Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) an unexpected, peculiar, or arcane aspect or perspective.

1934

D. Hammett Thin Man cap. 25: ‘You're not trying to find a Chinese angle on it, are you?" he complained, "just because they shoot like that?’ ‘No, but any kind of angle would help’.

(US) a grade that is marked higher than the student’s work really deserved.

1966		K. Porter ‘Still More Ethnic and Place names as Derisive Adjectives’ Western Folklore XXV:1 38: Chinese B. A grade higher than the student’s actual performance would justify. [...] University of Illinois, ca. 1955.
1979		(ref. to 1950s) Maledicta III:2 156: Chinese B n [Porter ca. 1955] Grade higher than the student’s actual performance would justify, awarded out of some special personal or group consideration; so called because disadvantaged Oriental students were often the beneficiaries.

(N.Z.) rice.

2003

McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl.

(Aus.) illegally imported (usu. China-manufactured) cigarettes.

2021

Betoota-isms 102: Chinese Breath Mints [...] 1. A packet of grey market cigarettes originally from China 2. Illegal imported cigarettes, purchased from a dodgy tobacconist.

(drugs) a form of heroin.

1973		US Congress Immigration and Naturalization hearings IV 429: This memorandum deals with the profile of Chinese brown rock heroin. It is very interesting.
1981		F. Bresler Chinese Mafia 13: [Heroin] is often called ‘Chinese White’, or No.3, which is not a powder but a sort of ‘rocky’ granular substance, popularly nicknamed ‘Chinese Brown Sugar’.
1995		J.M.T. Miller Jade Crucible 168: China White, the king of narcotics, was the top-grade heroin [...] Chinese Brown Sugar was a less refined version of the same product.
2000		C. Wood ‘Jeeves goes Trainspotting’ on South Manchester Writers’ Workshop 🌐 Several days later I returned to the flat, my head doing the rounds, a notable side effect of the Chinese brown which is de rigeur in London these days.

(Aus.) rice.

1941

A. Gurney Bluey & Curley 10 June [synd. cartoon strip] Tell his reverence there’s loop the loop, snags and mud balls, strike me dead, slip in the gutter and Chinese comfort fund. The cook said there’s soup, sausages and potatoes, bread and butter and rice.

(Aus.) a smoker’s cough.

1984

Partridge DSUE (8th edn) 209/1: since ca. 1935.

(US) any copy that faithfully reproduces not just the accurate work but the mistakes, too.

1929		Walker & Lotsch Treatise on the Law of Patents for Inventions 19: When a defendant manufactures a device which is a ‘Chinese’ copy of a patent, the Court shall insist that the defendant produce a prior art structure.
1950		R. Callmann Law of Unfair Competition and Trade-marks 249: There is no reason why a Chinese copy of such article may not be made.
1963		US Patents Quarterly 267: Evidence that plaintiff’s patented device is commercially successful and that defendant makes Chinese copy thereof [...] is not of primary importance.
1979		Maledicta III:2 156: Chinese copy n Reproduction which captures defects as well as desired qualities.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 81: Chinese copy. A slavishly exact copy.
1998		J. Rosenstock Patent Interference Practice Hbk 87: Pejorative language: Sever states that ‘Glickman’s patent is a virtual Chinese copy of Sever’s application’.

(drugs) a form of withdrawing from a narcotic addiction: a mix of heroin and Wampole’s Tonic is consumed, with the proportion of narcotic gradually reduced to zero.

1951		W. Burroughs letter 5 March in Harris (1993) 81: I took the Chinese cure and I’m off the junk.
1953		‘William Lee’ Junkie (1966) 72: A variation of it is known as the Chinese cure, which is carried out with hop and Wampole’s Tonic.
1969		R.R. Lingeman Drugs from A to Z (1970) 61: Chinese cure An addict’s way of withdrawing himself from heroin: opium in daily decreasing amounts is mixed with a tonic, until finally the addict is drinking only the tonic.
2002		T. Nordegren Encyc. Alcohol & drug Abuse 170: Chinese cure Colloquial term for reduction of heroin dose to overcome addiction.

a deal that fails to materialize.

1979		Maledicta III:2 156: Chinese deal n Business transaction that does not materialize; from the stereotype of the Chinese preoccupation with business and their untrustworthiness.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 81: Chinese deal. A pretended deal.

(US) a complimentary ticket to a theatrical or sporting event.

1938

D. Runyon ‘For a Pal’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 569: A Chinese ducket being a complimentary ducket that is punched full of holes like Chinese money, and which you do not have to pay for.

used to describe having sexual intercourse, with the couple lying on their sides.

1980

Maledicta IV:2 (Winter) 198: Were they to roll onto their sides, our coupling couple would be doing it Chinese fashion.

1. (also Chinese drill, Chink fire drill) bedlam, chaos.

1943		H.B. Lent PT Boat 166: I was certain that I had one of my navigation equations in the test fouled up like a Chinese fire drill.
1946		Coshocton (OH) Trib. 5 June 8: As far as Burton was concerned, everything was fouled up like a Chinese fire drill as Hogan finished with his plus 51 to lead Lloyd Mangrum.
1958		(con. 1950) E. Frankel Band of Brothers 4: He’s as fouled up as a Chink fire drill!
1967		Current Sl. II:2 8: Chinese Fire Drill, n. Denotes a confused and unorganized formation; any fouled-up event.
1979		Maledicta III:2 156: Chinese fire drill n [Cray 1961] Chaos, confusion.
1983		R. Price Breaks 91: We [...] bolted from the car through our respective doors like fraternity jerks doing a Chinese drill.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 81: Chinese fire drill. A condition of much confusion.
2001		International Monster.Com 3 Jan. 🌐 The CEO was a half-hour late for the meeting. He rushed in and apologized, saying ‘This whole morning has been like a Chinese fire drill.’ When asked, I explained that ‘Chinese fire drill’ is an American expression that means everybody is working at a very fast pace. I think they bought it.

2. (US campus) a student game whereby a car stops at the traffic lights and all those inside jump out, run round and round the car and then jump in again before driving away.

1989

H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 81: Chinese fire drill. [...] Specifically, among teenagers, a practical joke in which youngsters get out of a car that is stopped at a red light, run around it, and hop in and out of it even after the light changes.

in poker, a worthless hand, i.e. four cards of a flush or a straight – a proper hand requires five.

1920		B. Link That Little Game 13 Apr. [synd. cartoon] That must be a ‘Chinese straight.’ He reads it backwards.
1979		Maledicta III:2 156: Chinese flush; Chinese straight n Worthless hand in poker; four cards of a flush or straight.
2003		Solomon & Higgins From Africa to Zen 2: A ‘Chinese flush’ in poker has only the same color to recommend it.

(drugs) heroin.

2002

DRUG-ARM Aus. 🌐 Slang Terms: chinese H Heroin.

(N.Z.) a lavatory .

2003

McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 46: Chinese lady South Island toilet C19, indicative of low regard for Chinese miners.

an unattainably large sum of money.

1899

A. Binstead Houndsditch Day by Day 19: Eight pounds are a Chinese loan to a man between whom and the workhouse only nineteen pennies stand.

(drugs) opium.

1953		Anslinger & Tompkins Traffic In Narcotics 306: Chinese molasses. Opium.
1977		S.N. Pradhan Drug Abuse.
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 5: Chinese molasses — Opium.

1. the world of drug-dealing.

1938		D. Maurer ‘Argot of the Und. Narcotic Addict’ Pt 2 in AS XIII:3 182/2: chinese needle work. A euphemistic expression for [...] dealing in narcotics.
1955		H. Braddy ‘Narcotic Argot Along the Mexican Border’ in AS XXX:2 89: The euphemism Chinese needlework for dealing in opium.

2. the injection of narcotics.

1938		D. Maurer ‘Argot of the Und. Narcotic Addict’ Pt 2 in AS XIII:3 182/2: chinese needle work. A euphemistic expression for using [...] narcotics. [Ibid.] 83/2: embroidery. See Chinese needle-work.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1959		J.E. Schmidt Narcotics Lingo and Lore.
1979		Maledicta III:2 156: Chinese needlework n Injecting narcotics; from the importation of narcotics from China and the Orient.
2002		T. Nordegren Encyc. Alcohol & Drugs Abuse.

(drugs) a variety of heroin, processed in Hong Kong and imported by Chinese smugglers.

1981		F. Bresler Chinese Mafia 13: [Heroin] is often called ‘Chinese White’, or No.3, which is not a powder but a sort of ‘rocky’ granular substance, popularly nicknamed ‘Chinese Brown Sugar’.
a.2003		Mount Anville ‘Choose Life’ on It’s A Beautiful Life 🌐 Types of heroin which do not dissolve in water (e.g. South West Asian type and Chinese No. 3) have caused problems when dependants have used lemon juice, vinegar or car battery acid in efforts to dissolve the drug.

(drugs) heroin.

1977		L. Young et al. Recreational Drugs.
1981		D.E. Miller Bk of Jargon 337: Chinese red: Heroin.
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 5: Chinese red — Heroin.

(drugs) heroin.

1978		Watson & Braithwaite Two Faces of Deviance 85: During the ’sixties and ’seventies, heroin addicts obtained Chinese rocks, the partly processed heroin base, from the Chinese community in Sydney.
1980		Ramones ‘Chinese Rock’ 🎵 You wanna go cop. You wanna go get some Chinese Rock. / I’m livin’ on a Chinese Rock. / All my best things are in hock. / I’m livin’ on a Chinese rock. / Everything is in the pawn shop.
1998		Goldman & Papson Nike Culture 155: I was sitting reading it, snorting big Chinese rocks of heroin under one of those grand English oak trees in Kensington Garden.
2003		Dee Dee Ramone ‘Chelsea Horror Hotel’ Ch. 12 at OfficialRamones.com 🌐 ‘Hey, Dee Dee’ he spoke. ‘Wanna do some Chinese rocks? I got some smokin’ bags right here with me.’ [...] ‘Alright, pal, let’s get stoned. I hope it’s a good as in the old days,’ I said, trying to make a little joke, as I eyed the bundle of red metallic dime bags of heroin that he was holding in his outstretched mummified hand. ‘Try a few, Dee Dee, these rocks are the real thing’ Sid said to me and winked.

1. venereal disease.

1940		‘Argot of the Sea’ in AS XV:4 Dec. 450/2: chinese rot. Any social disease.
1953		K. Larson Barnyard Folklore 84: Venereal Disease ... Chinese rot [HDAS].
1963		Mag. of Fantasy and Science Fiction 14: [Which] probably saved myself from pox, Cupid’s catarrh, soft chancre, Chinese rot.
1983		(con. 1942–5) L.C. Kissick Guerilla One 45: Venereal diseases were widespread in China; besides the usual varieties, there was a particularly unpleasant one known as ‘the Chinese rot’.

2. any form of unspecified ‘mystery’ disease.

1938		in DARE.
1942–48		in Southern Folklore Quarterly MU (1949) 201: A ... [sailor] may complain of having the Chinese rot (diarrhoea) [HDAS].
1946		Recreation 180/1: Should your canoe upset, you may end up in a hospital with anything from typhoid fever to the Chinese rot.
1951		J. Laughlin New Directions in Prose and Poetry 358: Don’t Reba have galloping crud? So I got athlete’s hand. Or Chinese rot. Or I’m a leper.
1962		Air Engineering 51: First Chinese rot . . . Now, Tokyo lung. Used to be our armed services personnel, serving in what’s now Red China, came home with a skin infection they called ‘Chinese rot’.
1968–9		in DARE I 632/1: Imaginary diseases: [...] Chinese rot.
1988		Mag. of Fantasy & Science Fiction 74 98: They would tend to focus on one or two sure-fire headliner-makers: a nuclear powerplant disaster or the fear of one, a new disease like AIDS or Chinese Rot.
2003		A.R. Blakeslee Different kind of Hero 60: Sis shouted loudest, ‘You’ll give Renny the Chinese rot.’.

see saxophone n.

(Aus.) a hammer.

1984		Partridge DSUE (8th edn) 209/1: since ca. 1950.
2004		C.H. Dale Chinese Aesthetics 25: A Chinese screwdriver (Australian slang for a ‘hammer’).

(N.Z.) sucking tobacco smoke through the mouth and exhaling through the nostrils.

1964		N.B. Harvey Any Old Dollars, Mister? 72: He sat back [...] and let smoke trickle from his mouth and up through his nostrils. Chinese smoking, he said proudly.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 46: Chinese smoke Letting cigarette smoke trickle out of mouth upwards to be inhaled through nostrils. From 1960s.

see Chinese flush

(gay) a bar where East Asian boys or young men are available for picking up by Western men.

1980

Maledicta IV:2 (Winter) 235: Rodgers has [...] yellow fever [...] but misses yellow peril and Chinese take-way (a pick-up bar featuring oriental boys).

opium.

1950		B. Rose ‘Pitching Horseshoes’ Jan. [synd. col.] If you think I’ve been lacing my coffee with Chinese tobacco and want to check on [this story], go ahead [W&F].
1952		(con. 1920s) G. Fowler Schnozzola 60: This was a song about an opium addict. Under the influence of a drug known as Chinese tobacco, or Wyoming ketchup.
1971		E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).
1979		Maledicta III:2 156: Chinese tobacco n [DAS 1950] Opium.
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 5: Chinese tobacco — Opium.

(US short order) rice and cream.

1899

Ft Wayne News (IN) 2 Feb. 7/1: Bowery Eating House Lingo [...] Rice and cream, ‘Chinese white wedding’.

(US campus) to succumb heavily to a drug, usu. marijuana.

1980		L. Birnbach Official Preppie Hbk 219: Get Chinese v. Get really stoned.
2015		Section Boyz ‘Trapping Ain’t Dead’ 🎵 Smoking so much dope, I look Chinese.