Drac – I knew that and its a term for Chinese food no longer considered polite to say.
Funny how these things change, it was common usage in a girlfriends household, often during discussions about whether there was going to be Chinese food or a curry, or something else entirely. She’s half Chinese, her mum is full ethnic Chinese from Singapore. We were once rather late to a friend’s wedding reception, another friend, as wee walked in, said, “where did you get to, stop off for a chinky?” Being somewhat flustered at being the last there, neither of us really registered what he’d said, we just stood there, as he then started to try to backtrack in a rather embarrassed fashion. At which point Kim just burst out laughing at his discomfort. The interpretation being we’d stopped for sex!
I guess maybe it’s an internal thing, like black folks using the ‘n’-word, and gays using ‘queer’, perhaps?
I dunno, I haven’t had a long chat with Kim for ages, next time I do I’ll try to remember to ask her how she and her family view the use of the term nowadays.
Right, as you were, carry on.
😀