The Face Card Never Declines meme is about being so beautiful, you pay your way through life with your looks. Your face is like a credit card, and it is never declined.
The term is especially popular on TikTok and other social media and it is used as a phrase in several popular songs, including the lyrics of Beyoncé’s “Heated” in which she sings, “Face card never declines, my God!” and Troye Sivan’s “One of Your Girls” where he says, “Face card, no cash, no credit.”
What does Face Card mean?
The term doesn’t seem to have one particular origin, but it could be an amalgam of things, likely born of Black LGBTQ+ ballroom culture as well as a popular phrase in rap music.
To start, the concept of a “Face Card” existed as a phrase before its modern usage—it literally describes kings, queens, and jacks in a deck of playing cards. The face cards, if you will.
But as Urban Dictionary explains, it began to be used in several different ways. First, it could mean your reputation, as in, people trusting you because of your good face card. This is not necessarily about looks, but hey, being hot doesn’t hurt.
It then could be used to refer to money, since printed American money has a face on it. The late rapper Big L says in his track Ebonics “(Criminal Slang),” the phrase “a face card is a hundred dolla bill, a long very hard stare is a grill.”
And in ballroom culture, the phrase “serving face” means looking fierce, beautiful, and perfect. Referring to the face has evolved to mean a lot of things, but obviously, the face is money and power. Combined with credit? Nothing’s stopping you.
And on that note, sometimes people say someone has a “lethal face card,” which means it’s so good it’s deadly.
What does “Face Card Never Declines” mean?
To have a face card that never declines means you’re so good-looking you could never be otherwise. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in your life, how sloppy your looks are, or if you are actually dead broke. Your face is too good to steer you wrong, preventing roadblocks and calamities.
How “Face Card Never Declines” is used in memes and TikTok trends
People will say that someone’s face card never declines very sincerely, especially within stan culture by fans of particular celebrities they think are beautiful. Like in the responses to this prompt tweet, there are tons of pictures of people like Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey, and other pop stars.
On TikTok, it’s also often used in a real way with people talking about themselves or other people, often showing off makeup looks or giving tutorials about skincare.
@__bexbeauty__ Her face card never decine ❌😜 #makeup ♬ original sound – tyler
@yahneofficial Face Card Never Declines Vlog 💅🏾💅🏾💅🏾 What should I buy next ? Comment below #facecard #facecardneverdeclines #bathandbodyworks @Bath & Body Works #rich ♬ original sound – Yahneofficial
And it is of course used in a joking fashion, for example when someone wants to make a purchase and gets their face scanned instead.
@mcmworldwide Let’s use this facecard today✨ @karaBELLA♒️ #mcm #mcmworldwide ♬ 2000 – vowl. & Sace
@yahneofficial When your man broke but your Face Card Never Declines 💅🏾💅🏾💅🏾 @KingBach I don’t know why you chose CVS out of all places to go 🤣 #lol #facecard #facecardneverdeclines #fcnd ♬ Rich Yahneofficial stanley – Yahneofficial Fan Page
More TikTok trends and slang
- What is an Emerald Birthday? A Golden Birthday? A Crown Birthday? What?
- The ‘Suspect Challenge’ provides hilarious police descriptions and absolute relationship chaos
- TikTokers look inward with the ‘I’m Locked In With Myself’ trend
- The internet thinks ‘Zimzimzalabim’ memes and rituals are proof that K-Pop group Red Velvet are, in fact, witches
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