i ran across the phrase "chinese whispers" and was surprised to find that it was another name for the game "telephone." but, before i learned what it meant, i was thinking of possible meanings and i automatically started thinking of negative implications. after all, "chinese cuts" is a sneaky way of letting someone cut behind you while avoiding any personal consequences and "chinese fire drill" is a frenzied, nonsensical run around a parked car. i looked on urbandictionary.com and found a slew of phrases starting with "chinese."
as a kid, i cringed every time i heard the word "chinese" because i assumed it would be associated with negative connotations. we chinese aren't super well-liked globally; more commonly held as extremely shrewd, often ruthless, exclusive, and uncompromising. and so the term "chinese" has become another way to convey nonsense, confusion, backwardness, stinginess or trickiness.
as an adult, though i don't always agree with all things "chinese," i've really grown to love and enjoy my chinese heritage and can see the ways god's made us special. so face it, we're loud; we're proud. and this one billion ain't going away any time soon.
and since i'm chinese, i want in on this ginormous cache of comedy. shouldn't i have the first right? so here are my candidates to add to urban dictionary, especially since i've been living in asia:
china flesh (n.) yet another shade of white you can paint your bedroom
chinese compliment (n.) - simultaneously insulting someone while complimenting them. as in, "you're pretty in this picture. not like in real life." can also be referred to as a "thai compliment."
chinese vitamins (n.) melamine (is that too harsh?)
chinese vacation (n.) a 5 min break to go to the bathroom.
confuchsia (n.) a filially pious pink
a chinese "light eater" or "wasteful spender" (n.) someone who only makes 10 trips to get food at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
chinese whisper (n.) talking on your cell at full volume.
chinese opera (n.) someone screeching through a song without rhythm...oh wait, that's real. 
photo by exfordy
photo by exfordy
2 comments:
I'm pretty sure that there must be humorous or derogatory terms starting with "American" or "white" used elsewhere in the world as a veiled swipe at perceived Western values that someone else doesn't agree with or understand. Every culture has its downfalls... and its virtues that are misunderstood by outsiders (or humorously poked fun at by insiders).
At the very least, I can think of the "California Rolling Stop"!
There's also the "Chinese wall" used in law firms to keep certain people out of certain files. Because just a regular non-ethnic wall wouldn't do. When it comes to walls, you gotta go Chinese.
Post a Comment