Slang dictionary
Spotify and side hug
[spot-uh-fahy n sahyd huhg]
What does Spotify and side hug mean?
If Netflix and chill is too intimate, you might opt for Spotify and side hug instead.
Spotify and side hug is a humorous riff on Netflix and chill, meant as a way to turn down someone you aren’t romantically interested in.
Where does Spotify and side hug come from?
The expression Spotify and side hug appears to be the brainchild of an Urban Dictionary submitter named Mo sucks ass. Classy.
On July 8, 2016, this user submitted Spotify and side hug as “a sad step below ‘Netflix and Chill.'”
Netflix and chill is a slang phrase for watching the video-streaming service Netflix with a love interest, usually with expectation of sexual activity. Spotify and side hug is a humorous and alliterative riff on this expression. It presents listening to the music-streaming service Spotify as a step down from Netflix and swaps out the awkward contact of a side hug for any sexual activity. So, as Mo sucks ass implies, telling someone to Spotify and side hug is to snub them—to tell them you are not interested in them.
Vice
Spotify and side hug appeared to remain largely (if not entirely) unknown for years after the definition was submitted on Urban Dictionary in 2016. Then, on March 29, 2019, Urban Dictionary featured Spotify and side hug as its Word of the Day on the front page of its website. This increased the amount of interest and use of this otherwise one-off expression.
Examples of Spotify and side hug
Who uses Spotify and side hug?
Most uses of Spotify and side hug (so far, at least) note its novelty.
I didn’t know “Spotify and side hug” was an actual thing until I heard it in the grocery store today. 😂😂
— Flex Luther (@i_am_B_Chill) April 5, 2019
What uses there are typically comment on Spotify and chill in the context of its inspiration, Netflix and chill, in some joking way.
2015: Netflix and Chill
2019: Spotify and Side Hug
Me: None of the Above— Pitty (@PittyThePittyYT) April 2, 2019
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of Spotify and side hug like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Spotify and side hug that will help our users expand their word mastery.