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Burying the bill (?)

Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 8:25 am
by frank
Hi all,

These days i came across an interesting Chinese expression:
maidan, meaning 'to pay the bill', 'i want to pay the bill' (e.g. in a restaurant or something).

Apparantly, it has two ways of writing, and even pronouncing:
mai2dan1 买单: lit. to buy the bill
mai3dan1 埋 单: lit. to bury the bill.

I was told that the origin of the expression was a kind of slang expression which originated in the southern parts of China and which spread to more northern parts and even Beijing, and which indeed was mai3dan1, to bury the bill.
Later it got re-interpreted as mai2dan1, to pay the bill.

The story doesn't strike me as incredibly odd or fanciful, but i'm curious if somebody could comment upon this.


Groetjes,

Frank

Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:12 am
by Flaminius
According to this dictionary, mai3 can mean to embed in ordinary speech. Would it, then, be far-fetched to assume that in slang mai3 signifies "filling the blank"? In context of paying the bill, maidan seems to me referring to filling the blank line in the bill by underwriting it.

Flaminius

Re: Burying the bill (?)

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 5:45 pm
by M. Henri Day
...

Apparantly, it has two ways of writing, and even pronouncing:
mai2dan1 买单: lit. to buy the bill
mai3dan1 埋 单: lit. to bury the bill.

...
Frank, I fear you got that backwards : it is «埋单» that is transliterated máidān (or mai2dan1) in the 拼音 system, while «买单» is read mǎidān, or mai3dan1. The basic meaning of «埋» is «to cover» ; the metaphor of «covering expenses» is common to many languages. So is the metaphorical use of terms meaning «to buy» : in Swedish, for example, we speak of «att köpa ett resonemang» (buy, i e, accept an argument or point of view), while in Japanese one can (but it is the better part of valour to refrain) 喧嘩を買う (buy a quarrel)....

Henri

Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:15 am
by Flaminius
In Japanese quarrels are given and taken like a commodity. One can sell them (kenka-o kau) as well as buy them (kenka-o uru).

As with any mercantile transactions, quarrel trades need two parties, susceptible to emulation and liable to governmental taxation.

Flam
who hope no kenka is on sale on this electronic market

Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 6:08 am
by M. Henri Day
小生は喧嘩を売る気がない !...

Henri

Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:08 pm
by gailr
As with any mercantile transactions, quarrel trades need two parties, susceptible to emulation and liable to governmental taxation.
[my emphasis - gailr]

Flam- I cannot decide whether you are an economic genius or just running for Congress. Think of the revenue stream this represents!
-gailr

Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:08 pm
by M. Henri Day
A «Road Rage Tax», for example ?...

Henri