Green’s Dictionary of Slang

ancient Chinese secret n.

[appears to have begun with a 1986 TV advert for Calgon washing powder: recalled in email to www.inthe80s.com 23 Apr. 2002: ‘The Calgon in the Chinese Laundromat: Woman comes in and asks how the cleaner gets her laundry so fresh. He laughs and says “Ancient Chinese Secret.” The woman in the back says “We need more Calgon” and the customer says “Ancient Chinese secret huh????” and the proprieter smiles embarassingly (very cheesy)’]

(US black teen) a non-committal response when one is asked how one managed a task.

Show quotations
www.southperk.com 🌐 Hmm hidden missile silos behind the great wall. Ancient Chinese secret huh.
L. Richardson at www.crummy.com 🌐 Firstly, an all-purpose excuse for not telling somebody something. Whether you are too lazy or it’s too complicated to explain or you don’t actually know yourself, ‘Ancient Chinese secret!’ says ‘I’m not going to tell you’ without putting the other person on the defensive. I mean they can’t really expect you to give away the ancient Chinese secret, can they? Example: ‘What are you doing with the mouse?’ ‘Ancient Chinese secret!’.
‘Noire’ Thong on Fire 205: You must be laying down some kinda ancient Chinese secret! I’ma miss you girl!