sneaky link

A sneaky link is someone you’re secretly seeing or hooking up with, and the whole point is that nobody else knows. It can also mean the secret meetup itself, as in “going on a sneaky link.”

What it means

A sneaky link is usually casual and physical rather than romantic. Sometimes it’s an affair. More often it’s just someone you don’t want your friends, your ex or your group chat to find out about. The secrecy is part of the appeal, which is why TikTok jokes about “sneaky link hours” running from around midnight to 4 a.m.

It’s suggestive rather than explicit, so you’ll hear it in jokes and on social media. It’s still not a phrase for a work email.

Examples

• “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my sneaky link.”
• “Why is your sneaky link watching all my stories?”
• “She left the party early. Sneaky link, 100%.”

Where it came from

The phrase was floating around social media before it hit TikTok; Urban Dictionary has a user-written entry from 2018. It went big on TikTok thanks to HXLLYWOOD’s 2020 song “Sneaky Link,” which became a popular sound, and a 2021 remix with Soulja Boy and Kayla Nicole called “Sneaky Link 2.0.” Bustle has reported that the #sneakylink hashtag has passed 3 billion views.

Sneaky link vs. situationship

A situationship is a relationship with feelings but no label. A sneaky link is defined by secrecy. You might hang out with a situationship in public. A sneaky link stays off the record.

Related terms

• situationship: a relationship with no label
• soft launch: hinting at a relationship online
• pocketing: hiding a partner from your friends and family
• talking stage: the early, undefined phase of dating

See more terms like this in our dating slang dictionary.