Dim sum =? savory snack

[Laurence Horn]

>> P.S.  About four custards on a plate, Wiki tells me four is an
>> unlucky number (three is lucky).  (In Seoul, a hotel I stayed at
>> circa 1990 had no 4th -- and nor 13th -- floors.)

A practice still practiced in Vancouver hotels and apartment buildings.  (Lots of Chinese and non-Chinese there.)

LH

>
> It comes from the Chinese reading of four, which means death. You can still find places in Japan where they do that, but it's not so common.
>
> Looking at MandarinTools.com, 四 (four) is si4 in Mandarin and sei3 in Cantonese.
> Death is si3 in Mandarin and sei2 in Cantonese.
> Both are shi in Japanese and sa in Korean.
>
> Also, see:
> http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%9B%9B
> http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%AD%BB
>
> BB
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org