NATO

From no+action+talk+only, from talking without acting.

turn it off then. don't nato......pressure your government to do that.:)

1998 May 30, Kicker, “First on Everest are not Singaporeans - Sure or not?”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

haiya...i think, hah....our GOV also nowadays becoming NATO! (NATO = No Action Talk Only...!!!)

2003 January 24, ALIEN, “Spying activities at Pedra Branca”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

(slang, chiefly Malaysia and Singapore) Acronym of No Action Talk Only.


alphabet

From Middle English alphabete, borrowed from Late Latin alphabētum, from Ancient Greek ἀλφάβητος (alphábētos), from ἄλφα (álpha) and βῆτα (bêta), the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, Α (A) and Β (B), lowercase forms α and β. The Greek names derived from aleph, the name of the Phoenician letter 𐤀 (ʾ, “ox”) and beth, the name of the letter 𐤁 (b, “house”), so called because they were pictograms of those objects, having developed from the Egyptian hieroglyphs F1 (𓃾) and pr (𓉐).
 Doublet of alfabeto.

We realize the fact that the alphabet A has been used in many world scripts as a vowel with the others AEIOU.

2002, Eugene E. Dike, African myth of creation in African form of writing, Monsenstein und Vannerdat, page 30

There are 26 alphabets in English.

2005, Satinder Bal Gupta, Comprehensive Discrete Mathematics & Structures, Laxmi Publications, page 237

(India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia) An individual letter of an alphabet; an alphabetic character.


on

en-verb

on (third-person singular simple present ons, present participle oning or onning, simple past and past participle oned or onned)

ons (present singular third-person)
oning (participle present)
onning (participle present)
oned (participle past)
oned (past)
onned (participle past)
onned (past)

From Middle English on, from Old English on, an (“on, upon, onto, in, into”), from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-.
Cognate with North Frisian a (“on, in”), Saterland Frisian an (“on, at”), West Frisian oan (“on, at”), Dutch aan (“on, at, to”), Low German an (“on, at”), German an (“to, at, on”), Swedish å (“on, at, in”), Faroese á (“on, onto, in, at”), Icelandic á (“on, in”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana), Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “up, upon”), Albanian në (“in”); and from Old Norse upp á: Danish på, Swedish på, Norwegian på, see upon.

Southern US, Midland US, Philadelphia, Baltimore

Can you on the light?

(Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Nigeria, transitive, colloquial) To switch on.


one

From Middle English oon, on, oan, an, from Old English ān (“one”), from Proto-West Germanic *ain, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz (“one”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos (“single, one”).
Cognate with Scots ae, ane, wan, yin (“one”); North Frisian ån (“one”); Saterland Frisian aan (“one”); West Frisian ien (“one”); Dutch een, één (“one”); German Low German een; German ein, eins (“one”); Danish en (“one”); Swedish en (“one”); Norwegian Nynorsk ein (“one”), Icelandic einn (“one”); Latin ūnus (“one”) (Old Latin oinos); Russian оди́н (odín), Spanish uno. Doublet of a, an, and Uno.
Use as indefinite personal pronoun influenced by unrelated French on.
Verb form from Middle English onen.

inh

see for numerical forms in other scripts

One day the prince set forth to kill the dragon that had brought terror to his father’s kingdom for centuries.


one

Analogous to several senses of Hokkien ê and Mandarin 的 (de, declarative particle, nominalizer, etc.). This semantic loan might have stemmed from the apparent similarity between one as a prop-word and 的/-ê as a nominalizer (e.g. 青色的 (“the green one”)). Compare Cantonese 嘅 (ge³).

sl

relative pronoun
relative pronoun#English

(Singapore, Singlish, rare) Used as a relative pronoun at the end of a relative clause.


know

en-verb

know (third-person singular simple present knows, present participle knowing, simple past knew or (nonstandard) knowed, past participle known or (colloquial and nonstandard) knew)

knows (present singular third-person)
knowing (participle present)
knew (past)
knowed (nonstandard past)
known (participle past)
knew (colloquial nonstandard participle past)
know (infinitive)

From Middle English knowen, from Old English cnāwan (“to know, perceive, recognise”), from Proto-West Germanic *knāan, from Proto-Germanic *knēaną (“to know”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”).
cognates
* from Proto-Germanic: Scots knaw (“to know, recognise”), Icelandic kná (“to know, know how to, be able”), Old High German knājan (“to know, recognise”), Old Norse kná (“to know how”). Remotely related also Dutch and German kennen, West Frisian kenne (see English ken).
* from Indo-European: Latin gnoscō, Latin cognoscō (Spanish conocer, French connaître, Italian conoscere, Portuguese conhecer), Ancient Greek γνωρίζω (gnōrízō, “I know”) and γνῶσις (gnôsis, “knowledge”), Albanian njoh (“I know, recognise”), Russian знать (znatʹ, “to know”), Lithuanian žinoti (“to know”), and Persian شناختن (šenâxtan, “to know”).

...に精通している

...にせいつうしている

better the devil you know (than the devil you don't; than the one you don't

know one's ass from a hole in the ground

know one's head from a hole in the ground

know the difference between one's ass and a hole in the ground

know which side one's bread is buttered on

that's for me to know and you to find out

the devil we know is better than the devil we don't know

the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know

the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing

you don't know what you're talking about

you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows

you never know what you've got till it's gone

Now Gerald had never thought of her having a mother. Then there must have been a father, too, some time. And Miss Wilmarth existed because two people once had loved and known. It was not a thought to dwell upon.

1939, Dorothy Parker, “Horsie,”, in Here lies: The collected stories of Dorothy Parker

Wait a second. Are you… attempting to know me?

2003 May 11, Garland Testa, 19:37 from the start, in Gary McCarver, director, Night and Deity (King of the Hill), season 7, episode 21, spoken by Dale Gribble (Johnny Hardwick), 20th Century Fox

know someone in the biblical sense
know someone in the biblical sense

(transitive) To be acquainted or familiar with; to have encountered.

(transitive, archaic, biblical, euphemistic) To have sexual relations with. This meaning normally specified in modern English as e.g. to ’know someone in the biblical sense’ or to ‘know biblically.’

At nearer view he thought he knew the dead, / And call'd the wretched man to mind.

c. 1645-1688, Thomas Flatman, Translation of Part of Petronius Arbiter's Satyricon

(transitive) To recognize as the same (as someone or something previously encountered) after an absence or change.


know

Knowledge; the state of knowing. (Now confined to the fixed phrase in the know.)


know

Make sure you water the plants, know…

(Singlish) Used at the end of a sentence to draw attention to information the speaker thinks the listener should keep in mind.


fuck

en-verb

fuck (third-person singular simple present fucks, present participle fucking, simple past and past participle fucked)

fucks (present singular third-person)
fucking (participle present)
fucked (participle past)
fucked (past)
fuck (infinitive)

Flen flyys
Slate.com
University of Minnesota Press
fuck

From Middle English *fukken, probably of Germanic origin: either from Old English *fuccian or Old Norse *fukka, both from Proto-Germanic *fukkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- (“to strike, punch, stab”). Compare windfucker and its debated etymology.
Possibly attested in a 772 AD charter that mentions a place called Fuccerham, which may mean "ham (“home”) of the fucker" or "hamm (“pasture”) of the fucker"; a John le Fucker in a record from 1278 may just be a variant of Fulcher, like Fucher, Foker, etc. The earliest unambiguous use of the word in a clearly sexual context, in any stage of English, appears to be in court documents from Cheshire, England, which mention a man called "Roger Fuckebythenavele" (possibly tongue-in-cheek, or directly suggestive of a depraved sexual act) on December 8, 1310. It was first listed in a dictionary in 1598. Scots fuk/fuck is attested slightly earlier, probably reinforcing the Northern Germanic/Scandinavian origin theory. From 1500 onward, the word has been in continual use, superseding jape and sard and largely displacing swive.
A range of folk-etymological backronyms, such as "fornication under consent of the king" and "for unlawful carnal knowledge", are all demonstrably false.
Sense 10, from related sense feck.
See windfucker (regional synonym: fuckwind) for more.

der

The sergeant fucked me upside down.

(Singapore, vulgar, transitive, military slang) To scold.


NS

national service
national service#English

(Singapore) Initialism of national service.


uncle

Bislama: angkel

→ Burmese: အန်ကယ် (ankai)

⇒ Chinese: 安哥 (āngē)

→ Hawaiian: ʻanakala

→ Hindi: अंकल (aṅkal)

→ Irish: uncail

→ Scottish Gaelic: uncail

Tok Pisin: ankol

Torres Strait Creole: ankel

→ Welsh: wncl

From Middle English uncle, borrowed from Anglo-Norman uncle and Old French oncle, from Vulgar Latin *aunclum, from Latin avunculus (“maternal uncle”, literally “little grandfather”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂euh₂-n-tlo- (“little grandfather”), a dialectal diminutive of *h₂éwh₂ō (“grandfather, adult male relative other than one’s father”) (whence also Latin avus (“grandfather”)). Displaced native Middle English em (“uncle”) from Old English ēam (“maternal uncle”), containing the same Proto-Indo-European root, and Old English fædera (“paternal uncle”). Compare Saterland Frisian Unkel (“uncle”), Dutch nonkel (“uncle”), German Low German Unkel (“uncle”), German Onkel (“uncle”), Danish onkel (“uncle”). More at eam and eame.

(Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei, informal) Any middle-aged or elderly man older than the speaker and/or listener.


expressway

(Canada, parts of the US, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Philippines) A road built to freeway standards.


pants

en-noun

pants pl (plural only, attributive pant)

desctree

→ Japanese: パンツ (pantsu)
→ English: pantsu
→ Mandarin: 胖次 (pàngcì)
→ Korean: 빤스 (ppanseu)

Shortened from pantaloons (“trousers”): borrowed from French pantalon, itself derived from Italian Pantalone, one of the principal characters found in commedia dell'arte, who wore tight trousers.

by the seat of one's pants

drive by the seat of one’s pants, fly by the seat of one’s pants

“But they cover the legs,” Joseph explained. “That is the only reason my people wear pants: to cover the legs in the winter, or when traveling through rough country, full of thorns. In warm weather, or in open country, pants are unnecessary, uncomfortable, and foolish.”

1933, Kenneth Roberts, Rabble in Arms, published 1996, page 220

It's in the evening after dark when the blackleg miner creeps to work. With his moleskin pants and his dirty shirt, there goes the blackleg miner.

1970 June 30, traditional (lyrics and music), “The Blackleg Miner” (track 4), in Hark! The Village Wait, performed by Steeleye Span

Then he gave me a last desperate push and I tripped over the shorts caught around my ankles and fell down. I tried to pull my pants up with my boxing gloves but without success.[…]In those days nobody wore underpants and I was bare-arsed and fancy free in front of everyone.

1989, Bryce Courtenay, The Power of One, Penguin, published 2006, page 427

Look for pants with reinforced seats and knees and full-length side zippers that make it possible to put the pants on while you are wearing boots, crampons, skis, or snowshoes.

2010, Ronald C. Eng, editor, Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 8th edition, US: The Mountaineers Books, page 24

I rolled up the legs of the pants, then I went back into the trees.

2005, Octavia E. Butler, Fledgling, page 12

The episode also opens with an inspired bit of business for Homer, who blithely refuses to acquiesce to an elderly neighbor’s utterly reasonable request that he help make the process of selling her house easier by wearing pants when he gallivants about in front of windows, throw out his impressive collection of rotting Jack-O-Lanterns from previous Halloweens and take out his garbage, as it’s attracting wildlife (cue moose and Northern Exposure theme song).

2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club

Taylor was seen nearby and had a three foot machete down his pants.

2014 January 13, “Blackburn man hid machete down his trousers”, in The Lancashire Telegraph

(chiefly Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Philippines, Singapore, Northern England) An outer garment that covers the body from the waist downwards, covering each leg separately, usually as far as the ankles; trousers.

broek

garment covering the body from the waist downwards


tuition

en-noun

tuition (countable and uncountable, plural tuitions)

From Old French [Term?], from Latin tuitiō (“guard, protection, defense”), from tuēri (“to watch, guard, see, observe”). Compare intuition, tutor.

обучение

tuition classes

Tuition in the past was like taking medicine and you sent children for it only if they were doing poorly in a subject.

2021 August 18, Qiu Guanhua, “Forum: Heavy reliance on tuition to boost performance is not healthy”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, archived from the original on 2022-12-28

The training or instruction provided by a teacher or tutor.

(India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia) Paid private classes taken outside of formal education; tutoring. (also used attributively)


got

Analogous to Chinese 有, such as Hokkien 有 (ū), Cantonese 有 (jau⁵), Mandarin 有 (yǒu). Sense 1 is also comparable to Malay ada.

I got cook meals for them. ― I cook meals for them; I would cook meals for them (now and then or regularly).

You got play badminton? ― Do you play badminton?

(Singlish, auxiliary) Marks the habitual aspect in the present or past tense.


power

en-adj

power (comparative more power, superlative most power)

more power (comparative)
most power (superlative)

From Middle English power, poer, from Old French poeir, from Vulgar Latin potēre, from Latin posse, whence English potent. Compare French pouvoir. Displaced the native Old English anweald.

Check out the POWER Mee Rebus & Lontong in this newly established Nasi Padang coffee shop at Market Street Carpark.

Their performance is very the Power!

2005, Bayya, Bayya Eats ... and Other Stuff

His hokkien is damn power lah!

2010, Caihong Lim, Kesheng Lim, Footprints All Over: Love, Happiness,Joy

Eh his soccer skills damn power one.

2015, SGMOJI, Your Ultimate Guide to Locally-Grown Emojis, archived from the original on 2016-03-04


dry

dry (comparative drier or dryer, superlative driest or dryest)

drier (comparative)
dryer (comparative)
driest (superlative)
dryest (superlative)

wet

antonym(s) of “abstinent from or banning alcohol”

wet

antonym(s) of “not using afterburners or water injection”

wet

of a scientist or lab: doing computation

Sranan Tongo: drei

[d̠͡ɹ̠˔ʷaɪ̯]

Adjective and noun from Middle English drye, dryge, drüȝe, from Old English drȳġe (“dry; parched, withered”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgī, *draugī, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz, *draugiz (“dry, hard”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“to strengthen; become hard”), from *dʰer- (“to hold, support”). The verb derives from Middle English drien, from Old English drȳġan (“to dry”), from Proto-West Germanic *drūgijan, from Proto-Germanic *drūgiz (“hard, desiccated, dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerǵʰ- (“strong, hard, solid”).
cognates and related terms
 Cognate with Scots dry, drey (“dry”), North Frisian drüg, driig, Saterland Frisian druuch (“dry”), West Frisian droech (“dry”), Dutch droog (“dry”), Low German dröög (“dry”), German dröge (“dull”), Icelandic draugur (“a dry log”). Related also to German trocken (“dry”), West Frisian drege (“long-lasting”), Danish drøj (“tough”), Swedish dryg (“lasting, hard”), Icelandic drjúgur (“ample, long”), Latin firmus (“strong, firm, stable, durable”). See also drought, drain, dree.

cog

you don't miss the water till the well runs dry

you never miss the water till the well runs dry

you never miss the water until the well runs dry

I would have mee tai mak (short, thick noodles), either in soup or dry, with fishballs, pork balls or yong tau foo at this noodles shop near my house.

2006 July 30, Teo Pau Lin, quoting Wong Hon Mun, The Straits Times, quoted in Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited, page L28

(Singapore, of noodles) Mixed with sauce and not served in a soup.


pig

en-noun

pig (countable and uncountable, plural pigs)

Torres Strait Creole: pig

Tok Pisin: pik

→ Abenaki: piks (from "pigs")

→ Malecite-Passamaquoddy: piks (from "pigs")

Pronunciation example of the word Pig in British English.ogg

From Middle English pigge (“pig, pigling”) (originally a term for a young pig, with adult pigs being swyn), apparently from Old English *picga (attested only in compounds, such as picgbrēad (“mast, pig-fodder”)), from Proto-West Germanic *piggō, *puggō (“piglet”). Compare Middle Dutch pogge, puggen, pigge, pegsken (“pigling”), Middle Low German pugge, pûke (“piglet”). Pokorny suggests this root might be somehow related to *bū-, *bew- (“to blow; swell”), which could account for the alternation between "pig" and "big".
A connection to early modern Dutch bigge (contemporary big (“piglet”)), West Frisian bigge (“pigling”), and similar terms in Middle Low German is sometimes proposed, "but the phonology is difficult". Some sources say the words are "almost certainly not" related, others consider a relation "probable, but not certain".
The slang sense of "police officer" is attested since at least 1785.

cuchi

Northern Central and Northwestern Argentina

cuto (Northern Spain - specifically Aragon, La Rioja and Navarra)

gorrino

Southern Central and Eastern Central Spain

even a blind pig can find an acorn once in a while

The protester shouted, “Don't give in to the pigs!” as he was arrested.

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay

1971, Gil Scott-Heron (lyrics and music), “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”

“...Sounds too easy,” Marvin was saying. “What about the pigs?”
He meant police.

1989, Dan Simmons, Carrion Comfort, page 359

The bank robberies went on and each raid became more bloody, Meinhof encouraging her followers to “kill the pigs” offering the slightest resistance, referring to policemen.

1990, Jay Robert Nash, Encyclopedia of World Crime: Volume 1: A-C, page 198

Backing 300 of the more aggressive protesters was a supporting cast of several thousand more who stared down the small line of police. Those in front resumed their taunts of “Pig, pig, fascist pig,” and “pigs eat shit, pigs eat shit.” The rest of the crowd, however, backed off and sat down on the grass when reinforcements arrived. Police did not retaliate for the name-calling, and within minutes the line of demonstrators broke apart and the incident was over without violence.¹¹³

2008, Frank Kusch, Battleground Chicago: The Police and the 1968 Democratic National Convention, page 63

But me, I joined the party to fight the pigs. That′s why I joined. Because my experience with the police was always negative.

2011, T. J. English, The Savage City: Race, Murder and a Generation on the Edge, unnumbered page

Got a mind for the undies
I'm tryna stay far from the pigs

2017, “All This”, performed by Mayhem (Uptop)

(now chiefly US, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, offensive, slang) A police officer.

警犬 (ging² hyun², literally “police dog”)


stone

en-verb

stone (third-person singular simple present stones, present participle stoning, simple past and past participle stoned)

stones (present singular third-person)
stoning (participle present)
stoned (participle past)
stoned (past)

From Middle English ston, stone, stan, from Old English stān, from Proto-West Germanic *stain, from Proto-Germanic *stainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- (“to stiffen”).
See also Dutch steen, German Stein, Danish and Swedish sten, Norwegian stein; also Russian стена́ (stená, “wall”), Ancient Greek στία (stía, “pebble”), στέαρ (stéar, “tallow”), Albanian shtëng (“hardened or pressed matter”), Sanskrit स्त्यायते (styāyate, “it hardens”)). Doublet of stein.

cog

I was stoning the whole of today.

2003, Roger, Joy, Vera and Amanda Loh, Facts about Singapore: Differences between Ohio and Singapore

Resume writing class lesson 2, stoning.

2011 November 2, Shermaine Ong, (Please provide the book title or journal name)

The Marina Barrage is a reservoir, but everyone goes there because the spacious greenery at the top is the perfect place for stoning, which is Singlish for hanging out and chilling.

2015 April 8, Becky Osawa, Trekking with Becky: Stoning at the Marina Barrage, Singapore

(intransitive, Singapore, slang) To do nothing, to stare blankly into space and not pay attention when relaxing or when bored.


ah

head

ah (personal pronoun, plural we, possessive adjective mah)

mid-1400s Old Frankish (replacing English la).

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling#English

Pronunciation spelling of I, most often indicating that the speaker is using a Scottish or American (particularly Southern) accent.


ah

[äː˨˦ ~ ʌ̈ː˨˦]

From Hokkien 啊 (--a), Teochew 啊 (a⁷), Mandarin 啊 (a).

You're dyslexic ah? ― So you're dyslexic?

Only 2 ft apart considered safe ah?

2020 December 4, Notdumb, “Liddat is safe distance ah?”, in SG Talk, archived from the original on 2020-04-18

Marks a tag question prompting the listener to clarify something.

The drilling upstairs ah, non-stop leh.

A filler word separating the topic of a sentence and its comment.

A filler word used to ascertain the continued attention of the listener.


tank

en-verb

tank (third-person singular simple present tanks, present participle tanking, simple past and past participle tanked)

tanks (present singular third-person)
tanking (participle present)
tanked (participle past)
tanked (past)

(Singapore, informal) To stand; to tolerate.


Christian name

(Singapore) An English given name, particularly for ethnic Chinese who usually have a separate Chinese name.


kana

(Singapore, Singlish) Alternative form of kena


MEP

(education, Singapore) Initialism of Music Elective Programme.


tomato sauce

en-noun

tomato sauce (usually uncountable, plural tomato sauces)

A plastic tomato sauce bottle, which could have been cut in half to make a flower pot, was quickly surveyed along with other trophies, and received the death sentence. “In the bin, Bob.”

1979 June, Peter C. Harper, Robert Alexander Falla K.B.E., C.M.G., M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.N.Z.: An Appreciation, page 356

1980 January-May, Laurence Le Guay, Cruising World, page 98,
I quickly learned that there is a hell of a difference between tomato sauce and ketchup and that there is an even greater difference when it comes to mayonnaise: real American or the pseudo Australian — and I had always believed this to be a French concoction.

The event was a BBQ in the peaceful and picturesque System Garden at the University of Melbourne, Parkville campus. Food was plentifil and included a variety of sausages and veggie burgers, onions, bread and tomato sauce in addition to soft drinks.

2003 March, Microbiology Australia, page 46

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei) Tomato ketchup, used as a condiment.


chop

→ Cantonese: chop (cop1)

→ Macanese: chop

Borrowed from Hindi छाप (chāp, “stamp”). Closely related to the similarly descended Malay word cap, which likely reinforced the English usage within the Malay world.

(colloquial, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei) A stamp or seal; a mark, imprint or impression on a document (or other object or material) made by stamping or sealing a design with ink or wax, respectively, or by other methods.

(colloquial, by extension, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei) The device used for stamping or sealing, which also contains the design to be imprinted.


chop

en-verb

chop (third-person singular simple present chops, present participle chopping, simple past and past participle chopped)

chops (present singular third-person)
chopping (participle present)
chopped (participle past)
chopped (past)

(transitive, colloquial, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei) To stamp or seal (a document); to mark, impress or otherwise place a design or symbol on paper or other material, usually, but not necessarily, to indicate authenticity.


college

⇒ Bengali: কলেজ (kolej)

→ Finnish: college

⇒ Hindustani:

desc

Hindi: कालिज (kālij), कॉलेज (kŏlej), कालेज (kālej)

Urdu: کالِج (kālij)

→ Russian: ко́лледж (kólledž), колле́дж (kollédž)

→ Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic script: ко̀леџ

Latin script: kòledž

→ Slovene: koledž

→ Ukrainian: ко́ле́дж (kólédž)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-?
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
Proto-Italic *kom
Old Latin com
Latin cum
Latin con-
Latin lēx
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin lēgō
Latin collēga
Proto-Italic *-jōs
Old Latin -ios
Latin -ius
Latin -ium
Latin collēgiumbor.
Old French college
Middle French collegebor.
Middle English college
English college
From Middle English college, from Middle French college, from Old French college, from Latin collēgium.

大專

postsecondary institution that does not award bachelor's degrees

مَعْهَد

non-specialized, semi-autonomous division of a university

(Singapore) A government high school, short for junior college.


ar

→ Malay: ar

→ Tagalog: ar

From Middle English *ar, arres pl, from earlier *er.

All the ars in the inscription.

I have drunk en-ee-cee-tee-ay-ar from the ef-ell-oh-doubleyou-ee-ar-ess in his gee-ay-ar-dee-ee-en many a time.

2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170

RV [is spoken] as "ar-vee" instead of "I SPELL Romeo Victor".

2016 CCEB, Communications Instructions Radiotelephone Procedures: ACP125 (G), p. 3-5

The name of the Latin-script letter R/r.


la

(Singlish, Manglish) Alternative form of lah


ERP

Electronic road pricing (ERP)is one of the main tools which is keeping Singapore’s traffic problems within manageable levels.

2004 Feb, ERP in Singapore - what’s been learnt from five years of operation, page 62

Many car parks are now run using the same in-vehicle unit and cashcard and ERP gantries instead of the coupon system.

2010, Simon Richard, Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei, page 569

However, the term ERP is unique to Singapore, and it serves to differentiate the fact that charges are not collected at physical toll stations but are done automatically on the roadways.

2011, Ozge Yalciner Ercoskin, Green and Ecological Technologies for Urban Planning: Creating Smart Cities: Creating Smart Cities, page 178

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has called a tender to develop Singapore's next generation electronic road pricing system. The new system will be based on Global Navigation Satellite System technology.

2014 October 1, The Straits Times (online), LTA calls tender for next generation ERP

Singapore has cleared the way for its next-generation Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system, which will have islandwide coverage and the ability to charge according to distance travelled.

2016 February 25, Christopher Tan, The Straits Times (Singapore), LTA to roll out next-generation ERP from 2020, NCS-MHI to build system for $556m

Electronic Road Pricing
w:Electronic Road Pricing

(Singapore, transport) Initialism of Electronic Road Pricing. an electronic system of road pricing with gantries installed throughout several locations in Singapore, with the purpose of managing traffic problems especially during peak hours.


farmer

desc

→ Kashubian: farmôrz (Canada, United States)

→ Yiddish: פֿאַרמער (farmer)

From Middle English fermour (“a steward, bailliff, collector of taxes”), from Old French fermier (“a farmer, a lessee, husbandman, bailliff”), from Medieval Latin firmarius (“one to whom land is rented, a collector of taxes, deputy”), from firma; equivalent to farm + -er. Compare Old English feormere (“a purveyor of a guild, a supplier of food, a grocer, farmer”). More at farm.

inh

(Singapore, slang) A regular person; someone who did not receive a prestigious scholarship.


yam

From Portuguese inhame and Spanish ñame, likely from Wolof ñàmbi (“cassava”) or a related word. The term was spelled yam as early as 1657.

yellow yam

Dioscorea cayenensis. Dioscorea panthaica


Bangla

(Singapore, Malaysia, British, offensive, ethnic slur) A Bangladeshi.


mug

en-verb

mug (third-person singular simple present mugs, present participle mugging, simple past and past participle mugged)

mugs (present singular third-person)
mugging (participle present)
mugged (participle past)
mugged (past)

Early 16th century (originally Scots and northern English, denoting "earthenware, pot, jug"), of unknown origin, perhaps from North Germanic (compare Swedish mugg (“mug, jug”), Norwegian mugge (“pitcher, open can for warm drinks”), Danish mugge), or Low German mokke, mukke (“mug”), German Low German Muck (“drinking cup”), Dutch mok (“mug”), also of unknown origin. Perhaps related to Old English muga (“stack”) and Old Norse múgr (“mass, heap (of corn)”). Compare also Middle English mug, mog (“a measure of salt”).
"Face" sense possibly from grotesque faces on certain drinking vessels. "Assault" sense of verb possibly from hitting someone in the face.

cog

(UK, Australia, Singapore, slang) To learn or review a subject as much as possible in a short time; cram.


ex

en-adj

ex (comparative more ex, superlative most ex)

more ex (comparative)
most ex (superlative)

It's too ex.


ee

Eee, so commercial some might say.

2000 December 29, Samuel Lee, w:The Straits Times, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited, page L8

(Singapore) Ew, yuck; expression of disgust.


truck

en-noun

truck (countable and uncountable, plural trucks)

Belizean Creole: chrok

→ Bengali: ট্রাক (ṭrak)

→ Bislama: trak

→ Cebuano: trak

→ French: truck

→ Hindi: ट्रक (ṭrak)

→ Indonesian: truk

→ Japanese: トラック (torakku)

→ Korean: 트럭 (teureok)

→ Malay: trak

desctree

→ Spanish: troca
→ Southeastern Tepehuan: trooka

→ Polish: trak

→ Tagalog: trak

→ Taos: tròkiʼína

→ Tok Pisin: trak

→ Urdu: ٹْرَک (ṭrak)

Perhaps a shortening of truckle, related to Latin trochus (“iron hoop, wheel”) from Ancient Greek τροχός (trokhós).

(road transport, Singapore, Malaysia) A lorry with a closed or covered carriage.


pattern

From earlier patten, paterne, from Middle English patron (“patron; example”), from Old French patron, from Medieval Latin patrōnus (“patron”). Doublet of padrone, patron, and Patronus.

skemo

intelligible arrangement which has a mathematical, geometric, statistical etc. relationship

This guy always chut pattern like badminton.

(Singapore, informal) A wont or habit to cause an annoyance or bother; to stir up trouble


already

→ Gulf Arabic: أوردي (orridi)

From Middle English alredy (“fully; already”), equivalent to al- (“all, completely”) + ready. Cognate with West Frisian alreeds (“already”), Dutch alreeds (“already”), Afrikaans alreeds (“already”), Middle Low German alreide, alreids ("already"; whence modern German Low German alreeds (“already”)), Danish allerede (“already”), Swedish allaredan (“already”), Norwegian Nynorsk allereie (“already”). More at all, ready.
The use as an intensifier in American English is a semantic loan from German schon and Yiddish שוין (shoyn).
In Singapore English, the use of already as a marker of action completion and change of state (i.e., perfective and inchoative aspects respectively) is analogous to Hokkien 了 (liáu), Teochew 了 (liao²) and Mandarin 了 (le). Compare Malay sudah and Cantonese 喇 (laa³).

gl

"already"; whence modern German Low German <i class="Latn mention" lang="nds-de">alreeds</i> (“already”)

You frame the picture for me already anot? ― Have you framed the picture yet?

I don’t think he can take it already. ― I don’t think he can take it any more.

Your ice cream is melting already. ― Your ice cream is starting to melt.

Overcook already, need to redo. ― We’ve overcooked it, we need to redo it.

Your grandmother angry already. ― Your grandmother is now angry.

“Yah, I sign already,” my mother replied.

1999, Alfian Sa'at, Corridor, Singapore: SNP Editions, →OCLC, page 136

Cannot wait already, buay tahan already. I hope she doesn’t complain to anyone.

Okay lah, okay lah. Maybe I senile already. Like this house.

2009, Jean Tay, Boom, Epigram Books, Act I, scene ii

(Singapore, Singlish) Indicates action completion or change of state.


IC

en-noun

IC (countable and uncountable, plural ICs)

(Singapore) Initialism of identity card.


atas

en-adj

atas (comparative more atas, superlative most atas)

more atas (comparative)
most atas (superlative)

(informal, Singapore) High (elevated in status, esteem, prestige; exalted in rank, station, or character).


sai

Borrowed from Hokkien 屎 (sái, “excrement; poop”).

bor+

[…]the employer of the unfortunate maid that was forced to makan sai are indonesians.

1998 February 10, Thye Hoon Lin, “SM Lee was right - Johor is notorious for muggings!”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

It is Chek Lap Kok ho lang. You should makan sai. Are you an Orang Laut trying to speak Chinese?

1998 July 9, SimiSar, “[sangkancil] New HK airport faces barrage of criticism (fwd)”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

go and take your morning shower and wash your arse with water and soap after pang sai

2003 April 18, Bone Toad, “Christ won”, in soc.culture.malaysia (Usenet)

(Singapore, Malaysia, colloquial, vulgar) shit


gravy

en-noun

gravy (usually uncountable, plural gravies)

→ Welsh: grefi

From Middle English gravey, greavie, gravy; probably from greaves, graves (“the sediment of melted tallow”), or from Old French grave, a claimed misspelling of grané (“stew, spice”), from grain (“spice”).
Sense of "pasta sauce" apparently seems to be from Italian dialect, especially Calabrian, differentiating tomato puree (salsa (“sauce”)) from cooked tomato sauce (sugo).

With this the hostess poured two or three spoonfuls of the gravy of the curry on to the rice opposite to each person.

1879, The Sunday at Home, volume 26, page 342

Now it seems that Pa Senik was a little deaf. Awang noticed that his father-in-law sometimes poured the gravy of his curry on his rice and that sometimes he sucked it up.

1906, Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, "Pa Senik and his Son-in-Law Awang", Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, page 59-60

This is strained with a piece of cloth or a strainer and the green liquid forms the gravy of the curry.

1992, Khammān Khonkhai, The Teachers of Mad Dog Swamp

Return flaked fish to curry gravy and bring to the boil.

2007, Geok Boi Lee, Classic Asian Noodles, Marshall Cavendish, page 158

(uncountable, India, Singapore) Curry sauce.


PSP

Progress Singapore Party
w:Progress Singapore Party

(Singapore, politics) Initialism of Progress Singapore Party.


wanton

Borrowed from Cantonese 雲吞／云吞 (wan⁴ tan¹).

bor+

(Philippines, Singapore) wonton (Chinese dumplings)


PRC

en-noun

PRC (countable and uncountable, plural PRCs)

"It doesn't matter," she said. "They may still think you're a PRC who obtained a British passport."

2014 May 1, Helier Cheung, “'No Indians No PRCs': Singapore's rental discrimination problem”, in BBC

People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

(Singapore, sometimes derogatory) A person from the People's Republic of China, especially in contrast to native-born Singaporean Chinese.


pax

Abbreviation of passenger. X is an abbreviation marker as in DX, TX, Dx, Rx, etc.

$30 per pax

(Malaysia, Singapore, by extension, restaurant industry) A restaurant guest, when counting; person.


PIE

Pan Island Expressway
w:Pan Island Expressway

(Singapore, in road signs) Initialism of Pan Island Expressway.


kiasu

en-adj

kiasu (comparative more kiasu, superlative most kiasu)

more kiasu (comparative)
most kiasu (superlative)

Borrowed from Hokkien 驚輸／惊输 (kiaⁿ-su, “afraid to lose out”).

No wonder the parents acted that way, she said. They were just being kia-su (afraid to lose out).

1985 December 22, Irene Hoe, “A parent's helping hand or a nudge into the rat race?”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, page 20

The kia-si/kia-su ("afraid to die/afraid to lose") attitude of the Totalisator Boards in Malaysia and Singapore is deplorable.

1988 December 11, "Pro Bono Puntero" [pseudonym], “That $5 win minimum [letter]”, in The Straits Times, page 35

We often see a bus with commuters practically spilling out of the front door and crowding at the exit door. But beyond that, a vacuum prevails, says a reader. The kia-su attitude is the reason for this, says the reader, and most of the culprits are students from secondary schools and junior colleges.

1989 April 26, “Crowding at bus doors”, in The Straits Times, page 2

The story now going around is that the distributors of Suzuki cars will take over the failed distributorship of Korea's Kia cars. According to one wag, the new distributorship could call itself "Kia-Su Motors". For the uninitiated, kiasu means "afraid to lose" in the Hokkien dialect.

1999 October 13, “Kiasu Motors”, in The Business Times, Singapore, page 2

No lubang, so teruk. Kiasu cannot lose, / Kiasi cannot die; machiam machiam words / We also try. Proper English? So lecheh, / So correct, so actsy for what? […]

2000, Leong Liew Geok, “Forever Singlish”, in Women without Men, Singapore: Times Books International, page 130

Too often you hear about Singaporeans with the "K syndrome", meaning kiasu (afraid of losing out), kiasi (afraid of dying), kiabor (afraid of wife). […] So, Singaporeans, don't conform to what society labels you to be. Be kiasu in making a difference!

2001 February 20, Carolyn Chew, “A different take on the Singaporean syndrome”, in Today, Singapore, page 6

Shell's FuelSave saw Singaporeans' kiasu spirit come to the fore. I noted that most vehicles in the queue had their engines in idle and air-conditioners on, hence releasing air pollutants.

2009 October 27, Lionel de Souza, “You save money, but it's the environment that pays [letter]”, in Today, page 28

(Singapore, colloquial, mildly derogatory) Afraid to lose out, particularly because one is overly competitive.


kiasu

Apart from the kiasis and kiasus, there are also Singaporeans at the other end of the scale – the healthcare workers who put their lives at risk.

2003 May 28, Frederick Lim, “Sars and the Singaporean: Crisis has brought out the best and the worst”, in Today, Singapore, page 22

(Singapore, colloquial, mildly derogatory) A kiasu person.


off

en-verb

off (third-person singular simple present offs, present participle offing, simple past and past participle offed)

offs (present singular third-person)
offing (participle present)
offed (participle past)
offed (past)

(older Received Pronunciation, General American) -ɔːf

From Middle English of, from Old English of, af, æf (“from, off, away”), from Proto-West Germanic *ab, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“from”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo (“from, off, back”). Doublet of of.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots of, af (“off, away”), West Frisian af, ôf (“off, away”), Dutch af (“off, from”), German Low German of (“off, from”), German ab (“off, from”), Danish af (“of, off”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish av (“of, off”), Icelandic af (“of, off”), Gothic 𐌰𐍆 (af, “of, from”); and with Latin ab (“of, from, by”), Ancient Greek ἀπό (apó, “from”), and others.

inh

приши́ть (prišítʹ) (colloquial, lit.: to sew on)

замочи́ть (zamočítʹ) (slang, lit.: to dunk)

Can you off the light?

(transitive, Singapore, Philippines, Nigeria) To switch off.


zap

en-verb

zap (third-person singular simple present zaps, present participle zapping, simple past and past participle zapped)

zaps (present singular third-person)
zapping (participle present)
zapped (participle past)
zapped (past)

Catalan: zàping

Dutch: zappen

Esperanto: zapi

French: zapping, zapper

Galician: zapear, zapping

German: zappen

Portuguese: zapear, zapar, zapping

Spanish: zapping, zapear

Swedish: zappa

1920s, American English, of imitative origin.

onomatopoeic

imitative

Got to go and zap this document now.

2004 October 19, Kevin & Lily Shepherdson, “Digital Life”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, page 16

(Singapore, informal, transitive) To photocopy.


Jap

Shortened from Japanese, attested as a noun since 1872, and adjectivally since 1878. Compare Nip (shortened from Nippon).

(informal, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia) Short for Japanese.


tio

(Singlish, uncommon) Correct; that's right.


monitor

From Latin monitor (“warner”), from perfect passive participle monitus (“warning”), from verb monere (“to warn, admonish, remind”). Warship sense is from USS Monitor, the first ship of this type.

So, as she did not like the masters to be prying about the play-ground out of school, she chose from among the biggest and most trustworthy of her pupils five monitors, who had authority over the rest of the Boys, and kept the unruly ones in order.

1871, Henry William Pullen, The Fight at Dame Europa's School

But it was not so—at least, not always—for though they fell out among themselves, they united their forces against the common enemy—the monitors!

1881, Talbot Baines Reed, chapter X, in The Fifth Form at St. Dominic's

He learned that a monitor should assist the teachers in distributing worksheets, maintaining class discipline, helping classmates in need and so on.

(Can we date this quote?), Pearl Poon, Class Monitor Election, Hong Kong ICAC Comics

(Hong Kong, Singapore, archaic in British) A student leader in a class.


American football

A game similar to rugby football played on a field of one hundred yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide (with two ten yard-long endzones) in which two teams of eleven players attempt to get an ovoid ball into each other's territory.


crayfish

en-noun

crayfish (plural crayfishes or crayfish)

Alteration (by folk etymology, influenced by fish) of Middle English crevis, from Old French crevice ("crayfish"; > Modern French: écrevisse), from Frankish *krebitja (“crayfish”), diminutive of Frankish *krebit (“crab”), from Proto-Germanic *krabitaz (“crab, cancer”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-, *gerebʰ- (“to scratch, crawl”). Akin to Old High German krebiz ("edible crustacean, crab"; > Modern German Krebs (“crab”)), Middle Low German krēvet (“crab”), Dutch kreeft (“crayfish, lobster”), Old English crabba (“crab”). More at crab.

gloss

"crayfish"; > Modern French: <i class="Latn mention" lang="fr">écrevisse</i>

gloss

"edible crustacean, crab"; > Modern German <i class="Latn mention" lang="de">Krebs</i> (“crab”)

(Singapore) The species Thenus orientalis of the slipper lobster family (Scyllaridae).


barley

en-noun

barley (usually uncountable, plural barleys)

From Middle English barly, barli, from Old English bærlīċ (“barley-like”, adjective) (later referring to barley itself and grain crops of similar appearance), from bere (“barley”) (compare Scots bere (“six-rowed barley”)), from Proto-Germanic *baraz (compare Old Norse barr), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰers- (“spike, prickle”). Equivalent to bere + -ly. See English brew.

sprat barley

now Hordeum distichon or Hordeum vulgare

Coix lacryma-jobi
Coix lacryma-jobi#Translingual

(Singapore) seed of Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi)


helper

From Middle English helpere, from Old English *helpere, from Proto-West Germanic *helpārī (“helper”), equivalent to help + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälper (“helper”), West Frisian helper (“helper”), Dutch helper (“helper”), German Low German Helper (“helper”), German Helfer (“helper”), Danish hjælper (“helper”), Swedish hjälpare (“helper”), Icelandic hjálpar (“helper”).

(Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines) A person who does cleaning and cooking in a family home, or in a market; domestic employee.


level

en-noun

level (countable and uncountable, plural levels)

→ German: Level

→ Irish: leibhéal

→ Japanese: レベル (reberu)

→ Welsh: lefel

From Middle English level, from Old French livel, liveau m, later nivel, niveau, from Latin libella f (“a balance, a level”), diminutive of libra f (“a balance, a level”); see libra, librate. Doublet of libella and niveau.
The verb is from Middle English levelen, from the noun.

(Singapore, education) A school grade or year.


shag

en-adj

shag (comparative more shag, superlative most shag)

more shag (comparative)
most shag (superlative)

(Singapore, slang) Alternative form of shack (“exhausted”)

shag-boy

potenitally derived from one of the above terms, but possibly etymologically unrelated


dey

If a player makes a silly mistake, he doesn’t wail when told to “wake up lah, dey”.

2007 September 10, Sandra Leong, w:The Straits Times, quoted in Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited, →OCLC, page 6

(Singapore, Malaysia, slang, rare, between friends) A familiar term of address conveying extra emphasis at the end of sentences.


sial

(Singlish, Manglish) Alternative form of sia


revert

en-verb

revert (third-person singular simple present reverts, present participle reverting, simple past and past participle reverted)

reverts (present singular third-person)
reverting (participle present)
reverted (participle past)
reverted (past)

From Old French revertir, from Vulgar Latin *revertiō, variant of Latin revertō.

връщам

to cause to return to the previous owner

palata

to return to a previous subject of discourse or thought

Please revert before Monday.

(intransitive, originally India, now also, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong) To reply (to correspondence, etc.).


stead

C'mon lah!! Wake up.. Y R U stupid girls so CHEAP!! Imagine a baby making out with an adult! Want to have stead,.. Go find 1 16yr old rich kid lah!! At for let those men take advantage!! Remember Men CANNOT be Trusted!! Boys maybe can.

1997 May 27, Ordinary People, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

I prefer to know a guy better as a friend first before even considering him as a potential stead.

1998 April 17, L.Angel, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

One of the best dates I had was with his person who did attempt to impress me with expensive gifts or flowers. My date did asked though but I said no because for somebody who's not my stead and I dun feel there was a need to.

1999 February 13, L.Angel, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

after 2 week or so I decide to tell her I like her and asked her to be my stead. But she tell me she had another guy. So we remain as friend.

2004 January 30, Fann Low, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

(Singapore, colloquial) One's partner in a romantic relationship.


shack

en-adj

shack (comparative more shack, superlative most shack)

more shack (comparative)
most shack (superlative)

From shagged or shagged out, originally British colloquialisms.

I suppose they could not really blame us for feeling so shack after doing PT, drill and other boring lessons in the morning.

1994, C. S. Chong, NS: An Air-Level Story, page 33

(Singapore, slang) Exhausted, worn out, extremely tired.


reach

en-verb

reach (third-person singular simple present reaches, present participle reaching, simple past and past participle reached or (obsolete) raught)

reaches (present singular third-person)
reaching (participle present)
reached (participle past)
reached (past)
raught (obsolete participle past)
raught (obsolete past)
reach (infinitive)

From Middle English rechen, from Old English rǣċan (“to reach”), from Proto-West Germanic *raikijan, from Proto-Germanic *raikijaną, from the Proto-Indo-European *Hreyǵ- (“to bind, reach”).

der

when I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun

The particulars that reach from Eastern Bengal require corroboration.

1907, George Clifford Whitworth, Indian English: An Examination of the Errors of Idiom made by Indians in Writing English, page 122

I reached at the right time.

1958, India. Ministry of Education, A Basic Grammar of Modern Hindi: English Version, page 33

It should be noted that Hare Krishna Konar, an arch leftist, could not vote on the Bhupesh Gupta—S.K. Achaiya issue as he reached late.

1960, Gene Donald Overstreet, Marshall Windmiller, Communism in India, page 144

In the event of your statement reaching later than 6th March, there will be chances of your requirement left and leading to difficulty of having to explain your excess or saving being as the case may be.

1975, India. Parliament. Public Accounts Committee, Epitome of the Reports of the Central Committee of Public Accounts from 1967-68 to 1970-71 (Fourth Lok Sabha) and of the Government Orders Thereon, page 144

I suggest taking an earlier bus (say 6:00 p.m.), reaching at around midnight, then taking a taxi (might even be able to catch the last MRT) to Changi.

2004 February 18, Mr. Free Notes, “Getting bus from KL to Singapore leaving night, likely to be any delays in arrival?”, in soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

When we reached at 7.30 a.m., we saw groups of men and women bracing themselves for the day's events by writing out posters or painting placards.

2009, Boria Majumdar, Nalin Mehta, India and the Olympics, page 218

Once we reached, we parked our cars beneath the trees and started trekking up the hill after a brief round of introductions.

2012 April 26, Rakesh Chandrasekar, “Post Trek Mail II - Freshers Trek April 22nd Nagala West”, in The Chennai Trekking Club (Usenet)

(intransitive, India, Singapore) To arrive at a particular destination.


sia

— You can't find your pencils? Maybe someone stole them.
— For what sia?

[…] Really disappointed siah […] The damage is done and no explanation will be accepted...... damn stupid!

2004, joshley, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

(Singlish, Manglish) Tagged at the end of a sentence to express discontent, shock, exhaustion or exasperation.


aiya

(China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Chinese Filipino, Chinese Australian, informal) ah; oh; exclamation of surprise, blame, dismay, shock, or fear.


eh

From Hokkien 欸 (--eh) and Mandarin 欸 (ê̄ / ế / ê̌, interjection).

(Singlish, usually impolite) Hey, oi; said to get someone's attention.


lightbulb

Calque from Cantonese 電燈泡／电灯泡 (din6 dang1 paau1), as though the third person is a light bulb in the background.

You two go ahead lah, I don't want to be lightbulb.

2011 October 23, Heidy The Traveler, Learn Singlish a Bit!

When she finally came out her friend joined us. Damn lightbulb leh!

2014 August 3, Chris Soh, 20 Words That Mean Something Completely Different to Singaporeans

Being an extra big light bulb and eating with two cousins and their husband and fiance.

2014, carolcraves, "https://twitter.com/carolcraves/status/429233427863183360", Twitter, 31 January 2014

(Singapore, colloquial) An uninvited third person joining a couple's date who prevents or hinders romantic interactions.


SDP

Singapore Democratic Party
w:Singapore Democratic Party

(Singapore, politics) Initialism of Singapore Democratic Party.


meh

en-adj

meh (comparative more meh, superlative most meh)

more meh (comparative)
most meh (superlative)

Popularized by the American television show The Simpsons; first used on the show in the episode titled "Sideshow Bob Roberts" (1994).
Possibly ultimately from Yiddish מע (me, “so-so”). First attested in 1928.

Both shows left me feeling, meh.

2003, Dana, “10/18/03 Shows”, in alt.tv.trading-spaces (Usenet)

I’m a huge Clay fan, love Ruben’s voice, and have become quite a fan of Kelly’s, as well. Fantasia just leaves me feeling meh.

2004, jennifer, “The FANtasia thing: I don’t get it…”, in alt.gossip.celebrities (Usenet)

I liked it but I wasn’t feeling it for some reason that day, again, I was feeling meh toward video games in general.

2006, ettie...@hotmail.com, “Steve’s impressions on random Genesis games”, in rec.games.video.sega (Usenet)


composition

en-noun

composition (countable and uncountable, plural compositions)

→ Korean: 컴포지션 (keompojisyeon)

/ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən/

From Middle English composicioun, borrowed from Old French composicion, from Latin compositiō, compositiōnem.

hyvitys

agreement to pay money in order to clear a liability or obligation

(obsolete) A payment of money in order to clear a liability or obligation; a settling or fine.

(Singapore, law) A payment of fine in order to settle a (usually minor) criminal charge.


ulu

en-adj

ulu (comparative more ulu, superlative most ulu)

more ulu (comparative)
most ulu (superlative)

Sembawang Park is considered to be one of the country's most ulu spots because of its comparative isolation, and it was almost empty.

2007, Neil Humphreys, Complete Notes from Singapore: The Omnibus Edition, page 157

(colloquial, Singapore) Remote; deserted


lorry

→ Hausa: lori

→ Iban: lori

→ Juba Arabic: lori

→ Malay: lori (“heavy truck”)

→ Chinese: 羅里 (luólǐ), 羅厘／罗厘 (luólí)

→ Farefare: loore

→ German: Lore

→ Irish: leoraí

→ Malay: lori

→ Moore: lore

→ Scottish Gaelic: làraidh

→ Swahili: lori

→ Telugu: లారీ (lārī)

→ Welsh: lorri, lori

→ Zulu: iloli

Uncertain; perhaps from dialectal English lurry (“to lug or pull about, drag”), or from the forename Laurie. First attested in early to middle 19th century.

cog

(road transport, Singapore, Malaysia) a truck with an open carriage, sometimes used for transporting construction workers.


blur

en-noun

blur (countable and uncountable, plural blurs)

From earlier blurre, probably an alteration of blear, from Middle English bleren, from Old English *blerian (attested in āblered (“made bare, made bald”)), from Proto-West Germanic *blaʀjan, from Proto-Germanic *blazjaną (“to make pale”), from Proto-Germanic *blasaz (“pale”). Compare Scots blore, bloar (“to blur, cover with blots”), Low German bleeroged (“blear-eyed”). More at blear.

inh

Unfortunately, a small artificial pupil also tends to increase the amount of diffraction somewhat, but this increase in blur is considerably smaller than the decrease that results from the control of other factors.

1978, Stanley Coren, Joan S. Girgus, Seeing Is Deceiving: The Psychology of Visual Illusions, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., page 82

The second option (right-hand page) features a sharp background and a cyclist who appears as a smudge of blur.

2014, Albrecht Rissler, Photographic Composition: Principles of Image Design, Rocky Nook, Inc.

Selectively applying blur to the edges can give the impression of a toy camera or a tilt-shift lens.

2016, Kat Sloma, Art with an iPhone: A Photographer’s Guide to Creating Altered Realities, Amherst Media


mum

Alternative form of mam, or an abbreviation of mummy. Compare mom, mama.

From the Marvel Mixmaster to the Miracle Microwave, every time a new-fangled gadget has lobbed into the Aussie kitchen, Aussie mums have changed their cooking styles accordingly.

1987, Kerry Cue, Hang On To Your Horses Doovers, page 5

'Ooh Mum, Auntie don′t allow smokin’ - Pat′s eyes were round with awe as Mum struck a match.

1993, Hilda Hollingsworth, Places of Greater Safety, Zenobia Press edition, page 278

Her mum says that she is deaf and only partially sighted, so I need to go and stand in front of her, so she can see the gift.

2004, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Hansen, Irene Dunlap, Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul 2, page 336

“Mum! Mum!” he shouted out. The laughter stopped. Two bright, sparkling yellow eyes peeped from the hollow. Atop her head were the fluffy ear tufts that his mum was so proud of because they were fuller and lovelier than those of most Great Horned Owls. It was indeed his mum!

2006, Kathryn Lasky, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Book 11: To Be a King, page 88

2011, Chyna, FAM: Rolling in a London Girl Gang, unnumbered page,
He′s looking at my mum, at her swollen eyes, busted nose and bloodied lips. She′s mashed up something chronic, and the man who did this to her is my dad.

(UK, Ireland, Canada, New England, South Africa, India, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, informal) Mother.


scholar

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-scholar.wav

From Middle English scolar, scolare, scoler, scolere (also scholer), from Old English scōlere (“scholar, learner”), from Late Latin scholāris, from schola (“school”), from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “spare time, leisure", later, "conversations and the knowledge gained through them during free time; the places where these conversations took place”), equivalent to school + -ar. Compare Saterland Frisian Sköiler, Middle Low German schö̂lære, schö̂lere, schö̂ler (> modern German Low German Schöler), Dutch scholier, German Schüler. Doublet of escolar.

der

(Singapore) Someone who received a prestigious scholarship.


pickup truck

zh-l

皮卡車／皮卡车 (píkǎchē)

Chinese: 皮卡 (píkǎ), 皮卡車／皮卡车 (píkǎchē)

Japanese: ピックアップトラック (pikkuapputorakku)

Russian: пика́п (pikáp)

(chiefly Canada, US, Singapore) A light truck with an open cargo bed.


bungalow

→ Dutch: bungalow

→ Finnish: bungalow

→ French: bungalow

→ German: Bungalow

→ Italian: bungalow

→ Romanian: bungalow

→ Spanish: bungalow

→ Welsh: byngalo

Borrowed from Hindi बंगला (baṅglā, “Bengali”), referring to the Bengali-style house. Compare Gujarati બંગલો (baṅglo) and Bengali বাংলা (baṅla). Doublet of bangalo.

(Singapore, Malaysia) A detached, freestanding house or mansion


slipper

Malay: selipar

(US, Hawaii, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore) A flip-flop (type of rubber sandal).


promote

en-verb

promote (third-person singular simple present promotes, present participle promoting, simple past and past participle promoted)

promotes (present singular third-person)
promoting (participle present)
promoted (participle past)
promoted (past)

denigrate

antonym(s) of “advocate or urge on behalf of”

From Latin prōmōtus, perfect passive participle of prōmoveō (“move forward, advance”).

At the end of Primary 6 students can promote directly to the secondary section of SIS.

(intransitive, Singapore) To move on to a subsequent stage of education.


porridge

en-noun

porridge (usually uncountable, plural porridges)

Variant of pottage (“thick soup or stew”), influenced by porray (“stew of leeks”). The "prison sentence" sense comes from the British tradition of serving prisoners porridge for breakfast.

keep one's breath to cool one's porridge

save one's breath to cool one's porridge

A dish made of grain or legumes, milk or water, heated and stirred until thick and typically eaten for breakfast.

(Malaysia, Singapore) Rice porridge; congee.


kongsi

Borrowed from Hokkien 公司 (kong-si, “company”). See also Hokkien 公班衙 (kong-pan-gêe / kong-pan-gê), English British East India Company, Dutch Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (“Dutch East India Company”, literally “United East India Company”).

ncog

By 1970, for instance, the state authorities considered these kongsi to be unfit and unhygienic for living, and they were ordered to be dismantled.

1998, Zawawi Ibrahim, The Malay Labourer

The term kongsi loosely referred to any association of the Chinese, ranging from a business partnership to governments in West Borneo, secret societies and clan associations.

2003, Wu Xiao An, Chinese Business in the Making of a Malay State, 1882-1941

A kongsi is a clan house, a building that’s partly a temple and partly a meeting hall for Chinese of the same clan or surname.

2004, Simon Richmond, Marie Cambon, Damian Harper, Richard Watkins, Lonely Planet: Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei

(Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia) A benevolent organization of popular origin found among overseas Chinese communities for individuals with the same surname.


windscreen

Oh no! A vandal has just smashed our windscreen! Susan, can you go and call the insurance company?

(British, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia) A transparent screen made of glass, located at the front of a vehicle in order to protect its occupants from the wind and weather.


tackle

en-verb

tackle (third-person singular simple present tackles, present participle tackling, simple past and past participle tackled)

tackles (present singular third-person)
tackling (participle present)
tackled (participle past)
tackled (past)

From Middle English takel (“gear, apparatus”), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German takel (“ship's rigging”), perhaps related to Middle Dutch taken (“to grasp, seize”). Akin to Danish takkel (“tackle”), Swedish tackel (“tackle”). More at take.

der

"Singing is the oldest, most effective and productive way to tackle girls," asserted the 37-year-old, affectionately known as Ah Guan at Tan Chang Ren Music Station.

2000 June 7, Kor Kian Beng, “What's the best way to tackle girls? Sing”, in The New Paper, page 15

It takes the form of a beautiful lady and tackles young and handsome men.

Now, now, I know you guys are being excited but remember, your feelings play the most important role to tackle a girl.

Kenneth Ma claims his secret to tackling girls lies in his new and improved skin condition.

2014, The Newsroom, archived from the original on 2016-03-05

(Singapore, colloquial) To "hit on" or pursue a person that one is interested in.


Caucasian

en-adj

Caucasian (comparative more Caucasian, superlative most Caucasian)

more Caucasian (comparative)
most Caucasian (superlative)

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach
Mugan plain
Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky
The Big Lebowski

From Caucasus (“mountain range in Eastern Europe between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea”) + -ian (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘from, related to, or like’, or forming nouns with the sense ‘one from, belonging to, relating to, or like’). The anthropological sense (no longer regarded as scientific) was popularized by the German anthropologist and physician Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752–1840), based on the belief that the first humans originated from there.
Noun sense 2 (“cocktail”) was popularized by the film The Big Lebowski (1998): see the quotation.

nb...

Praemissa est epistola ad virvm perillvstrem Iosephvm Banks baronetvm regiae Societatis Londin. praesidem

Caucasian bear

Ursus arctos syriacus or Ursus arctos arctos

(Canada, US, Singapore) Of a person: having a white complexion and European ancestry; white.


HP

en-noun

HP (countable and uncountable, plural HPs or HP)

Sense "home page" is a borrowing from Japanese HP (HP, “home page”), from English home page.

(Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea) Initialism of handphone.


pioneer

/ˌpaɪ.əˈnɪɹ/

From Middle French pionnier (“originally, a foot soldier”), Old French peonier, from peon (“a foot soldier”) (modern French: pion). See pawn (in chess).

uder

Perhaps the pioneer generation, having experienced unity in solidarity, will show the rest of Singapore the way.

2014 February 12, Theresa Goh, “Let’s reward all our pioneers equally”, in Today, Singapore: Mediacorp Press, →OCLC, page 20

A fenceless open-air museum […] that captures the spirit and struggles of Singapore's pioneer generation.

2017 March 14, Kelly Ng, “New showcase to seek views on Founders’ Memorial”, in Today, Singapore: Mediacorp Press, →OCLC, page 11

(Singapore) Alternative letter-case form of Pioneer (“A Singaporean born on or before 31 December 1949, who is entitled to various healthcare and social support schemes.”)


Grab

I will take a Grab back home. ("I will book a taxi ride from Grab to return home.")

(Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, informal) A taxi ride booked through the Grab app.


C

Uncertain. Possibilities include:
* Hainanese 鮮／鲜 (si²³, “fresh”).
* From the first letter of Carnation, an evaporated milk brand.

(Singapore, colloquial, after kopi (“coffee”) or teh (“tea”)) With sugar and evaporated milk added.


CB

en-noun

CB (countable and uncountable, plural CBs)

(Singapore) Initialism of circuit breaker.


A&E

It is too soon to measure the impact of Hubbard’s work on hospital admission figures. But a practice frailty nurse helped reduce A&E attendances and admissions by 54% and GP home visit requests by 81%.

2016 June 30, Kate Murray, “How occupational therapists help keep older people out of hospital”, in The Guardian

accident and emergency
accident and emergency

(chiefly UK, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong) The accident and emergency (casualty) department of a hospital.


O

From Hokkien 烏／乌 (o͘, “dark”) or Teochew 烏／乌 (ou¹).

Better try their kopi-o tarik. Our version nowadays taste like cough medicine. LOL!

2003, Ixus, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

(Singapore, colloquial, after kopi (“coffee”) or teh (“tea”)) With sugar and no condensed milk added.


COE

Certificate of Entitlement
w:Certificate of Entitlement

(Singapore) Initialism of Certificate of Entitlement.


SLE

(Singapore, in road signs) Abbreviation of Seletar Expressway.


ACS

Anglo-Chinese School
w:Anglo-Chinese School

(Singapore) Initialism of Anglo-Chinese School.


gau

From either Hokkien 厚 (kāu, “thick”) or Teochew 厚 (gao⁶, “thick”), influenced in spelling by Mandarin Pinyin.

Kopi Gau ― Strong coffee with sugar and condensed milk

(Singapore, colloquial, of coffee) Strong (used as a modifier after kopi (“coffee”)).


PSI

Initialism of pollutant safety/standard index (measurement of the air pollutant such as haze)


RSS

Republic of Singapore
Republic of Singapore#English

(military, nautical, Singapore) Initialism of Republic of Singapore Ship (“prefix of Navy ships belonging to the Republic of Singapore Navy”).


toh

From Hokkien 倒 (tó, “to fall down, to collapse, to go bankrupt”).

bor

Wa I want Toh already

If it toh, short term the mkt [market] will be scare sh1tless, but i dont think there will be a domino effect

2023 March 16, Mephist0pheLes, “If Credit Suisse toh, will have impact as big as Lehmann brothers?”, in HardwareZone Forums

(Singlish, intransitive) To collapse (fail or break down internally); to fall asleep or collapse from exhaustion.


Sumatra

/suːˈmɑːtɹə/

From Indonesian Sumatera, from Sanskrit समुद्र (samudra, “sea”). Mentioned in the 11th century in Sanskrit as समुद्रभूमि (samudrabhūmi, “land of Sumatra”), gradually replacing the earlier सुवर्णद्वीप (suvarṇadvīpa).

In the Straits of Malacca one encounters a squall every night; there they are known by the name of Sumatras, crossing as they do from the island bearing that name.

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 119

(Singapore, formerly) A squall or violent rainstorm coming from the south.


har

From Middle English harre, herre, from Old English heorra (“hinge; cardinal point”), from Proto-Germanic *herzô (“hinge”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerd- (“to move, sway, swing, jump”). Cognate with Scots herre, harr, har (“hinge”), Dutch harre, her, har (“hinge”), Icelandic hjarri (“hinge”), Latin cardō (“hinge”).


har

I've kidnapped that lumbering fool Donkey Kong and you will never see him again. Har-har-har-har!

1995, Rare, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Nintendo, →OCLC, SNES, scene: Pirate Panic

Armorer: 'THIS BE THE AERIAL ANVIL! NEED AN ARMOR UPGRADE? IF YOU NEED SOMETHING FORGED, I'M YOUR FELLA! HAR HAR!'

2014, Yacht Club Games, Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope, Nintendo 3DS, level/area: Armor Outpost

A sound of laughter, with a sarcastic connotation.


har

(Manglish, Singlish) Alternative form of ah (interrogative particle)


PAP

People's Action Party
w:People's Action Party

(Singapore, politics) Initialism of People's Action Party.

(Singapore, Singlish, derogatory) Pay And Pay (nickname for the People's Action Party)


saman

Borrowed from Malay saman (“fine, financial penalty”), from English summons. Doublet of summons.

I pass thru this gantry at ecp without cashcard. why do i kena saman till $70?

2007 December 17, Jonnykato, “ERP Question”, in singaporebikes.com, archived from the original on 2017-04-24

Technically parking outside the lot is illegal parking, doesn't matter if you put a coupon. The patrolling wardens can't saman you but parking in washing bay and bike lots are very easy targets for residents to complain about. Because of that no escape from getting saman after a quick call to the hotline.

2011 July 12, Fredd, “I am a parking warden”, in singaporebikes.com

Not just 'saman' kings: Kind parking warden helps old woman alight from taxi.

2013 November 9, Mark, “Not just ‘saman’ kings: Kind parking warden helps old woman alight from taxi”, in stomp.sg, archived from the original on 2015-10-25

I did not know that a permit was needed to set a tent. So this nparks people came and check and issued me a saman of $300!

2015 May 14, Presskit, “Kena saman nparks help please”, in forum.hardwarezone.com.sg

“When the parking warden comes around, they shout: “Saman! Saman!” and drivers rush to their cars.”

2015 August 7, Dylan Tan, “SG Quirky: The A-Z of SG50”, in Business Times (Singapore)

When SG50 Saman Rider is on duty, no law breaker will get away!

2015 September 10, Nina Syahirah, “STGCC Celebrates SG50 with Custom Munnies”, in safra.sg

(Singapore, Malaysia, colloquial, informal) A fine; a monetary penalty imposed for breaking the law.


bioscope

→ Kurtöp: བེས་ཀོབ (beskop)

From bio- + -scope. Modern use in South Africa is under the influence of Afrikaans bioskoop.

Like their Western brothers, groups of native youths [in Burma] from out-lying places set out cheerfully on Saturday nights to visit the nearest "Bioscope", as they call the cinema[.]

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 175

(South Africa, India, Myanmar, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Pakistan, dated) A cinema or movie theatre.


AAAA

(Singapore) Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies


NN

(modifying a numeral, twelve, Philippines, Singapore) Abbreviation of noon.


CCA

en-noun

CCA (countable and uncountable, plural CCAs)

(Singapore, education) Initialism of cocurricular activity.


licence

licence (countable and uncountable, plural licences)

(UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore) Standard spelling of license.


Taoism

Buddhism is the most followed religion in Singapore, with over 40 percent of the population declaring themselves believers, according to the latest census. Most of these practice a form of the religion that incorporates elements of Taoism and traditional Chinese faiths.

2010 May 17, Edgar Su, “Lasers, iPods, for a Singapore funeral of a lifetime”, in Miral Fahmy, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2022-06-15, Lifestyle

(Singapore) Traditional Chinese folk religion


touch wood

en-verb

touch wood (third-person singular simple present touches wood, present participle touching wood, simple past and past participle touched wood)

touches wood (present singular third-person)
touching wood (participle present)
touched wood (participle past)
touched wood (past)

Touching wood possibly has reference to (a) the cross, or (b) the altar rails in days when criminals could take sanctuary in churches.

1930, John D. Stephenson, chapter I, in The Structure of English from Sentence to Essay, page 105

Very few patients for whom I provided psychiatric treatment ended their lives by suicide, but I became increasingly convinced that my residency instructor who touched wood because none of his patients had killed themselves had not been treating many seriously mentally ill patients for any extended period of time.

2003, Chester Schneider, The Making of a Christian Psychiatrist, US: Xulon Press, page 193

Examples of rituals include touching wood, repeating phrases in your mind, wearing lucky clothes or jewellery, and avoiding unlucky numbers, out of a faulty belief that these rituals will stop unfortunate or tragic events befalling yourself or your loved ones.

2010, Rhena Branch, Rob Willson, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies, 2nd edition, UK: John Wiley & Sons, page 102

(UK, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, India) To make contact with wood to avert bad luck, in accordance with a folk practice.


Established in the United Kingdom as the first emergency service number in the world, initially chosen because of its suitability at a time of rotary-dial telephones.

(UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, colloquial, metonymically) Emergency services; emergency service personnel.


ganja

→ Afrikaans: ganja

→ English: gunja

→ Tiwi: kanja

→ French: ganja

→ German: Ganja

→ Italian: gangia

→ Japanese: ガンジャ (ganja)

→ Portuguese: ganja

desc

→ Serbo-Croatian: га̑нџа, gȃndža, га̏нџа, gȁndža

→ Spanish: ganya

Borrowed from Hindi गांजा (gāñjā), ultimately from Sanskrit गञ्जा (gañjā, “hemp”). First use appears c. 1800.

It must be the ganja, it's the marijuana / That's creeping up on me, why I'm so high

2009, “Must Be the Ganja”, in Relapse, performed by Eminem

(slang, especially India, Singapore, Caribbean) Marijuana, as used for smoking.


prata

From Tamil பரோட்டா (parōṭṭā), related to Hindi पराठा (parāṭhā). Doublet of parotta and paratha.

bor

Tamil பரோட்டா (parōṭṭā)

The fact that these guys were cocky enough to not merely name this snack a perfectly acceptable prata and curry, but egg prata with fish curry, made us quite certain[…].

2018 September 5, Florence Fong, “Egg Prata With Fish Curry Potato Chips Taste Test: Nice Or Not?”, in Today, Singapore, archived from the original on 2019-04-09

A trio upset with a cook who had denied them free prata slashed him with a knife and left him with a deep wound.

2019 April 5, Shaffiq Alkhatib, “Man jailed over attack on prata cook”, in The Straits Times, Singapore

(chiefly Singapore) Synonym of roti prata (a type fried flatbread that is cooked over a flat grill)


capsicum

Borrowed from New Latin capsicum, from Ancient Greek καψικός (kapsikós, “like a box”), from Latin capsa (“box”).

der

Celery is often combined with carrots and onions in gently fried aromatic base preparations for other dishes (French mirepoix, Italian soffritto, Spanish sofregit; in the Louisiana Cajun “trinity” of aromatics the carrots are replaced by green capsicums).

2004, Harold McGee, chapter 6, in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner

(Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore) The non-spicy fruit of the above plants, the bell pepper, contrasting with spicy varieties known as chilli.


tuck shop

One way is to make the sandwiches then choose the three most popular sandwiches to sell in the tuck shop.

1989, Jenny Ridgwell, Louise Davies, Skills in Home Economics: Technology, Heinemann Educational Publishers, page 11

If possible a school must have a place for a tuck shop.

1996, K. S. Sidhu, “School Organisation And Administration”, in India, Sterling Publishers, page 90

You had a small amount of pocket money and this increased as you went along and there was a tuck shop where you could spend your earnings.[…]I became a senior boy and then a pefect and it became my responsibility to run the tuck shop.

2005, Susan K. Moore, I Remember Bare Bottoms and Stinging Nettles, page 108

In this case, the problem is that the tuck-shop has stopped making money and will have to close if you can′t find out what is wrong.

2009, R. Burger, B. P. Carels, S. Els, FET College Series: Life Orientation: NCV 4, South Africa: Pearson Education, page 163

However, a trend for healthier tuck shops, selling fruit in particular, had already emerged a few years before legislation was introduced.

2009, Maria Cross, Barbara MacDonald, Nutrition in Institutions, UK: Wiley, page 49

‘That note you′re holding is an order for the Crobost Stores, to restock the tuck shop.’

2011, Peter May, The Blackhouse, UK: Quercus, page 23

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Singapore, India) A shop selling confectionery, especially one in or near a school.


freethinker

Danish: fritænker (calque)

French: libre-penseur (calque)

German: Freidenker (calque)

desc

вольноду́мец

Russian: вольноду́м (volʹnodúm), вольноду́мец (volʹnodúmec) (calque)

The report projected that in the Asia-Pacific region, the proportion of freethinkers is projected to decline from 21 per cent in 2010 to 17 per cent in 2050.

2015 April 6, Siau Ming En, “Religiosity on rise in Asia-Pacific, proportion of freethinkers on decline”, in Today Online, archived from the original on 2015-04-10

(Singapore, Malaysia) A person with no religion.


ice kachang

From ice + Malay kacang (“red bean”), the latter spelled in pre-1972 spelling.

ONE ICE KACHANG FIVE SPOONS PLEASE
Ice Kachang is something children in Singapore love, especially to cool off in the hot humid weather of Singapore. It is made up of ice shavings and boiled sweetened red beans and green jelly and sweet syrup drips on the mountain of ice shavings.

2021 September 20, Suchitthra Shreiyaa Lakshmi Vasu, The Divine Awakening and Miracles, Partridge Publishing Singapore

Another favourite is 'Ice Kachang' (a dessert made from ice shavings combined with various syrups and fruits). The ice kachang man would wait outside schools with his push cart and the contraption which could shave the ice blocks.

2007, June Meyer, Memories of Malaya, Lulu.com, page 183

Li-Ching's favourite treats was the ice ball, a predecessor of ice kachang. Made of shaved ice moulded into the shape of a ball and drizzled with syrups of different flavours, children in the 1950s and 1960s loved the ice ball.

2012 August 3, Jaime Koh, Singapore Children Society, Singapore Childhood, World Scientific, page 92

(Singapore, Malaysia) A dessert made from crushed ice with syrup and jelly poured on top.


NEA

National Environment Agency
w:National Environment Agency

(Singapore) Abbreviation of National Environment Agency.


petrol station

(UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong) A filling station, gas station; a facility selling fuel for road motor vehicles


hor

From Hokkien 乎 (--hohⁿ / --hôⁿ, mood particle) and Cantonese 嗬 (ho², interrogative particle).

bor

Not my fault hor. ― It wasn't my fault, OK?

sorry, i have to drill hor. the filling will cost $300.

2005, Der Zählmeister, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

[…] except it is slightly more hostile ("This is mine hor, don't touch it!").

2001 September 19, destrius', Everything2

Emphasizes the need for acknowledgment from the listener.

Quite boring, hor? ― It's quite boring, don't you think?

Wah, you quite brave hor...

2005 October 30, Wong Kim Hoh, The Sunday Times

An invariant question tag used to invite agreement.

....then hor... ― ...and then...

But hor, i prefer sleeping pills leh.

2005, Tan Kok Beng, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

Can email me or not?........if can hor.... […]

2007, yansimon52, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

A filler word used to ascertain the continued attention of the listener.


BMT

en-noun

BMT (countable and uncountable, plural BMTs)

During the two-hour visit, Mr Ong was briefed by commanders on the BMT curriculum and observed recruits undergoing physical training and using tablets to learn how to strip and assemble their weapons.

2015 October 14, The Straits Times (Singapore)

At the start of BMT, he could manage just two chin-ups; at the end, he was doing more than 20. “My body has toned up a lot,” he says.

2014 July 27, The Straits Times (Singapore)

Bearing arms to defend the country is the primary goal of NS, and that should remain so by sending all recruits for BMT.

2013 May 28, The Straits Times (Singapore)

Two years ago, Phua Shi Hao, 20, spent about $50 preparing for BMT on some of the smaller items at the army market.

2011 March 25, The New Paper (Singapore)

“He was a good pal in BMT, and very hardworking and promising”.

(Singapore) Initialism of basic military training, which includes physical training, where Singaporean males will learn basic skills of a soldier.


kiasi

en-adj

kiasi (comparative more kiasi, superlative most kiasi)

more kiasi (comparative)
most kiasi (superlative)

[ˌkjã˨ˈsiː˦˨]

Borrowed from Hokkien 驚死／惊死 (kiaⁿ-sí, “afraid to die”).

Why are you so kiasi? You won't die from getting a small cut on the finger.

If everyone dares to bungee jump, why can't you do the same? Are you kiasi or what?

The kia-si/kia-su ("afraid to die/afraid to lose") attitude of the Totalisator Boards in Malaysia and Singapore is deplorable.

1988 December 11, "Pro Bono Puntero" [pseudonym], “That $5 win minimum [letter]”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, page 35

When you are anxious to make the right travel arrangements, you sometimes cannot help but be inquisitive. For those in the travel business, these whines should be a common affair. But when does being "inquisitive" translate into "irritating", or "anxious" into "kiasi" […]

1991 April 7, Sandi Tan, “Face-to-face with the kiasu customer”, in The Straits Times, page 8

Do not be alarmed if you have received this yellow cylinder which looks like a stick of dynamite and even had the word "explosive" on it. Last week, one "kiasi" fellow was so alarmed that he called the police […]

1994 September 14, “Promotion blown out of all proportion”, in The Straits Times, page 22

No lubang, so teruk. Kiasu cannot lose, / Kiasi cannot die; machiam machiam words / We also try. Proper English? So lecheh, / So correct, so actsy for what? […]

2000, Leong Liew Geok, “Forever Singlish”, in Women without Men, Singapore: Times Books International, page 130

Too often you hear about Singaporeans with the "K syndrome", meaning kiasu (afraid of losing out), kiasi (afraid of dying), kiabor (afraid of wife).

2001 February 20, Carolyn Chew, “A different take on the Singaporean syndrome”, in Today, page 6

(Singapore, colloquial, mildly derogatory) Unwilling to take a chance for fear that something bad or unfavourable will happen; cowardly.


kiasi

[ˌkjã˨ˈsiː˦˨]

Apart from the kiasis and kiasus, there are also Singaporeans at the other end of the scale – the healthcare workers who put their lives at risk.

2003 May 28, Frederick Lim, “Sars and the Singaporean: Crisis has brought out the best and the worst”, in Today, Singapore, page 22

The kiasi (those afraid to die) who insist on seeing a doctor for the most minor complaint such as "my baby sneezed this morning leh".

2006 July 5, Tan Chek Wee, “Debugging the kiasi, MC takers [letter]”, in Today, Singapore, page 18

(Singapore, colloquial, mildly derogatory) A kiasi person.


chop-chop

From Chinese Pidgin English, from Cantonese 速速 (cuk1 cuk1, “quick”).

(Singapore) chop-chop kalipok

Used to urge someone to do something quickly.


secondary school

en-noun

secondary school (countable and uncountable, plural secondary schools)

(education, Singapore) Middle school; junior high school; a school that one attends between the ages of 12-17 (equivalent of grades 7-10 in North America, and years 7-10 in Australia).


PPP

People's Power Party (Singapore)
w:People's Power Party (Singapore)

(Singapore, politics) Initialism of People's Power Party (Singapore)


malu

en-adj

malu (comparative more malu, superlative most malu)

more malu (comparative)
most malu (superlative)


fill up

en-verb

fill up (third-person singular simple present fills up, present participle filling up, simple past and past participle filled up)

fills up (present singular third-person)
filling up (participle present)
filled up (participle past)
filled up (past)

(Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, transitive) To fill in / fill out a form etc.


rotan

Borrowed from Malay rotan (“cane”), doublet of rattan.

Two boys, aged 14 and 11, were each sentenced to three strokes of the light rotan at Kluang for stealing duck eggs from Loh Wee Seng.

1949 November 5, The Straits Times, page 5 [newspaper]

Zaimi Bin Rassak, 20, was yesterday jailed for two years with two strokes of the rotan after he was found guilty of trafficking in 32 rolls of cannabis in Queens Crescent on June 24 at 1 a.m.

1975 November 25, The Straits Times, page 6 [newspaper]

Khushwant Singh, 38-year-old on the run for five years, put behind bars for six years and two months; gets six strokes of the rotan.

2008 February 9, The Straits Times, page 39 [newspaper]

(Singapore, Malaysia) A long rattan used to cane people as punishment for criminal acts.


kampung

Borrowed from Indonesian kampung, and/or its etymon Malay kampung (“enclosure; quarter of a town occupied by a certain nationality; village”). Doublet of kampang.
cognates
* Dutch kampoeng

bor

Margio seldom saw his mother happy, and often thought of doing things to cheer her up. He would go back to their kampong and look for gifts for her.

2015, Eka Kurniawan, chapter 4, in Labodalih Sembiring, transl., Man Tiger […], London, New York, N.Y.: Verso, page 107

(Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore) A traditional village.

Kampung Tanah Merah.

(Singapore) A district or suburb where a former village once stood.


lor

From Hokkien 囉／啰 (--lo͘) and Cantonese 囉／啰 (lo1).

You lor. ― It's obviously you then.

Then tell him lor. ― You go and tell him then.

Asserts that the answer to something is obvious or straightforward.


no worries

From no + plural of worry (“concern, cause for anxiety”), but used flexibly.

Sorry if my music's bothering you. — No worries. I really like classical.

(especially Australia, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, colloquial) A general injunction not to be concerned further with a subject.

It does not bother me; I am not concerned.

Thanks for the lovely bowl of fruit. — No worries, my sister runs a stall at the market.

It was no problem; not at all; you're welcome.

I need this done by closing time. — No worries, I'll have it sorted.


pau

(Malaysia and Singapore) Alternative form of bao (“baozi; Chinese steamed buns with filling”).


tolong

‘Tolong, please don’t use the word ‘haunt’ in this context. It’s too creepy,’ said the Wife, smoothing away her goosebumps.

2004 August 22, “Queer Eye for the Dead Guy”, in The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), page 54


BJ

(Singapore) Initialism of Bugis Junction (“a shopping, office and hotel complex in Singapore”).


Singlish

(Singapore, linguistics) A highly colloquial or basilectal variety of Singapore English incorporating much Hokkien and Malay lexis.


Scotch tape

→ Romanian: scoci

→ Russian: скотч (skotč)

Genericized trademark from Scotch Tape. Reportedly a reference to the stereotypical tendency of the Scottish towards thrift, due to cutting of corners with the product initially produced. Compare Dutch oven for similar sense of origin.

(US, Philippines, Singapore, Canada) Transparent or translucent pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, used for sealing items together, especially paper.


steamboat

en-noun

steamboat (countable and uncountable, plural steamboats)

→ Dutch: stoomboot (calque)

→ Ottoman Turkish: استمبوط (istimbot)

(uncountable, Singapore, Malaysia) Hot pot (Chinese dish).


amah

From Portuguese ama (“female nurse”), from Medieval Latin amma (“wet nurse, amma”), perhaps an alteration of Latin mamma, of imitative origin, or from Ancient Greek.

Then one day he disappeared and when Luke called apprehensively at his apartment the old amah told him that ‘Whisky Papa runrun London fastee.’

1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 20

(Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia) A female domestic helper; a maid.


NPC

NPC (countable and uncountable, plural NPCs)

(Singapore) Initialism of neighbourhood police center.


SDA

Singapore Democratic Alliance
w:Singapore Democratic Alliance

(Singapore, politics) Initialism of Singapore Democratic Alliance


polytechnic

First attested in 1805. From French polytechnique, from the École polytechnique, engineering school founded 1794 in Paris; from Greek πολύτεχνος "skilled in many arts," from πολύς "many" (see poly-) + τέχνη "art" (see technic).

(Singapore) A three-year post-secondary vocational training institute, equivalent of community college in the U.S. or TAFE in Australia.


wayang

From Javanese ꦮꦪꦁ (wayang, “shadow puppetry”), via Malay wayang.

der

[…] some [MPs] have to do wayang wayang in the evening like meet the people sessions.

2008, Zai Zai, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

(Singapore, Singlish) To put on an act, to pretend (e.g. to be hard at work) or behave in a false and misleading way.


wayang

en-noun

wayang (countable and uncountable, plural wayang)

(Singapore) Traditional Chinese opera, performed outdoors. The equivalent term in Mandarin is 街戲／街戏 (jiēxì, literally “street opera”).

There had been two important reservations made on the practice of consultation and consensus. […] The other reservation is that consultation and consensus is no more than a “wayang”, because views are not accepted and no changes are made to the original policy.

1991 January 3, Lim Boon Heng, “CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE (AMENDMENT NO. 3) BILL”, in Parliamentary Debates: Official Report (Parliament of Singapore), volume 56, quoted in Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English, column 724

Besides being adept at directing actors from behind the camera, [Royston] Tan is a bit of a wayang king himself.

2006 April 24, Tan Dawn Wei, The Straits Times, quoted in Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Dr Chee called the polls a ‘wayang’ and said they were being held so that the PAP could claim to have the people’s mandate to govern.

2006 April 27, Lydia Lim, quoting Chee Soon Juan, The Straits Times, quoted in Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Mr [Inderjit] Singh […] had said earlier that Mr [James] Gomez told him the minority certificate incident was just a ‘wayang’, Malay for theatre.

2006 May 11, Leslie Koh, Aaron Low, quoting Inderjit Singh, The Straits Times, quoted in Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited

They have to review whether they have revealed too much to the public before the wayang goes on.

2007, lobert, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

(Singapore, Singlish) Insincere behaviour; an act meant to deceive or mislead.


wayang

(Singapore, Singlish, never attributive) For show, insincere or fake; ostentatious and showy.


godown

→ Burmese: ဂိုဒေါင် (guidaung)

Hindustani:

→ Hindi: गोदाम (godām)

→ Urdu: گودام (godām)

/ˈɡoʊ̯daʊ̯n/

Borrowed from Malay gudang, from Tamil கிடங்கு (kiṭaṅku, “store room”).

1694, Fort St. George Diary and Consultation Book, entry for 30 April, 1694, Madras: 1918, p. 45,
Ordered that the new House in the Fort be forthwith built according to a modell now produced an approved, being 110 foot in length and 55 foot in breadth to be built on the East side the Fort at 18 Foot distance from the godown wall, and at equal distance from the north and south walls.

There is a sort of village square with wood and palm-leaf native shops grouped round about it; behind this stands a godown for the rice beside the river bank. This godown was empty at the time, and it was here that the party was accommodated.

1950, Neville Shute, chapter 4, in A Town Like Alice, London: The Reprint Society, published 1952, page 101

Sam Vimes awoke from a pig's nightmare to find himself lying on a pile of sacks in a godown in the docks.

2011, Terry Pratchett, Snuff, page 307 in hardback

(India, East Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong) A warehouse.


circuit breaker

circuit breaker (plural circuit breakers)

(chiefly Singapore) Quarantine measures intended to prevent spread of pandemics, especially COVID-19.


MCP

Malayan Communist Party
w:Malayan Communist Party

(Malaysia, Singapore, politics, historical) Initialism of Malayan Communist Party (“Parti Komunis Malaya”).


mee

mee (countable and uncountable, plural mees)

He watched with pleasure the food sellers swirling the frying mee round in their kualis over primitive charcoal fires.

1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 116

(cooking, Malaysia, Singapore) Noodles, or a dish containing noodles.


singlet

Winston wrenched his body out of bed — naked, for a member of the Outer Party received only 3,000 clothing coupons annually, and a suit of pyjamas was 600 — and seized a dingy singlet and a pair of shorts that were lying across a chair.

1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, page 28

2000, Nicole Matthews, Kitsch on the Fringe: Suburbia in Recent Australian Comedy Film, Roger Webster, Expanding Suburbia: Reviewing Suburban Narratives, page 176,
The semiotics of the singlet - immediately identifiable in Australia, especially in its usual shade of blue, with male manual labourers¹⁶ - underlines the contrast between the effete fakery of ballroom costumes and real masculinity to be found underneath or in the world of folk dancing.

However, even in the latter he wears a blue singlet to help remind the audience of his working-class roots.

2006, Albert Moran, Errol Vieth, Film in Australia: An Introduction, page 85

2009, Deborah Penrith, Live & Work in: Australia, Crimson Publishing, UK, page 192,
Women wear dresses, cropped trousers and vests with lightweight linen jackets and you will find men in anything from a business suit to a pair of stubbies (very short shorts) and a singlet top (white vest) or knee-length cargo trousers.

A single piece of clothing, particularly

(UK, Australia, Ireland, Nigeria, New Zealand, Singapore) A sleeveless buttonless shirt with a low-cut neck.


Pinkerton syndrome

In reference to the character Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton in the opera Madama Butterfly (first performed in 1904) by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924).

When I’m with my white partner, I am a proponent of the ‘Pinkerton Syndrome’, a caricature not unlike the Other Asia’s mail order bride.

1996, Westerly, volume 41, Crawley, Perth, W.A.: Western Australia Westerly Centre, the University of Western Australia, →ISSN, page 70

Like vampires, the ang moh crowd comes out at night, dressed in their best shirts and armed with plenty of tax-free Singapore dollars to woo those local darlings tragically struck down by the Pinkerton syndrome. Like the character in Madame Butterfly, they are somehow lured by the attraction of drunken voices and the possibility of a fat wallet.

2001, Neil Humphreys, Notes from an Even Smaller Island, Singapore: Times Books International, page 213

The Pinkerton Syndrome, then, seems to me non-operative in American cultural masculinity at the moment. […] Pinkerton's casual imperialist hubris, an expression of first-generation Manifest Destiny complete with brass-buttoned naval uniform, has an official status that lone action heroes as implicitly populist individuals must stay well clear of. No, the condition is really much more suited to Europeans.

2006, William Beard, “M. Butterfly (1993)”, in The Artist as Monster: The Cinema of David Cronenberg, rev. and exp. edition, Toronto, Buffalo, N.Y.: University of Toronto Press, page 346

The home-wrecking bimbo who had succumbed to the Pinkerton Syndrome had been transformed into a 'bad girl' – a phenomenon not unfamiliar to Asian societies – and recovered for herself an empowered cultural agency.

2015, Chris Hudson, “Dangerous Sexuality in Singapore: The Sarong Party Girl”, in Adeline Koh, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, editors, Women and the Politics of Representation in Southeast Asia: Engendering Discourse in Singapore and Malaysia (Routledge Research on Gender in Asia Series; 8), Abingdon, Oxon., New York, N.Y.: Routledge

(chiefly Singapore, derogatory, politics, ethnic slur) The tendency of some Asians to regard Caucasians as superior or more desirable, especially where marriage or relationships are concerned.


potato chip

I'll take a potato chip, and eat it!

2007 December 8, “目線 [Glare]”, in デスノート [Death Note], spoken by Light Yagami (Brad Swaile), Ocean Productions, via Adult Swim

(Canada, US, Australia, Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, New Zealand) A potato crisp, a thin slice of potato that has been fried.


xiong

en-adj

xiong (comparative more xiong, superlative most xiong)

more xiong (comparative)
most xiong (superlative)

From Hokkien 傷／伤 (siong). The spelling with x is Pinyin-based.

(Singapore, Singlish) Alternative form of siong


bailable

(of an offence) For which bail is permitted.

(specifically, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia) For which bail must be granted unless in special circumstances.


zai

From Hokkien 在 (chāi, “steady”); likely a shortening of Hokkien 在穩／在稳 (chāi-ún, “experienced and composed; safe; reliable; trustworthy”), in the sense of a person being solid, experienced, and collected under pressure.

der

(Singapore) extremely skilled; talented.


heartland

Halford John Mackinder
The Geographical Pivot of History

From heart (“(figuratively) centre, core, essence”) + land.

ocaq

Those in the HDB [Housing and Development Board] heartland will be able to vote in the airconditioned comfort of their community centres […]

2003, Anais [pseudonym], soc.culture.singapore (Usenet)

Take heart, small-time shopkeepers in the heartlands.

2001 March 16, Alfred Dass, Today, Singapore: Mediacorp Press, →OCLC, page 8

I applaud the organising committee's decision to hold the concert in the heartlands.

2003 July 23, Jason Lee Boon Hong, Today, Singapore: Mediacorp Press, →OCLC, page 10

The interior part of a region, especially when contrasted with coastal parts or when regarded as particularly powerful or significant.

(specifically, Singapore, chiefly in the plural) Residential districts and planning areas outside the city centre; the new towns of Singapore collectively.

鄰里社区

(Singapore) residential districts outside the city centre


liao

Borrowed from Hokkien 了 (liáu) or Teochew 了 (liao²). Tone and spelling influenced by Mandarin liǎo.

I run 4 laps liao. ― I just ran 4 laps.

It’s going to rain liao. ― It’s going to start raining soon.

Reach liao, give me a call. ― Give me a call when you’ve reached.

You decorate the cake liao? ― Have you decorated the cake yet?

Damn shack liao, need to go back and sleep. ― I’m really tired now, I need to go back and sleep.

perfective aspect
perfective aspect#English

(Singlish, Manglish) Indicates perfective aspect (action completion) or change of state.


power trip

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-power trip.wav

A power trip has shut down production from the Ophir field offshore Malaysia, according to a report by energy portal OffshoreEnergyToday.com.

2018 January 9, Surin Murugiah, “Power trip shuts down Ophir field offshore Malaysia, says report”, in The Edge Markets, retrieved 2023-08-17

A power trip is when the circuit breakers in your house cut off power in one area or the entirety of your house.

(Malaysia, Singapore) A power outage or a blackout, when an electrical device or system suddenly stops working.


mou

Kopitiam mou? ― Do you want to go to the coffee shop?

Day trip mou? ― Do you want to go on a day trip?

Hiking tomorrow. Onz mou? ― I/We are going on a hike tomorrow. Are you coming?

(Malaysia, Singapore, colloquial) Sentence-final particle, forms a tag question.