Acronym
What does TBH mean?
To be honest: a warning that candour is coming — a blow or a compliment, often already priced in.
Definition
TBH prepares the sentence. The cousin NGL (not gonna lie) asks the same permission with another rhythm; neither proves honesty, both ask leave to be blunt. IMO marks opinion; TBH marks a truth tone.
On Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram, tbh? became a game: a like or an anonymous ask in exchange for a judgement. The stamp that opened a sentence started asking for a verdict.
Origin
English to be honest. The OED points to the interjection TBH in 1991, in a Usenet post (Re: Stop Silliness about Justification for Vegetarianism). 1990s SMS and IRC shortened the phrase. On Urban Dictionary, user Suzuki logged the acronym on 23 June 2003. Wiktionary took it on 23 December 2006.
History
From T9 the stamp moved to the tweet. On 14 November 2011 MakeUseOf already listed Facebook’s “TBH word game”: like the status, get an opinion. On Tumblr and Instagram, tbh? asked for the same in an anonymous comment. On 2 September 2014 The Atlantic described #TBH in Instagram confession videos. Google Trends rises hard around 2011.
How it emerged
Candour sat badly on a numeric keypad. Three letters flag the tone without burning the SMS. The school game (tbh?) used the same stamp to ask for a judgement, not only to open a sentence.
Usage examples
TBH that plan is bad.
The Tumblr-era tbh? was an invitation, not a verdict.
Translations
- pt TBH / na real
- en TBH
- es TBH / para ser honesto
Synonyms
- to be honest
- NGL
- tbh?
Acronyms
- TBH