Need a ‘defence break’? Meet the ‘ice cream assassins’ then take a ‘sitting-the-month’ holiday with the Post’s latest guide to Chinese slang
- When it comes to slang, China’s online community is nothing if not inventive, so keeping up can be difficult
- It’s all here, from abbreviations which mean high praise to having a postnatal-style holiday
A mixture of creativity and the need to box clever with the censors means the lexicon of slang used online in China is in a constant state of flux.
In no time at all new words and expressions which began life in the digital realm are being used by your friends in real life, leaving you scratching your head in puzzlement.
But help is at hand, as the Post presents its latest guide to the trendy phrases which are gaining currency on mainland social media.
Assassin
No need to worry. No one is going to get hurt, except your wallet.
This term began trending in the stifling summer of 2022 when many people were overcome by the desire for an ice cream and would rush into a convenience shop and grab the first frozen treat that came to hand.
In many cases, once they reached the cashier they discovered the price was hefty but it was too late to turn back.
To avoid losing face, they paid up. However, the financial pain incurred for this quick hit of coolness felt so extreme the experience became known as an “ice cream assassin”.
This morphed and now anything with an unexpectedly whopping price has simply become known as an “assassin”.