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Source #5
From 
https://www.news24.com/parent/Family/Parenting/78-ways-to-speak-your-gen-z-childs-language-20190118 This IS it, chief: 79 Gen Z slang phrases you need to know
Jesse Jade Turner, 18 Jan 2019
…."Snatched edges

The term "my edges are snatched" is used to acknowledge excellence or admiration; when someone is looking so good or does something so excellent it "snatches your edges", meaning you figuratively lose your hair, or your wig goes flying.

For example, when you see a really good picture of someone, you say "my edges are snatched."...

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Source #6
From https://www.quora.com/What-does-snatch-my-wig-mean-I-know-that-its-an-Instagram-slang-but-what-does-it-mean-exactly What does Snatch My Wig Mean

"Jani, former Art Director (2018-2019)

Answered August 5, 2018

it means something shocks you, blows you away or amazes you. all in a good way!" 

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Source #7
From 
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wig
" "Wig" is a slang term which is shorthand for doing something so incredibly it causes another's wig to fly off. The phrase originated in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and became associated with Stan culture as fans of artists and celebrities would respond "wig" to actions of their idols. The term reached mainstream culture after Katy Perry used the term on American Idol in 2018.”…

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Source #8
From https://twitter.com/gagasalerts/status/1239569545616121859?lang=en

"Lady Gaga Alerts 🌟

@GagasAlerts

Mar 16, 2020

OH MY GOD. WIG SNATCHED, FLEW TO MARS AND DISAPPEARED. COROMAVIRUS, DEPRESSION AND ACNE CURED. LADY GAGA HAS FED US ONCE AGAIN WITH THE SERVE OF THE CENTURY. WELCOME TO #Chromatica 😭"
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“Coromavirus” = Coronavirus

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ONLINE QUOTES ABOUT THE ADJECTIVE FORM OF "SNATCHED"

Source #1
From 
https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/snatched/
"snatched

[snacht]

 WHAT DOES SNATCHED MEAN?

Is your wig still on, queen? In drag slang, snatched is "fierce" or "on point," i.e., excellent, especially when it comes to personal appearance.

 WHERE DOES SNATCHED COME FROM?

 We can thank New York City drag culture in the 1990s for slang like hunty, slay, yaas, and snatched. Snatched specifically comes from black drag culture, where performers wear artificial hair called weaves. If something is absolutely amazing (snatched), it might just snatch your weave off, à la knock one’s socks off.

After slang like on fleek, a word with a similar nod towards perfection, fell out of favor, as slang terms do, snatched picked up steam, especially in 2016. This may have been boosted by the growing prominence of drag culture in the mainstream, thanks in part to reality TV shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race.

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Source #2
From https://www.popsugar.com/tech/photo-gallery/37912438/image/37912458/Snatched "11 Slang Terms to Memorize If You Want to Stay Cool" by Jessica Chassin, First Published: July 16, 2015, updated June 8, 2018

"Snatched

Snatched is the new fleek. It's used to describe anything that looks really good or on point. Anything from your eyebrows to your outfit can be snatched. If your eyebrows are slaying, they're snatched. If your outfit is slaying, it's snatched."

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Source #3
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=snatched
1. "snatched [top definition]

Used to take the place of 'on fleek', 'perfect', 'on point' or 'fashionable'.

Girl your outfit is snatched. Your make-up snatched huny. They just hatin cause im always snatched.

by plumcoco January 31, 2016"

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2. "snatched

a popular term in the gay community referring to good looks, fierceness, or something good.

"that wig is snatched hunny! is it real or synthetic?"

by flipandtwist2x September 11, 2011"

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