Odd expression

[Douglas G. Wilson]

> > >I have always heard my father say the phrase "boccatadi papason".
> > >He says he heard it often while in the navy during the Korean
> > >conflict. It has become a joke among our family, especially
> > >because dad can't remember what it means.  He says it something
> > >like "crazy dad".
>
>Just a guess:
>
>"papason" looks like a phonetic spelling of "papa-san", an expression
>commonly used by Americans in the Far East, used to refer to (I think) an
>Asian man of relatively advanced years.  If "boccatadi" (a word I don't
>recognize) happens to be an insulting term for someone's mental state, then
>"crazy dad" would be a free but probably reasonably accurate translation of
>"boccatadi papa-san".

Right, I think. This is military pidgin-Japanese, and "Crazy Dad" seems an
OK gloss.

"Papa-san" is English (probably) "Papa" = "father" + Japanese "-san"
(something like "Mr."/"Mrs."/etc.), overall meaning "[older] local [East
Asian] man". This could also be used to mean "pimp", "barkeep", etc. given
the milieu in which military pidgin is most prevalent. I believe it might
also be applied humorously to any man by his mistress/girlfriend/wife,
etc., or by his [younger] friends.

The other part seems to be Japanese "bakatare" which is used like "baka" or
"bakayarou" to mean "foolish/crazy/stupid [person]": this would be a term
of abuse like "[You] idiot!" or "[You] asshole!" if cried out in traffic,
etc., I think. In the combination above it might be humorous-affectionate
perhaps. "Bakatare" occurs in US (Hawaiian) slang. I don't know the exact
significance (if any) of the "-tare" suffix; perhaps somebody more familiar
with Japanese can remark on it? "Baka" is not always offensive; e.g.
recently I saw "oyabaka" = "parent-crazy" = "doting parent" applied to a
man who liked to show off numerous photos of his children.

-- Doug Wilson