TFv01 CH 27 auntie! (annotated)

Annotations for auntie!, the twenty-seventh chapter of One Rainy Day In May.

## Page 690

this image is a picture of a void deck taken by mark Z Danielewski when he was in Singapore

**Arthur Yap**

 a Singaporean poet, writer and painter

## Page 691

**wah lan**

wow, damn

**bak kut teh**

Chinese soup popularly served in Malaysia and Singapore

**4d**

lottery (ticket)

**balik**

return home

**macam**

like

## Page 692

**kay**

very

**chik ak**

1. “what a pity!” 2. a verb that means to build bad karma, i.e. to do something that will return and haunt you;

**gu poon si**

"Even a cow would die". Used to describe especially tough events

**hawreeber**

horrible

**tor hwee**

"vomit blood", an expression for extreme difficulty, intense suffering, or great irritation

**chee bye**

cunt, vagina

**kong tau**

kang tau - "secret work technique" ( someone on forum translated this as "voodoo")

**pelesit**

a Malay term for an inherited spirit or demon which serves a master. It is found in early Malay animism

**吾欲求冰物**

"I want ice cream."

## Page 693

**tanglin halt**

place in Singapore, lots of panel houses, there is a market, mentioned on page 107

**Because the sky is so high, the birds shit in your eye.**

This phrase is essentially an annoyed retort to being asked "why",
 and conveys the meaning that the questioner ought to mind his or her
own business. Popular in the mid-70's, its usage began to decline in the
 early 80's and is rarely heard these days

**hell money**

joss money - sheets of paper made into burnt offerings
which are common in various Asian religious practices. Hell money is a
form of joss paper printed to resemble legal tender bank notes

**Joss sticks**

incense sticks used for a variety of purposes associated with ritual and religious devotion in China and India

**terbalik**

upside down” or “inside out”. Sometimes used to mean a reversal

**wah lan eh**

wow, damn

**kampongs**

village, because back then there was a lot of free singing
 birds, but now the birds must be brought in cages so one can hear their
 songs

**rose soap**

not sure if soap made from rose or rose-shaped

**umbrella bark**

umbrella handle made from bark wood? or the "barking" of umbrellas?

## Page 694

**munjen**

Tamil for "yellow", and is a racist term used for Chinese people

**blanjah**

give someone a treat or to pay for someone else

**为何人**

"Why did he do that?"

**kiasi**

"afraid of death". Used to admonish someone for being cowardly

**buay sai**

‘cannot’ or ‘incapable’

**boh say leh**

doesn't have the look

## Page 695

**chin chai**

"unconcerned about details"

**blur like sotong**

someone totally in the dark as to what goes on. sotong – squid, it comes from the squid’s
emission of a cloud of ink, hence the popular phrase, “blur like sotong.”

**kay stone**

very stoned

**parrot queen estel**

another weird encounter in an elevator + estelle - star

**javan myna**

starling bird (another star!)

## Page 696

**koon**

to sleep

**cho boh lan**

"useless and idle". Literally: "does no penis"

**cabut**

lee, escape quickly

**chop chop kali pok**

being in a hurry

**kay**

very

## Page 697

**kena**

was

**sapus**

sapu – grab

**ya ya papaya**

an arrogant person

**lambong**

running wild, aimlessly

## Page 698

**ah chek**

"Uncle", a generic name used to address an older man

**saht saht boh chioh**

The ultimate in coolness or grooviness -
literally: so cool that there is no smile – jingjing feels now like
those cool ritch people he admired outside the dance club

**chop chop kali pok**

being in a hurry

## Page 699

**chio kao peng**

to laugh until one falls down

**chocolate**

chocolate coins. Luther
sometimes feels a sweet taste and sometimes a metalic taste in his
mouth

## Page 700

**tua**

big

**hantam**

beat or hit

## Page 701

**何**

"What?"

**你的猫. 它丟了么? 我找不到它.**

"Your cat. Is it lost? I cannot find it."

## Page 702

**那去哪了? 我跑去屋顶?**

 "It left? Went to the roof?"