Not really a “trope” since singers used to, and probably some still use it. The sprays usually contain menthol, eucalyptus, and glycerin, to moisturize and soothe their throats.

Afaik, atomizers with breath spray used to be pretty common. I used to take care of old folks, some of whom went through the great depression as adults. A lot of them had those.

Disposable ones have been a thing since at least the 50s, if my memory isn’t failing. Binaca used to have commercials back before cable was ubiquitous, and a lot of people carried some to freshen up breath.

So, somewhere along the way, the specific trope of a guy spraying once or twice before hitting on a woman crept into social awareness. I never dug too deep looking into it, but it allegedly apparently was a thing.

The culture of lots of coffee at work followed by a drink or three after at a bar wasn’t exactly great for oral hygiene overall, and definitely makes breath funky.

The singer part of the trope, where you see them spritz before hitting the stage is supposedly a different thing. That was from stage actors, but that’s as far as I’ve ever looked, that it was a thing. No idea what they used, what the reasoning was. Never piqued my curiosity enough to look deeper.

Maybe the real fakes and gays were the friends we made along the way.

Well, of course! And isn’t that the way it should be?

For me, it was the cheek lol. I think I was 5 or 6, but yeah, I think that’s something a loooooot of kids do