What is a “frat flick”? Viral TikTok dance move explained

A new dance move as gone viral on TikTok as guys in fraternities are put in the spotlight for their “frat flick” dance moves.

TikTok is notorious for spawning viral fads, especially when it comes to dances. Whether it’s the ‘get sturdy’ trend, where people dance to popular New York drill songs, or the ‘Gimme More’ dance choreographed by two Britney Spears’ fans — TikTok will surely have a dance fitting for anyone who wants to get their groove on.

It even has a dance for those who don’t want to be the center of attention or learn a complicated choreography.

The dance move has become a staple at frat parties across the country, with some calling it an “epidemic”, but how do you do it?

Frat flick is the new go-to dance at frat parties

Young men are being filmed standing in clusters at parties, flicking their hands in the air to an approximation of tapping along with the beat of whatever music they’re listening to.

The move, named the “frat flick”, is usually accompanied by a lean, a head nod, and a baseball cap turned backward atop an outfit anchored by either a sports team shirt or a polo shirt.

This dance move has been aptly named the “Frat Flick” because it’s seen most commonly among men of college age who attend frat parties. They’re the guys who cluster together in parties, standing on the sidelines and bringing out the Flick to seem like they’re participating in the party.

Some do the overhanded Flick, with the pointer finger facing straight forward and the palm facing down. Some do a sideways, diagonal Flick, that almost looks like, “go over there.” Others bounce their palms up and down in the air in a ’90s-reminiscent move that looks like it’s intended to “raise the roof.”

But they all have one thing in common: The arm should be extended, and the Flick should be performed in a close approximation of the beat of the music at the party.

Since going viral, several people have declared they had no idea what the name of the move was, but that they’d been “guilty” of doing the move at parties and festivals.

However, one person even said: “I was never in a frat but now that I know that’s called a frat flick I’m never doing it again.”

If you want to learn more about what dances are popular on TikTok at the moment, check out our list of the top 20 best TikTok dances.