Re: OT: Junk/Dim S(ui)m
From: | John Cowan <jcowan@...> |
Date: | Monday, September 15, 2003, 17:18 |
Mark J. Reed scripsit:
> It's another example of the English using "Chinese" to indicate
> variance from a word's normal meaning. At least in this case it's not
> directly pejorative, unlike, say, "Chinese fire drill", etc.
Fair enough. But though "Dutch" is often used in the same way (D. anchor,
D. courage, double D., D. treat, etc. etc.), a Dutch auction (the asking
price is lowered steadily until someone bids) actually does seem to have
been in use there. The gambling aspect of what Kou described does make
it seem at least a tad Chinese....
--
My corporate data's a mess! John Cowan
It's all semi-structured, no less. http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
But I'll be carefree jcowan@reutershealth.com
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