250

[fivetrout]

So today i send my wife $250 for traveling money for her to go home and visit her family.

She goes on to tell me...I have insulted her! 250 represents an "abusive man" and that everyone knows that! So i says...if I sent $125....would that mean an "abusive boy"??

Anyone ever hear of such a thing?

[fivetrout]

Wikipedia:

As a Mandarin slang term, 250 (二百五 pinyin èrbǎiwǔ) is an insult meaning "stupid person" or "simpleton". The expression is based on bàndiàozi (半弔子 or 半吊子). In ancient China, copper coins were grouped by stringing them together through the square holes in the center; originally 1000 was a unit of currency called a diao. Ban diao zi literally means half a diao (500 coins), which is a slang term referring to a person who is inadequate in skills or mental abilities. Since modest Chinese scholars may call themselves ban diao zi to humbly deprecate their own expertise, ban diao zi is not necessarily a pejorative term. On the other hand, Er bai wu (250) is half of a ban diao zi and it is an insult.

I guess next time I'll send $251.

[JustJim]

This is good to know.  I guess it is up there with the number 4 - which sounds like the word for death, and so it is avoided.  The elevator in Mei's apartment building has no 4th or 14 th floors.  They are floor number 3A and 3B.

I remember when I was picking a date for our wedding day that I consulted a guide on Chinese numerology.  It meant a lot to Mei that I picked a good date.

[Willy The Londoner]

This is good to know.  I guess it is up there with the number 4 - which sounds like the word for death, and so it is avoided.  The elevator in Mei's apartment building has no 4th or 14 th floors.  They are floor number 3A and 3B.

I remember when I was picking a date for our wedding day that I consulted a guide on Chinese numerology.  It meant a lot to Mei that I picked a good date.

The other apartment is on the 4th Floor but the 4th floor does not exist so it is named floor 5.
The new apartment is on the fourth floor and that is numbered 4.  I wonder what ills are in store for us here.

Last night when we celebrated Chinese New Year every light in the place was switched on. Then when we went to bed every light except our main bedroom light was left on all night

Not found out the reason why yet.
Willy

[shaun]

My wife complained about the $250.00 issue once. I told her that I gave what I gave.  I don't carry that ridiculous suspicion and that in Chinese money it was a different value. I took the money back and she has never complained about the amount again.  Problem solved.

After 5 years she knows I don't play that junk so she doesn't try it with me anymore.

On the funny side yesterday I was talking to my wife on the cell phone while she was preparing the dinner for family and guests.  She was getting ready to cut up the chicken when she accidently pushed it and it went out the window and landed on the ground outside.  She lives on the 20th floor of a building.  It didn't hit a single person.  She ran down stairs, got it, brought it back up.  She said every bone on the chicken was broke so she de-boned it and washed it up then cooked it.  The family and friends had a great laugh as she told the story of the flying dead chicken.  It reminds me of the WKRP episode when they threw live turkeys out of the helicopter and Mr. Carlson the radio station manager said, "As God as my witness I thought turkeys could fly."  Hilarious.

[David E]

We have just been thru' the Chinese New Year rituals.... Special dinner on Wed evening, clean whole house, put up heaps of new signs...the whole nine yards !!

What is a pain is the rule that on the first day of the New Year (Thursday), we were not allowed to use a knife for anything.....did you ever try to get through a whole day without using a knife ?....a right pain in the a%%

[Willy The Londoner]

Maybe that is why the food here  was prepared the day before!

I went against those rules and roasted my chicken on Thursday AND I used a very sharp knife to slice it.

Thursday morning then this morning woken before 8am by those strings of very loud fireworks.  Maybe I hear it more this year as we have moved to the edge of the City and it is more open here.

Willy

[fivetrout]

shaun...i'm thinking that since the 2,3, or 5 second rule for food on the floor couldn't be applied....the 20 story rule was invoked!

[Willy The Londoner]

...a right pain in the a%%

I think that is one place where chopstick or two may well be preferable to a knife!

Willy

[JustJim]

I think the 20 story rule only applies if you don't hit anyone...

If you do then you have to split the chicken with the one that you hit, unless the chicken was frozen.  In that case you look to see if any witnesses saw what happened.  If not then you pick up your chicken from where it lies next to the dead body and you slink away quietly...

Mei tells me that she does not have any of these superstitions.  For those whose wives do here is a link that might help...

http://web.uvic.ca/~mroth/438/CHINA/taboos.html

I knew the one about the knife - it cuts your good fortune for the year in half.

[Willy The Londoner]

I knew the one about the knife - it cuts your good fortune for the year in half.

The bad news is that my good fortune in the coming year is cut in half.  The good news is that in that same year my good fortune will still be twice as good as the average person.

Willy