Dictionary of Hong Kong English, A

D

45 D D B D dai jap hai dai pai dong dan tat DB D-Bay dim sum dim sum house Discovery Bay djunk do-jeh domestic helper Double Ninth Double Tenth doubling-down doubling-sideways doubling-up dou fu fa Dragon Boat Festival drunken chicken duck 46 D D abbreviation. Definition: drugs or its consumption. Text example: “D:1.drugs2.havingtakendrugs.” dai jap hai /daɪ dƷa:p haɪ/ idiomatic expression. Source language: Cantonese (大閘蟹). Definition: an investor locked into an investment. Text example: “People are still cautious, or they are Dai Jap Hai waiting to be released.” Note: This use is motivated by the original sense common in Cantonese“a hairy crab served tied up.” dai pai dong /daɪ paɪ dɔŋ/ n. Source language: Cantonese (大牌᠔). Definition: a street restaurant (often for the working class). Text example: “But if you’re on a budget it’s worthwhile exploring thedai pai dongs, the cheap street stall from which you can buy excellentfoodforjustafewdollars.” dan tat (also daan tat) /da:n ta:t/ n. Source language: Cantonese (蛋撻). Definition: egg tart. Text example: 1 “The egg tarts (‘dan tat’) are freshly baked on location throughouttheday.” D ▸ 47 D 2 “For a side dish, there’s hot sweet buns stuffed with melted butter called bor lau bau, a tasty egg custard daan tat or the straight doughnut yau char gwai.” DB See: Discovery Bay. D-Bay See: Discovery Bay. dim sum /dim sʌm/ n. Source language: Cantonese (點心). Definition: a variety of different traditional Cantonese foods usually of a size to be picked up by chopsticks. Examples include har gow and shaomai. Text example: “They ordered a tea, and a steamer basket of tripe, the only dim sum the kitchenhad left.” Note: The spelling tim sum is obscure in HKE, but more common in Singapore. dim sum house n. Definition: a restaurant where dim sum is eaten. Text example: “Yau Ma Tei is where you will find this lost world of Hong Kong: a dim sum house where you can have your lunch and then while away the afternoon hours between 2.30 andfiveeveryweekday.” ▸ dim sum house 48 D Discovery Bay, DB, D-Bay, Disco Bay n. Definition: an expatriate residential area. It is often seen as culturally isolated from the Hong Kong Chinese community. djunk /dƷʌnk/ n. See: junk. do-jeh /dɔ dƷə/ interjection. Source language: Cantonese (多謝). Definition: an expression equivalent to “thank you,” but used only for a gift or a compliment, but not for a service (usually spoken language). Text example: “Thank you for coming to our concerts and supporting us locals! Itmeans a lot tous. Do Jeh.” domestic helper fixed expression. Definition: a person who works within the employer’s home doing household chores. Text example: “A Filipina domestic helper said, ‘I really don’t know why Hong Kong people are so crazy about that. In other countries there is panic-buying of rice.’” Double Ninth n. See: Chung Yeung Festival. Discovery Bay ▸ 49 D Double Tenth n. Definition: 1 anniversary of the rebellion against the last Chinese dynasty; 2 a failed ceasefire agreement between the Kuomintang (KMT) and Communist Party. Text example: 1 “1911 Mutiny of Imperial troops at Wuchang on 10 October (‘Double Tenth’) leads to the outbreak of Chinese Revolution and the declaration of a republic at Nanking.” 2 “The failure of the Marshall mission was in fact a foregone conclusion. Equally the earlier-made Double Tenth Agreement (through Hurley’s efforts) for ceasefire among the KMT and the CCP proved to be hollow.” doubling-down fixed expression. Definition: Acting on a junior post in addition to one’s own (e.g., in the Civil Service). Text example: “Acting allowance should not be granted for doublingdown acting appointment (i.e., a senior officer taking on thejobofajuniorofficer in addition to his own).” doubling-sideways fixed expression. Definition: Acting on a post at the same rank in addition to one’s own post (e.g., in the Civil Service). Text example: “Doubling-up, doubling-sideways or doubling-down. The acting appointment is for an officer to undertake the duties of a post in a higher, same or lower rank, in addition to the duties of his own post.” ▸ doubling-sideways 50 D doubling-up fixed expression. Definition: acting on a post at a higher rank in addition to one’s own post (e.g., in...