It means many things some of the definitions are: You killed a someone depending on the amount of people you have put in the dirt you can add teardrops on. a friend, family member, gang member or someone you like has died. It could also mean you spent time in jail. It can also mean you were in a gang when you got the tattoo. It can also mean this person has sorrow and suffering in their lives. However it has become a sort of fad.
Some Famous tear drop wearers:Birdman, Lil Wayne, The Game, Krayzie Bone, Larry Hughes
Some Famous tear drop wearers:Birdman, Lil Wayne, The Game, Krayzie Bone, Larry Hughes
Gangsta 1:*sobs* my mama just died man...
Gangsta 2:Oh Shit Nigga! That sucks man I just shot someone in the head for some money I regret dat shit...
Gangsta 1:Wanna get tear drop tattoos?
Gangsta 2:Aight.
Gangsta 2:Oh Shit Nigga! That sucks man I just shot someone in the head for some money I regret dat shit...
Gangsta 1:Wanna get tear drop tattoos?
Gangsta 2:Aight.
by akhitcha343 March 27, 2008
Get the tear drop tattoo mug.An ink fluid mark of a teardrop located under the eye, usually used to signify a commited murder. The teardrop is also used to display endless sorrow, such as the loss of a close friend, or life sentence in prison.
by J. THOMPSON July 9, 2006
Get the TATOO TEAR mug.Related Words
A tatoo usually placed on the face of someone who either has killed another person, or wants to front and act like they have cause they think it's cool. Wanna-be's aside, the legitimate wearers of this tatoo likely killed someone with a knife or gun because they are pussies and can't fight fair.
"yo dawg, that tear drop tatoo is tight, yo pussy ass musta shanked somebody cause i know yo skinny ass didn't beat him to death.....PUSSY"
by marmarthe2nd May 21, 2008
Get the tear drop tatoo mug.A tattoo of a teardrop, under the eye of a person that has been raped in prison.
The teardrop tattoo is humiliating as the prisoner had the tattoo forced onto them and it may also indicate they're someone else's property, to be sold and traded throughout the penitentiary.
An urban myth exists in some circles that the teardrop means the wearer is a murderer; this myth was likely started by those that have been raped and 'teardropped' in prison. Some will even foolishly get these thinking it will earn them respect because they've seen tough looking lifers and ex-cons wearing them, not realising these guys were once weak/jumped and raped when they first entered prison long ago.
When you think about it... Can you imagine a murderer who wants others to fear them, asking a tattooist, 'Please place a tiny tattoo on my face that makes me look like I'm crying."
Hahahaha it just doesn't happen. Except for a few circumstances, crying is frowned upon in the penitentiary; it's a sign of weakness. A murderer and a rape victim are polar opposites of the prisoner spectrum and realistically, would you cry after murdering someone or after being raped?
More recently, trendy rappers, hipsters, etc. who want people to feel sorry for them, get the tattoo thinking they'll fool others into believing they're grieving and perhaps some of them are, not realising that in prison terms it means they are in fact grieving their anal virginity and 'street' innocence.
The teardrop tattoo is humiliating as the prisoner had the tattoo forced onto them and it may also indicate they're someone else's property, to be sold and traded throughout the penitentiary.
An urban myth exists in some circles that the teardrop means the wearer is a murderer; this myth was likely started by those that have been raped and 'teardropped' in prison. Some will even foolishly get these thinking it will earn them respect because they've seen tough looking lifers and ex-cons wearing them, not realising these guys were once weak/jumped and raped when they first entered prison long ago.
When you think about it... Can you imagine a murderer who wants others to fear them, asking a tattooist, 'Please place a tiny tattoo on my face that makes me look like I'm crying."
Hahahaha it just doesn't happen. Except for a few circumstances, crying is frowned upon in the penitentiary; it's a sign of weakness. A murderer and a rape victim are polar opposites of the prisoner spectrum and realistically, would you cry after murdering someone or after being raped?
More recently, trendy rappers, hipsters, etc. who want people to feel sorry for them, get the tattoo thinking they'll fool others into believing they're grieving and perhaps some of them are, not realising that in prison terms it means they are in fact grieving their anal virginity and 'street' innocence.
by Chad the gooch October 1, 2019
Get the Teardrop tattoo mug.Signifies the person was raped in prison. The tattoo represents the tears they couldn't cry while being inside.
by Jazpur October 6, 2011
Get the Teardrop tattoo mug.Made famous by Johnny Depp's character in the movie Crybaby. It is a tattoo of a teardrop below one's eye on either side. Originally placed in prison to signify that the bearer was owned by a fellow prisoner. In prison terms "there bitch." The tear drop signifies that pain and humiliation one would feel after being "turned out" in prison. The tattoo is placed on the face to further humiliate the victim and mark them in a place where they could not cover the mark.
Confusion about it's meaning has come from the victim's having to explain the tattoo when they get out of prison and have to explain it to family and loved one's. They would often state that they got the tattoo because they killed a man in prison. This statement was not far from the truth since their submissive act of becoming another man's "bitch" could easily be viewed as the death of their manhood.
Problems arose when men on the outside began to get the tattoos and brag that it signified their killing someone or lost a loved one. Unwittingly they had marked themselves as a target for predators if they ever went to prison.
Confusion about it's meaning has come from the victim's having to explain the tattoo when they get out of prison and have to explain it to family and loved one's. They would often state that they got the tattoo because they killed a man in prison. This statement was not far from the truth since their submissive act of becoming another man's "bitch" could easily be viewed as the death of their manhood.
Problems arose when men on the outside began to get the tattoos and brag that it signified their killing someone or lost a loved one. Unwittingly they had marked themselves as a target for predators if they ever went to prison.
"Did you hear, Marcus put a teardrop tattoo on his new bitch. I wonder how long before he starts trading him for cigarettes."
by keifermail June 29, 2009
Get the teardrop tattoo mug.Originally meant someone spent time in youth prisons (juvenile haul) in california, these people would get the tear drop tattoo signifying they have a long lengthy sentence and wouldn’t be able to get out soon which represents the tear drop as they wouldn’t see their families, the tattoo then got popularized by the likes of rappers like lil wayne and the game who then changed the meaning to they have lost loves ones, as the tattoo increased with popularity rumors of the tattoo have then been made that either someone has been raped in prison or they have convicted a murder (which in most cases could be true as someone who is spending a lengthy prison sentence for murder would get this tattoo to represent their time) however the rape rumor is false.
by Cringey, Diillusional, Autisti June 20, 2023
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