Meaning
To suck the teeth — that sharp sound made by drawing air through the teeth to show contempt, annoyance, or dismissal. Also called the 'kiss-teeth' or 'suck-teeth', it is one of the most expressive sounds in Jamaican communication, and 'chups' names both the sound and the act.
Examples
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She chups an walk weh.
She sucked her teeth and walked away.
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Him gi a long chups when him hear di news.
He gave a long suck-teeth when he heard the news.
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Nuh chups pon mi.
Don't suck your teeth at me.
Doing so is rude and dismissive.
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'Steups,' she seh, an turn har back.
'Tchuups,' she said, and turned her back.
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Him just steups an walk weh.
He just sucked his teeth and walked away.
Origin
An imitation of the sound itself; the tooth-sucking gesture is a widespread West African and Caribbean form of non-verbal expression.
How it’s used
The length and force of the 'chups' carry meaning — a short one is mild, a long drawn-out one shows deep contempt. Doing it at an elder is very disrespectful. The gesture is also called 'kiss teeth' or 'suck teeth', and the sound is written 'steups', 'tchups' or 'stchuups'.