noun Street Slang

tea pad

TEE-PAD · noun · slang

1930s-40s speakeasy for smoking cannabis.

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Definitions

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An after-hours parlor, especially in Harlem in the 1930s-40s, where people gathered to smoke cannabis and hear jazz.

“Musicians unwound at a Harlem tea pad after the last set.”
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tea pad In A Sentence

Musicians unwound at a Harlem tea pad after the last set.

Origin & Usage

From jazz-era 'tea' (cannabis) plus 'pad' (a place/apartment).

Variants teapad

People Also Ask

What was a tea pad?

A 1930s-40s after-hours parlor, famously in Harlem, where people gathered to smoke cannabis and listen to jazz.

Why was it called a tea pad?

In jazz-era slang 'tea' meant cannabis and 'pad' meant a place or apartment, so a tea pad was literally a weed-smoking spot.

Do people still use the term tea pad?

It's largely a historical term now, tied to the jazz age rather than modern cannabis culture.

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