read someone's beads

present singular third person reads someone's beads · participle present reading someone's beads

1. datedslangtransitiveLGBTTo read someone; to call attention to the flaws of (someone) in either a playful, a taunting, or an insulting way.

   In Dykes we are black, we are Asian, we are mothers, nuns, and ruggers. And honey, we all get our beads read: the girlfriend who is always late; the roommate that you, perish the thought, hate; the lover who can't dance; and the girls looking, or should I say hunting, for romance.

   1986 February 15, Veneita Porter, “Dykes To Watch Out For [review]”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 39

   1 more example

   1976-1977, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure He began to read our beads saying he's observed us often & he sees J as "a villain," not very flexible or open & a cynical person. But he sees me as a man with a sense of humor, much more open to different things, that J can't adjust to change.