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<div>At 6:35 PM -0500 12/8/00, EdZotti@AOL.COM wrote:</div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>I'm researching the expression
"Chinese water torture" for a newspaper<br>
column. I have found some discussion of "Chinese fire
drill" on ADS-L and<br>
also at http://www.word-detective.com/back-x.htm<span
></span>l#chinese. Morris quotes Hugh<br>
Rawson as saying,<br>
<br>
<<"the use of the modifier "Chinese" in the
derogatory sense of "confused,<br>
disorganized or inferior" dates back to the time of World War I
and was<br>
largely a British invention. Other "Chinese" slurs of the
day included<br>
"Chinese ace" (an inept aviator), "Chinese national
anthem" (an explosion)<br>
and "Chinese puzzle" (one with no solution)."Chinese
fire drill" seems to be<br>
one of the few (fortunately) of these phrases that have survived in
popular<br>
usage. >><br>
<br>
However, nothing about "Chinese water torture" (which of
course does not have<br>
the implication of confused, disorganized or inferior). I have asked
several<br>
native Chinese speakers and "Chinese water torture" is
unknown to them. So I<br>
put the question before the house. Does anyone have any knowledge of
the<br>
origin of this term, or for that matter of the practice called by
that name,</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>that is, torture by having water dripped
on you slowly?</blockquote>
<div><br></div>
<div>If anyone was thinking of checking in RHHDAS, don't
bother. (I suppose it's not really a slang term at that.)
But that source does contain a number of other pejorative
("usually considered offensive") 'Chinese X' items not
mentioned above, including the Chinese home run (a cheap homer, one
which just barely makes it into the stands--I recall Dusty Rhodes's
game-winner in Game 1 of the 1954 world series as being so labelled),
the Chinese basket (one that makes it through the hoop from the
underside, and that consequently--unlike the Chinese homer--doesn't
count if it's detected), the Chinese landing (after the
mythical Chinese ace pilot, "One Wing Low"), the somewhat
different Chinese tobacco (= opium), and the rather intriguing
Chinese gangway, in which one ship is brought alongside another bow
to stern so that the two vessels are "moored<i>
soixante-neuf</i> style", as one cite elegantly puts it.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>larry</div>
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