Chinese fire drill

Last updated

"Chinese fire drill" is a predominantly American slang term for a situation that is chaotic or confusing, possibly due to poor or misunderstood instructions. [1] [2] It may also be known as a Polish fire drill [3] or, increasingly, simply as a fire drill. [4]

Contents

The phrase has been critiqued due to it associating "Chinese" as a descriptor with incompetence, chaos or otherwise poor quality. [5]

Origins

The term is generally regarded as having originated with British troops either during or prior to WWI, with the phrase then spreading to their American counterparts due to their mixing throughout the war. The phrase then remaining popular in American English while eventually falling out of use elsewhere. [6]

One specific tale of the phrase's origin is alleged [7] to have occurred in the 1900's when a ship run by British officers and a Chinese crew practiced a fire drill for a fire in the engine room. The bucket brigade were to draw water from the starboard side, pass it to the engine room, and pour it onto the simulated "fire". To prevent flooding, a separate crew was ordered to ferry the accumulated water from the engine room up to the main deck, and to heave the water over the port side. The drill had previously gone according to plan, until the orders were confused in interpretation. The bucket brigade began to draw the water from the starboard side, run directly over to the port side and then throw the water overboard, bypassing the engine room completely. [8] [ unreliable source? ]

Alternatively, the phrase's origin may lie in the historical Western use of the word Chinese to denote "confusion" and "incomprehensibility", which historians trace to the earliest contacts between Europeans and Chinese people in the 1600s, attributing it to Europeans' inability to understand China's radically different culture and world view. [9] In his 1989 Dictionary of Invective, British editor Hugh Rawson lists 16 phrases that use the word "Chinese" to denote "incompetence, fraud and disorganization". [10]

Other examples of such use include:

Other uses

The term can also refer to a prank originating in the 1960s in which the occupants of an automobile jump out, run around the vehicle, and jump back in at a different door, usually at a red light or other form of traffic stoppage. [13] This is sometimes also used to refer to a driver and passenger intentionally switching places in the middle of the road because the driver is having trouble with road conditions.

Additionally, the term is documented to have been used in the US Marine Corps during World War II, where it was often expressed in the phrase "as screwed up as a Chinese fire drill". [14] It was also commonly used by Americans during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. [15]

Offensiveness

Public use of the phrase has been considered to be offensive and racist. In 2017, a candidate for office in Nova Scotia, Matt Whitman, apologized for using the term in a video and subsequently removed the video. [16] In 2020, Washington state Senator Patty Kuderer made an apology for using the term in a hearing; Linda Yang of Washington Asians for Equality stated that the term was racist and filed a complaint with the state. [17] Kuderer apologized before any formal complaint was filed.

A Chinese Firedrill is the name of a music project by Armored Saint and Fates Warning bassist Joey Vera. It released an album, Circles, in 2007. [18] The album uses different musical foundations in each song, such that it is "chaotic or confusing", like a Chinese fire drill.

In The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson, the first episode of The Simpsons season 9, a retailer in Manhattan's Chinatown shouts out "Chinese fire drill!" as Bart Simpson sets a firework at his shop.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhyming slang</span> When words are replaced by their rhymes

Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhyming slang. In the US, especially the criminal underworld of the West Coast between 1880 and 1920, rhyming slang has sometimes been known as Australian slang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foobar</span> Placeholder names in programming

The terms foobar, foo, bar, baz, qux, quux, and others are used as metasyntactic variables and placeholder names in computer programming or computer-related documentation. They have been used to name entities such as variables, functions, and commands whose exact identity is unimportant and serve only to demonstrate a concept. The style guide for Google developer documentation recommends against using them as example project names because they are unclear and can cause confusion.

Gibberish, also known as jibber-jabber or gobbledygook, is speech that is nonsense: ranging across speech sounds that are not actual words, pseudowords, language games and specialized jargon that seems nonsensical to outsiders.

This glossary of names for the British include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe British people, Irish People and more specifically English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish people. Many of these terms may vary between offensive, derogatory, neutral and affectionate depending on a complex combination of tone, facial expression, context, usage, speaker and shared past history.

<i>Chink</i> Ethnic slur

Chink is an English-language ethnic slur usually referring to a person of Chinese descent, but also used to insult people with East Asian features. The use of the term describing eyes with epicanthic folds is considered highly offensive and is regarded as racist by many.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Race card</span> Idiom

"Playing the race card" is an idiomatic phrase that refers to the exploitation by someone of either racist or anti-racist attitudes in the audience in order to gain an advantage. It constitutes an accusation of bad faith directed at the person or persons raising concerns as regards racism. Critics of the term argue that it has been utilized to silence public discourse around racial disparities and undermine anti-racist initiatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jury rigging</span> Term for a makeshift repair

In maritime transport and sailing, jury rigging or jury-rigging is making temporary makeshift running repairs with only the tools and materials on board. It originates from sail-powered boats and ships. Jury-rigging can be applied to any part of a ship; be it its super-structure, propulsion systems, or controls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wanker</span> Insult

Wanker is slang for "one who wanks (masturbates)", but is most often used as a general insult. It is a pejorative term of English origin common in Britain and other parts of the English-speaking world, including Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is synonymous with the insult tosser.

To play the white man is an idiom which is used in parts of Great Britain and it means that someone is attempting to be decent and trustworthy in his or her actions. The phrase is commonly used by natives of the Yorkshire and the Humber region.

Pikey is an ethnic slur referring to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people. It is used mainly in the United Kingdom and in Ireland to refer to people who belong to groups which had a traditional travelling lifestyle. Groups referred to with this term include Irish Travellers, English Gypsies, Welsh Kale, Scottish Lowland Travellers, Scottish Highland Travellers, and Funfair Travellers. These groups consider the term to be extremely offensive.

Bugger or buggar can at times be considered as a mild swear word. In the United Kingdom the term has been used commonly to imply dissatisfaction, refer to someone or something whose behaviour is in some way inconvenient or perhaps as an expression of surprise. In the United States, particularly in the Midwest and South, it is an inoffensive slang term meaning "small animal".

"Feck" is a word that has several vernacular meanings and variations in Irish English, Scots, and Middle English.

<i>Urban Dictionary</i> Crowdsourced online dictionary of slang terms

Urban Dictionary is a crowdsourced English-language online dictionary for slang words and phrases. The website was founded in 1999 by Aaron Peckham. Originally, Urban Dictionary was intended as a dictionary of slang or cultural words and phrases, not typically found in standard English dictionaries, but it is now used to define any word, event, or phrase. Words or phrases on Urban Dictionary may have multiple definitions, usage examples, and tags. As of 2014, the dictionary contains over seven million definitions, while around 2,000 new entries were being added daily. Urban Dictionary has also become a repository for bigoted postings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigger in the woodpile</span> Expression indicating something suspicious or wrong

"Nigger in the woodpile" or "nigger in the fence" is a figure of speech originating in the United States meaning "some fact of considerable importance that is not disclosed—something suspicious or wrong".

Kike, also known as theK-word, is an ethnic slur directed at Jewish people. The etymological origin comes from the ancient Greek word for circle, κύκλος.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF slang</span> Slang terms used in the Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force (RAF) developed a distinctive slang which has been documented in works such as Piece of Cake and the Dictionary of RAF slang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patty Kuderer</span> American politician and attorney (born 1958)

Patricia Eileen Kuderer is an American politician and attorney who is serving as the 9th Insurance Commissioner of Washington since 2025. She previously served as a member of the Washington State Senate for the 48th district from 2017 to 2025. She was appointed to the State Senate after Cyrus Habib was elected lieutenant governor. In 2024, Kuderer was elected as Insurance Commissioner of Washington, succeeding Mike Kreidler.

References

  1. ↑ "Chinese fire drill", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 2023-01-17, retrieved 2024-12-13
  2. ↑ Partridge, Eric (2008). The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. New York: Routledge. p. 135. ISBN   978-0-203-96211-4.
  3. ↑ https://thorne_slang.en-academic.com/5092/Polish_fire_drill
  4. ↑ "Corporate Fire Drills — and How to Stop Them". 3 November 2020.
  5. ↑ Gandhi, Lakshmi (31 October 2013). "What's So 'Chinese' About A Chinese Fire Drill?". NPR .
  6. ↑ "Blue Moons, Chinese Fire Drill, Cocktail, Galoot, Whazzat thing?, Scotious and Stocious".
  7. ↑ "Chinese Fire Drill - phrase meaning and origin". www.phrases.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  8. ↑ "Chinese Fire Drill". The Digerati Peninsula. Archived from the original on 2012-12-24. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  9. ↑ Dale, Corinne H. (2004). Chinese Aesthetics and Literature: A Reader. New York: State University of New York Press. pp. 15–25. ISBN   0-7914-6022-3.
  10. ↑ Hughes, Geoffrey (2006). An Encyclopedia of Swearing: The Social History of Oaths, Profanity, Foul Language, and Ethnic Slurs in the English-speaking World. M.E. Sharpe. p. 76. ISBN   0-7656-1231-3.
  11. 1 2 Morris, Evan. "Blue Moons, Chinese Fire Drill, Cocktail, Galoot, Whazzat thing?, Scotious and Stocious". word-detective.com. Evan Morris. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Chinese fire drill". The Mavens' Word of the Day. Random House. October 8, 1996. Archived from the original on February 5, 2006. Retrieved February 3, 2021– via randomhouse.com.
  13. ↑ Gandhi, Lakshmi (31 October 2013). "What's So 'Chinese' About A Chinese Fire Drill?". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  14. ↑ Safire, William (1984). I Stand Corrected: More on Language. New York: Times Books. p. 84. ISBN   0-8129-1097-4.
  15. ↑ Jensen, Richard J. (2003). Trans-Pacific Relations: America, Europe, and Asia in the Twentieth Century. Praeger. p. 155. ISBN   0-7914-6022-3.
  16. ↑ Boon, Jacob. "Matt Whitman apologizes for "Chinese fire drill" video". The Coast. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  17. ↑ Vaughn, Leona (28 January 2020). "Complaint alleging racist language filed against Democratic lawmaker". Peninsula Daily News/. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  18. ↑ Vera, Joey. "Discography". JoeyVera.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-15. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.