receipts

In slang, receipts are proof: screenshots, videos, messages or records that back up a claim. “Show me the receipts” means “prove it.”

What receipts means

Just as a store receipt proves a purchase, slang receipts prove that something happened or that someone said what you claim they said. In online drama, receipts are usually screenshots of texts or old posts. Someone who “has receipts” can back up their side of the story; someone who “pulls receipts” publishes them.

Examples

• “You say he lied? Where are the receipts?”
• “She kept the receipts on everything he promised.”
• “I have receipts, don’t test me.”
• “The whole thread is just receipts, it’s brutal.”

Receipts and online callouts

Receipts play a big role in internet arguments and callouts, where a screenshot can settle a dispute or start a much bigger one. Be careful with them: screenshots can be cropped, faked or taken out of context, and sharing someone’s private messages can cross lines.

Where receipts comes from

Dictionary.com says this sense appears to have originated in Black English, though no one knows who first used it. In a 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, Whitney Houston famously said “I want to see the receipts.” The word got a huge boost in 2016, when video of the Kanye West and Taylor Swift phone call about the song “Famous” was widely described as “receipts.”

Related terms

• Tea: gossip.
• Spill the tea: share the gossip.
• Shade: a subtle insult.
• Cap: a lie.

See more in our Gen Z slang dictionary.