Dictionary of Hong Kong English, A

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185 W W B waah wai wallah wallah Walled City wan Wan Chai wan yee wet market white elephant white gold white tiger winter congos Wishing Tree wok Wong Tai Sin District wonton wuei wushu 186 W waah ▸ waah (also wah) /wa:/ interjection. Source language: Cantonese (嘩). Definition: an exclamation, indicating surprise or amazement (usually verbal). Text example: 1 “Waah i just had my genetics midterm on Monday, and today the prof already told us that the results will be online tonite.” 2 “Wah!Here’s thejobforme.” wai /waɪ/ fixed expression. Source language: Cantonese (࠶). Definition: a greeting (usually in spoken language, mostly used to answer a phone). Text example: “As he was almost ouside the door he hailed the shape— ‘Wai’—but got no response. By this time he was almost in the door and hailed again ‘Wai,’ walking toward the shape allthewhile.” wallah wallah (also wallawalla ) /wɔlə wɔlə/ /wɔla wɔla/ n. Source language: uncertain, possibly from Indian English or onomatopoeic for the engine sound. Definition: a small boat used as a ferry for casual traffic (archaic). Text example: 1 “The key elements of the project are described as follows: reclamation and seawalls, roads and associated services, North Island Line Protection Works and Advance Trunk Road Tunnel (ATRT) for the CWB; reprovisioning of 187 W ▸ wan (2) Star Ferry Pier, public landing steps, wallah wallah moorings,andmotorboat/launchoperators’kiosks.” 2 “During the summer months, you can hire a small motorized walla-walla from Wong Shek Pier to take you tothis dive location.” walla walla (drawing by Adrian Cennydd Petyt) Walled City n. See: Kowloon Walled City. wan (1) /wɔn/ n. Source language: Cantonese (灣). Definition: an area. Text example: “‘Sai wan,’ ‘Sheung wan’.” Note: Usually used only in place names. wan (2) /wɔn/ n. Source language: Cantonese (灣). Definition: a body of water partly enclosed by the shore, but with a wide opening to the sea; a bay. Text example: “TaiLongWan,HauHoiWan.” Note: Usually used only in place names. 188 W Wan Chai /wan tʃaɪ/ n. Source language: Cantonese (灣仔). Definition: a district in the middle northern part of Hong Kong Island, location of the Handover ceremony and a red-light area. wan yee /wən ji:/ n. Source language: Cantonese (雲耳). See: black fungus. wet market fixed expression. Definition: a market for selling fresh meat and fish, fruits and vegetables, sometimes locally produced. Text example: “Therefore, the challenge for Hong Kong is to give careful consideration of the function of wet markets against supermarkets, while providing training and education aboutsafefood handling.” white elephant fixed expression. Definition: an Asian symbol, denoting all kinds of powers and virtues. Text example: “A genuine white elephant is one of the most ancient signs of divine power and longevity in Chinese tradition— and Vietnamese and Indian and Thai and so on.” Wan Chai ▸ 189 W white gold fixed expression. Definition: platinum and not a blend of silver and gold. Text example: “Misrepresentation Regarding Platinum. To rectify the ambiguities of the Chinese translation of ‘platinum’ and ‘white gold’, we plan to amend paragraph 5(3) of the Trade Descriptions (Marking) (Gold and Gold Alloy) Order (Cap. 362A) to change the Chinese translation of white gold.” white tiger idiomatic expression. Definition: a woman with a shaved pubic area. Text example: “Saw that she is really bare (WHITE TIGER) below not even stubble in sight.” winter congos fixed expression. Source languages: Cantonese or Amoy dialect, English. Definition: a variety of winter tea (archaic). Text example: “The Teas shipped by the vessels already alluded to, are of the latter description and would, had the monopoly continued, have been sent away in October and November next under the name Winter Teas’ or ‘CompanyWinter Congos’.” Wishing Tree n. Definition: a tree near Tai Po supposedly with magical qualities. ▸ Wishing Tree 190 W Text example: “The Wishing Tree at Lam Tsuen ... is an attraction for locals for one major reason; the tree is reputed to make wishes come true.” Note: Because of damage caused to the tree, by the weight of too many wishes, wooden racks are now provided for the joss paper wishes to be hung. Wishing Tree (drawing by Adrian Cennydd Petyt) wok /wɔk/ n. Source language: Cantonese (㞕). Definition: 1 trouble, problem (usually spoken language); 2 a slang term for a satellite dish (usually spoken language). wok ▸ [18.221.239.148] Project...