Awkward meaning behind Aussie woman's tattoo: 'I've made a mistake'

Lewin got the now "awkward" tattoo to "symbolise women in business ... and triangles are my lucky symbol". Photo / @b_brittanylewin

When it comes to getting inked it's not uncommon to later regret your design of choice – just ask anyone who decided to get a tattoo during a boozy night out.

But one Sunshine Coast woman has recalled the hilarious moment she discovered her beloved tattoo had an accidentally rude meaning.

Brittany Jade Lewin has revealed the moment she realised her pineapple tattoo was an international swingers symbol in a TikTok video originally posted last August that's since resurfaced and gone viral.

In the video she shared a text exchange with another person who said they had "only just found out what an upside-down pineapple means".

Lewin said she googled it too, only to be mortified when she discovered its meaning.

"When you realise you've made a mistake," she said.

"I post stories daily with my arm like this," Lewin added, revealing she often propped her head on her arm when filming, meaning the pineapple appeared upside-down.

Lewin got the now "awkward" tattoo to "symbolise women in business … and triangles are my lucky symbol", she revealed in a Instagram comment.

Several followers said they had assumed Brittany had been aware of the X-rated meaning behind her tattoo.

"I've thought this every video I've seen of you. I just thought each to their own," one person wrote.

"Every time I see it I was thinking to myself, 'does she know?'" another commented.

"Nothing wrong with that, it's a sign go have a good time," one commenter joked.

Lewin later shared a video of her booking in for a consultation to get her tattoo removed, despite people saying she should keep it as a "conversation starter".

"Keep it! People will be extra friendly," another suggested. "Also everyone in the lifestyle are generally super respectful and will get a laugh out of your story."

Lewin isn't the only one to discover the pineapple's hidden meaning, with one US couple revealing last year how their outfit on a cruise may have given the wrong idea.

TikTok user @linjeanw shared photos of her and her husband on holiday, revealing they thought it had been "cute" to wear matching swimsuits.

"Wearing matching pineapple swimsuits with my husband on vacation because I thought it was cute," she captioned the video, which showed the couple wearing fruit-emblazoned swimsuits during their holiday.

Lewin said she would now be getting the tattoo removed. Photo / @b_brittanylewin

But they hadn't known that pineapples – in particular upside-down pineapples, which @linejeanw's bikini had featured – was the international symbol for couples who swing.

"People were a little extra nice," she added.

Pineapples have long symbolised hospitality and, according to Urban Dictionary, are used by swingers to show when a party is happening.

"A pineapple is placed on a porch or mailbox by swingers to signify that a swing party is going on," Urban Dictionary's entry reads.

Urban Dictionary also claims upside-down pineapples on clothing are also used to signal when someone is looking for a swingers party.

This claim appears to be backed up by blogs and anecdotal evidence on Reddit, with it reportedly used often on cruises to signal when a couple is down for wife-swapping fun.