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pai /pı, pÃI/ a. [Hk.; according to Gwee, Mand. 否 pǐ bad, wicked, evil (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)]  Bad.

Comb.:

pai cho /joh, tS«U/ a. phr. [Hk. 做 cho do, act, engage in; Mand. zuò] Also phai cho, pai zhor.  Of a job, piece of work, etc.: difficult or troublesome to do.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 310 phai cho. Literally, ‘difficult to do’: Hokkien. Description of any task which is more difficult than the average. Usually a complaint.  1994 C.S. Chong NS: An Air-Level Story 68 IC sie-eh pai zhor!  139 sie-eh pai zhor. Tough being one.

pai kia /giah, giA/ n. [Hk. kia; according to Gwee, Mand. 囝 nān (dial.) child] Also pai kiah.  A young person who behaves badly and gets into trouble; delinquent, hooligan.
2001 Clarissa Oon (quoting Cynthia Lee MacQuarrie) The Straits Times (Life!), 9 July, L5 People usually think of Ah Lians as pai kiah (bad youngsters).  2003 Peh Shing Huei (quoting Gwyn Tan) The Sunday Times, 12 October, 32 He is a pai kia (thug in Hokkien).  2003 Peh Shing Huei (quoting Neo Yong Aik), The Sunday Times, 12 October, 32 The Arsenal players are just hooligans. All bloody pai kias.  2003 Chua Mui Hoong, The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 16 November, L16 I checked out other mission schools. Several people warned that some are ‘pai-kiah’ (naughty boys) schools. I decided that pai-kiahness was relative.  2004 Tee Hun Ching The Straits Times, 14 August, H14 Today, the self-confessed pai kia (Hokkien for ‘wayward youth’) [Ms Elim Chew] has published a book to help teenage rebels, gives talks in schools and helms a fashion chain, 77th Street, which has outlets in China and Malaysia.  [2006 William Gwee Thian Hock A Baba Malay Dictionary 149 pai kiaⁿ [否囝] bad lifestyle (of wine, women and song)]

pai lang var. of Pai Nang.

pai nang /nahng, nAN/ n. [Hk. 人 nang person; Mand. rén] Also pai lang.  Gangster, thug, bad guy.
1994 C.S. Chong NS: An Air-Level Story 90 The driver drew out his toolbox and handed me a long spanner. ‘Eh signaller, for you to whack the pai nang.’  139 pai nang. Bad person.  2003 Tan Shzr Ee (quoting Ng Ho) The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 16 November, L2 ‘Lim Tua Tow sounds like some pai lang,’ .. Pai lang is bad guy in Hokkien.

Phrases:

zho pai nang v. phr. [Hk. 做 zho be; Mand. zuò]  Be the person (often beyond one’s control) who has to do something unpleasant to another person, eg. select him for an disagreeable task, terminate his employment, etc.; be the bad guy.

pai than /tahn, tAn/ a. phr. [Hk. 赚 than earn; Mand. zhuàn] Also phai than.  Of a job, piece of work, etc.: too difficult or too much trouble for what it is worth.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 310 phai than. Hard to earn: Hokkien. Equivalent to ‘What a hard life we have to go through to earn our keep!’ Context of usage: when the going is rough and tough, say, during a strenuous training exercise.

pai zhor var. of Pai Cho.

paiseh /pı-say, ÈpÃIseI/ a. [origin uncertain; poss. Hk. 怕 p’hà to fear, to be afraid, to be terrified (?) + 羞(耻 seaou, sew (t’hé) to be ashamed (?) (Medhurst); Mand. pàxiū shy, coy, sheepish, bashful: pà fear, dread, be afraid of; be unable to bear; have a fear of, for fear, fear lest (?) + xiū shy, bashful; shame, disgrace; feel ashamed; to shame (?) (chǐ be ashamed of, regard as shameful) (Comp. Chi.–Eng. Dict.)]  Bashful, shy; embarrassing, humiliating.
2001 Karamjit Kaur (quoting Kelvin Tan) The Straits Times, 17 June, 27 ‘So paiseh because everyone is staring.’ Paiseh is Hokkien for ‘embarrassing’.  2004 Yvonne Kwok Streats, 7 June, 30 [W]hat surprised us were five people who declined to sing for us, all citing the same reason: ‘Pai seh’ (‘embarrassing’ in Hokkien).  2005 Chua Mui Hoong The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 19 July. .. Singaporeans are known to dislike ma fan, or trouble. They are also bo-chap (can’t be bothered). Add these qualities to a fear of feeling pai-seh (fear of embarrassment) and we have a recipe for citizens turning a blind eye to suspicious activity.  2005 Colin Goh The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 23 October. When filming at a Toa Payoh wet market, far from shying away, the hawkers suddenly started calling out to each other to get in on the action. One fishmonger carped on and on about why we’d chosen to film his neighbour’s wares instead of his, and made us so pai seh (embarrassed), we decided to mollify him by filming him scaling a large garoupa.  2006 Lim Wee Kiak Straits Times Interactive, 16 April. He said that when he first joined the party, he was very pai seh (Hokkien for shy). When he went campaigning from door to door, he only introduced himself and that was it..  2006 Colin Goh The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 13 August, L12 I know I’m not their teacher, but I still feel pai seh not giving enough attention. If children are approaching me, it’s either because they think I’m accessible, or their teachers for some reason send them my way. If I don’t respond, they’ll think I’m sombong (Malay for “proud”), and then how?  2006 Kelvin Wong (quoting Simon Chua) The Sunday Times, 17 December, 41 Your wife, Tina, thinks you look like Andy Lau. Any comments? / Alamak, paiseh! Maybe if I keep longer hair, I will really look like him.

pak choi /pahk choy, pAk tS�I/ n. [Cant., native cabbage, Shantung cabbage: 白 pák white (colour of the West) + 菜 ts‘oi edible plants, vegetables (Eitel); Mand. báicài Chinese cabbage: bái white + cài vegetable, greens (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)] 1 Brassica chinensis, an annual or biennial plant used as a vegetable which has large, dark-green leaves with white veins and white, fleshy, leaf-stalks that are broader at their base; Chinese cabbage, Chinese white cabbage.
¶ Known in Hk. as peh chai (see quot. 1991).
2 Brassica pekinensis var. cylindrica, a plant used as a vegetable which has a large, cylindrical head of leaves: each leaf is large and broad and of a pale greenish-yellow colour, thick and fleshy at the base, and thin and crinkled at the top; Chinese cabbage, celery cabbage, pe-tsai.
¶ Also known in Cant. as wong ngá pák colewort (orig. a general name for any plant of the cabbage kind, genus Brassica; later applied esp. to varieties that do not heart, e.g. kale or greens, or to cabbage-plants before they heart (OED)): 黄 wong yellow + 芽 ngá a bud, a shoot; to begin + 白 pák white (colour of the West) (Eitel) [Mand. huáng yellow + yá bud; sprout; shoot + bái white (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)] (see quot. 1991), and in Hk. as peh chai.
1 1847 Robert Fortune Three Years’ Wanderings in the Northern Provinces of China, ch. 16, 306 The celebrated ‘Pak-tsae’, or white cabbage of Shastung and Peking, is a very different plant.  1894 Cornell University, Bulletin of Agricultural Experiment Station, no. 67, 183 The Pak-Choi, commonly called Chinese cabbage and frequently confounded with the Pe-Tsai.. is a vegetable which never forms a head.  1900 L.H. Bailey Cyclopedia of American Horticulture, vol. 1, 178, col. 1 Pak-Choi Cabbage... This plant is grown by the American Chinese, and is occasionally seen in other gardens.  1931 Homer Columbus Thompson Vegetable Crops (2nd ed.), ch. 19, 291 The Pak-choi varieties resemble swiss chard in habit of growth. The leaves are long, dark green and oblong or oval. This type does not form a solid head.  1972 Yann Lovelock The Vegetable Book 72 The other [Chinese cabbage], Baak-choy (B[rassica] chinensis), is also called Chinese mustard, and is noted for its lack of smell when cooking.  1991 Kok Poh Tin et. al. A Guide to Common Vegetables 36–37 Brassica chinensis Jusienius (Cruciferae) Chinese white cabbage.. pak-choi.. A glabrous annual or biennial with mature radical leaves loosely set, leaving the stalk bare for a great part of its length. Blade bright dark green [sic] are rounded with noticeable white veins, tapering below into a long white fleshy petiole, usually expanded at the base. There are many cultivars under different names used by farmers and in the markets, which create a rather confusing situation. One recently introduced cultivar sold here differs from the others in that the petiole is only a little lighter green than the blade (小白菜 or 青白菜 [Mand. 小 xiǎo small; 青 qīng green]). It is a neat upright plant which is harvested when quite small, with about 8 leaves and only 15 cm tall. .. The leaves are eaten cooked or they can be picked in salt for three days and dried and stored for weeks as salted cabbage (pak-choi-kan, (C[antonese]).  2 [1795 William Winterbotham An Historical, Geographical, and Philosophical View of the Chinese Empire, ch. 5, 221 The Chinese make provision of pe-tsai for winter; pickling of it, and mixing it with their rice.  1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder, 8 March (Suppl.) 11, col. 2 The celery-cabbage (Pe-Tsai) is worth trying, too. The heads are crisp and tender.  1972 Homes & Gardens, August, 104, col. 1 Chinese cabbage, or pe-tsai, is a new vegetable to this country. It comes from Israel and looks like a cross between a very pale whitish-green cos lettuce and a head of celery, although it is larger and considerably heavier than both.]  1991 Kok Poh Tin et. al. A Guide to Common Vegetables 42 Brassica pekinensis (Lour.) Rupr. var. cylindrica Tsen & Lee (Cruciferae) Celery cabbage.. pak-choi, wong-nga-pak.. The head is in the form of an upright cylinder, the leaves held erect and overlapping to form a compact head. The broad and flat petiole of the leaves winged to the base is a characteristic feature. Blades are large, light greenish-yellow, thin, veiny, crinkled, and undulate. .. The vegetable can be used in soups or together with other greens as a mixed vegetable dish.

pakat /pah-kaht, ÈpAkAt/ v. [Mal., arrangement by conference, agreement, settled plan; compare Mal. berpakat confer, concert a plan of action; sa-pakat in concert, in collusion, unanimous (Winstedt) < Arab. مفاوظة mufāwazat having business (with another); consulting or explaining anything (with him); agreeing; going or running with another; conversation; partnership; Arab. مفاوحة mufāwahat talking together; boasting against (Wehr)]  Agree on a plan, conspire.
[1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 837 pakat. .. Ar. [Arabic] Agreement; (S.S. [Straits Settlements]) conspiracy; plot; = muafakat but usually (S.S.) in a bad sense.]

pakcik /pahk-chik, ÈpAktSIk/ n. [Mal., younger uncle (Wilkinson); uncle younger than one’s father or mother (Winstedt): pak, pa’ = bapa father; uncle or elderly man (Wilkinson) + chik, chi’ = kechik, kechil minor, junior, lesser] Mal.  (A polite term of address for) a middle-aged or elderly Malay man who may or may not be a relative; a Malay ‘Uncle’.  Compare Makcik.

[1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 1, 85 bapa or bapa’. Father. Not as respectful as ayah; less familiar than pa’. Also of persons in a position comparable to that of a father, e.g. stepfather or uncle or father-in-law..  1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 1, 225 chik. Minor; junior; lesser. In expressions like ..  pa’ch. [chik] (younger uncle).. Also chi’. Short for kěchil or kěchik.  1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 823 pa’. Father, daddy, papa. A short and familiar form of bapa.. Applied to a father and also to uncles and «old daddies», not always respectfully. .. pa’chik.. = youngest uncle.  1963 Richard Winstedt An Unabridged Malay–English Dictionary 72 pa chi’ uncle younger than one’s father (or mother).]

2005 Tan Chek Wee Today, 9 December, 47 It could be the ah pek, ah soh, ah chek, or even the pakcik or makcik – this syndrome [of] seat-patting spans all the major races in Singapore (well, all right, I have yet to see an ang moh doing so), transcending sex, educational level and age.

pang chan /pahng, pun chahn, pAN, pÃn tSAn/ v. [Hk. 放 pang let off, give out; put, place; Mand. fàng + Eng. chance] Also pun chan.  Give a chance or opportunity to.
2000 Susan Long (quoting Sylvia Toh Paik Choo) The Straits Times, 6 September, 52 For a country which invented the term pang chan (national service-speak for “give chance”), nothing is left to chance.

pang giu /pahng giuu, pAN giU/ v. phr. [Hk. 放 pang put, place + 球 giu ball; Mand. fàngqíu] football betting  When setting odds in football betting: give a handicap of a certain number of goals to another.
¶ Opp. of Chia Giu.
2004 Karl Ho The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 13 June, L6 Pang giu and jiak giu. Hokkien for ‘give ball’ and ‘eat ball’ respectively. Punter-speak for setting odds such that the person betting on the favourite team gives a handicap to the one putting his money on the dark horse. Usage: ‘Oi, I take Portugal and you take Greece. I pang zi liap for you (give you one ball) and you jiak kiu (eat ball) lah.’  2006 Chan Yi Shen The Sunday Times, 20 August, 34 Singapore’s EPL [English Premier League] lingo [title].. Pang giu: to give ball (betting by giving a handicap to the supposed “weaker” team)

pantang /pahn-tahng, ÈpAntAN/ a. [Mal., prohibited, taboo by custom (Winstedt)]  1 Taboo.  2 Superstitious.
1 [1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 844 pantang. Taboo; thing not done; prohibition due to custom or superstition. .. Etym., the courtly form of an old word pali surviving in pěmali..; whence the collective pantang-pěmali (taboos of all sorts), Ht. Bugis [Silasilah Melayu dan Bugis (Singapore, a.h. 1329 [1911])] 155. The word would cover such superstitions as our objection to sitting down thirteen at table or walking under a ladder; with Malays it covers the «prohibitions» that enter (for unknown reasons) into every department of life. .. [I]t includes offences prescribed by customary or common law such as murder or adultery. It lays down what a pregnant woman may not eat or do and indeed what her husband must abstain from doing (p. [pantang] běranak), the pantang period lasting from the seventh month of pregnancy to the 44th day after childbirth..]  2003 Nancy Koh The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 2 November, L38 Yet, even as black permeates lives here and coffeeshop-talk rages on about how pantang (Malay for taboo) it really is, some industry players are indignant that DBS has blurred the ‘upper crust’ cachet by offering its Black Card with a mere $48,000 as the minimum eligibility, making it accessible to the yuppie masses.  2006 Derrick A. Paulo Today (from Todayonline.com), 30 October. [A]lthough he acknowledged that it may be “pantang” (Malay for taboo) and a “sensitive, emotive and personal” issue, he intends to start a national conversation on end-of-life care and how people choose to be treated in their final stages.  2 2008 Theresa Tan & Tessa Wong (quoting Tay Jun Ngiap) The Straits Times (Home), 1 August, H7 “We are atheists and not very pantang,” said Mr Tay, using the Malay word for “superstitious”.

pasal /pah-sahl, ÈpAsAl/ n. [poss. < Port. passada pace, step, footstep, stride, gait; passadas pains, trouble (Dicionário de Português–Inglês); diligences; efforts (Michaelis); compare Kristang pasada affair, business, responsibility (Marbeck) (see quot. 1995 below); Kristang pasadu past, experienced, undergone; pasah to pass, to convey, to transmit; to experience, to endure, to undergo (Baxter & de Silva)]

[1995 Joan Margaret Marbeck Ungua Adanza 204 pasada  about/my affair, my business, my responsibility]

Also pasar.  Affair, business, concern.
2002 The Coxford English Dictionary 85 pasal.. [T]his means ‘business’, as in ‘that’s my business, not yours’ rather than anything commercial. .. [T]his thing is my pasal, so don’t come and kachau, okay?  2004 Colin Goh The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 3 October, L16 [T]o paraphrase Pontius Pilate, that one not my pasal. .. [W]e just have to be good neighbours and make things our pasal.

paper thosai /toh-say, ÈtoseI/ n. [Eng. paper + Thosai]  A large, thin, crisp Thosai that is usu. served rolled.

pasang /pah-sahng, ÈpAsAN/ n. & v. [Mal., be effective (of a blow); penetrate or produce the intended result; compare kena pasang hitting a vital spot or hitting ‘full’ < the practice of hitting or touching someone during a game to make that person ‘it’] often nursery  A n. A person who is singled out for a particular role in a game; the person who is ‘it’.  B v. Be singled out for a particular role in a game; be ‘it’.
[1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 851 pasang .. In games of chance it means usually setting down a stake and awaiting the throw. In heads-or-tails (main lerap) p. [pasang] is to spin a coin and put the hand on it, leaving the adversary to indicate which side he stakes on by laying down (tikam) a coin with that side uppermost. .. Full (of a blow). Kěna p.: to be hit squarely; to get a blow where it does most harm.]  1994 C.S. Chong NS: An Air-Level Story 38 He would organise us into merry-go-round groups of twenty with a pasang in the centre.  139 pasang. State of forfeit.

pasar var. of Pasal.

pasar malam /pah-sahr mah-lahm, ÈpAsA ÈmAlAm/ n. [Mal. pasar < Pers. بازار bāzār bazaar, market-place (Palmer); market; market-day (Johnson) + Mal. malam the dark, night (from sunset) (Winstedt)]  A bazaar or market, usually held in the open after sundown.
1964 Poh Ber Liak Legislative Assembly Debates: Official Report, 12 November, vol. 23, col. 399 There are more and more hawkers in pasar malam. Why should that be so? It is because many workers have to leave their factories, and in order to earn a minimum livelihood, they have no alternative but to buy some goods and sell them at the pasar malam. Or some of the shopkeepers, because of business failure, have to sell their goods on tricycles in the night markets. As a result of this, there are more and more hawkers in the pasar malam and less and less shopkeepers.  1977 Augustine H.H. Tan Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 16 February, vol. 36, cols. 240–241 Sometime last year I heard that the Hawkers’ Department intends to phase out Pasar Malam sites. I think it would be a pity to phase out what has become a colourful feature of our night life. Sir, even in advanced countries, bazaars are popular and colourful events. We should not be over-anxious to establish such an orderly existence that life loses some of its colour, Furthermore, Pasar Malam allows hawkers that extra elbowroom to earn that extra margin that makes life more tolerable. Already the urbanisation and rapid development of Singapore has unsettled lives and removed some traditional means of livelihood. We should therefore make every effort to provide a little leeway for small enterprises.  1985 Dr Wong Kwei Cheong (Minister of State for Trade and Industry) Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 30 August, vol. 46, cols. 275–276 The pasar malam at the Singapore Handicraft Centre was introduced by the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board in April this year. .. A total of 81 stallholders and demonstrators of vanishing trades operate at the pasar malam. Items sold include works of art, handicrafts and souvenirs. In addition, on-the-spot art demonstrations and handicraft making demonstrations are also featured. To complement the pasar malam activities and create a festive atmosphere, cultural and contemporary entertainment are also regularly featured. In our assessment, the pasar malam at the Singapore Handicraft Centre has been a success. Firstly, it is a good crowd drawer. .. Secondly, many visitors, especially tourists, have expressed satisfaction with the pasar malam as they find it a unique style of shopping. They seem to enjoy the bargaining and haggling.  1988 Eugene Yap Giau Cheng (Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment) Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 23 March, vol. 50, cols. 1241–1242 [P]asar malam.. is commonly understood as the setting up of stalls by individuals on the streets, car parks and void decks. This is similar to street hawking. As a policy, the Ministry does not allow or encourage such activity. However, exceptions have been made for the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board to hold sales of goods for tourists at the Singapore River during festival periods. Permission was also given to STPB to hold sales of goods within the courtyard of the Singapore Handicraft Centre as this is not tantamount to street hawking. Street hawking in HDB estates cannot be permitted. Besides, in HDB estates, there is really no need for pasar malam.  2000 Lea Wee The Straits Times (Life!), 29 April, 28 They will be putting up their merchandise for sale on trolley-booths.. in a pasar-malam ambience.  2000 Magdalene Lum (quoting Elaine Cheah) The Straits Times (Life!), 12 September, 14 There is a pasar malam there once a week. I can find quaint things there..  2001 The Straits Times, 20 January, H9 Saw a woman he fancied at a pasar malam (night market).  2001 Chan Kwee Sung The Straits Times (Life!), 29 October, L6 In the evenings, Chinese medicine men set up their businesses, selling their concoctions of ointments, unguents and embrocations by the glow of carbide lamps, which gave the Hill [Dickenson Hill] a pasar malam flavour.  2005 Zul Othman Today (from Todayonline.com), 15 October. The area has always been a Malay kampong traditionally, and pasar malams – makeshift marketplaces – have been a common sight here since 1970. Without a doubt, though, the yearly Hari Raya Bazaar during Ramadan is the main event at Jalan Pasar Baru.  2006 June Cheong The Straits Times (Life!) (from Straits Times Interactive), 30 May. Pasar malam of dance [title] Summer DanceFit aims to be something to everyone, be they dancers, children or the elderly. The festival organised by Odyssey Dance Theatre reminds one of a pasar malam, albeit with an educational intent.

pau /bow, p|aU/ n. [Cant. 包 páu bun; Mand. bāo]  A dimsum (savoury Cantonese-style snack) in the form of a (usu. white) steamed bun with a variety of savoury or sweet fillings such as minced meat or Tau Sar; spec. a Char Siew Pau.
2006 Lim Wei Chean The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 17 March. Firm eyes bite of $400b global halal market with pau, dimsum [title].. A Singaporean food manufacturer is tapping into the growing multi-billion-dollar halal food market with chicken pau or buns and chicken dumplings. KG Food.. was set up in 2002 to develop halal dimsum and pau that Muslims can tuck into. It has more than 40 types of dimsum and pau, ranging from chicken siew mai, honey chicken pau and satay pau.  2006 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 18 June. Before the revamp, the 50-year-old Tiong Bahru market was as famous for its chwee kueh and pau as it was for its grimy, one-storey ramshackle premises.

pau chia /bow chiah, p̚aʊ tʒɪɑ/ a. [Hk., sure to eat: 包  pau + 吃 chia; Mand. bāo assure, guarantee + chī eat, take (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)] football betting  Sue to win.
2006 Chan Yi Shen The Sunday Times, 20 August, 34 Singapore’s EPL [English Premier League] lingo [title].. Pau jiak: sure win

pau ka liau /bow kah leeow, p|aU kAù lIaU/ v. phr. [Hk. 包 pau undertake the whole thing + 到 ka until + 了 liau ended, finished, settled, disposed of; Mand. bāo dào liăo]  Undertake the whole thing; do everything.
2000 Kelvin Tong The Sunday Times (Sunday Plus), 9 April, 7 Customers expect him to bao kar liau (provide everything).  2005 Tay Yek Keak The Straits Times (Life!), 21 February, 3 Some people call this a dynasty. I call it bao gar liao (Hokkien for “take over everything”).  2005 Philip Lee The Electric New Paper, 26 November. [S]ome carparks display signs that might take more than a minute to read – which defeats the aim of quick comprehension. Of course, they do this to ‘pow kah liow’ (Hokkien for ‘cover everything’) in case a theft victim sues.  2006 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 4 June. [Benjamin] Heng mans the cashier, mixes drinks and washes dishes as the pau ka liao (‘do everything’ in Hokkien) guy..  2006 Colin Goh The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 13 August, L12 It’s a pow-ka-leow session for students that will hopefully answer all your questions.

pau tau /bow tow, p|aU taU/ n. [Hk. 包 pau wrap + 头 tau head; Mand. bāo tóu] mil. slang  An Indian soldier who wears a turban.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 310 pao thau. Literally, to wrap the head: Hokkien. A nickname for turbaned soldiers. No aggressive overtones.

peach kueh /kuay, kUeI/ n. [Eng. peach, poss. a transl. of Mand. 桃 táo, or cognates in other Chi. dialects + Kueh]  A sticky, usu. savoury, cake of Chinese origin in the form of a patterned slab shaped like a peach which is often coloured pink. Traditionally, it is filled with a mixture of glutinous rice and peanuts.
2006 Thng Lay Teen The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 25 June. [T]he peach kueh with homemade mung-bean filling tasted just fine.

peanut soup n. [Eng.]  See quot. 2003.
2003 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times, 5 October, L41 This could be one of the oldest Chinese desserts you can taste. Peh Cheng Giat’s peanut soup has been served here for over 70 years since his grandmother, an immigrant from China’s Anxi province, started selling it. The ingredients comprise just peanuts, sugar and water. Peh, 50, boils it up to four hours to attain a smooth, almost silky texture.

pee pee n. [< Eng. pee-pee n. < pee n. act of urination; urine]

[1923 Joseph Manchon Le Slang 220 To do peepee.  1941 Edwin P. O’Donnell The Great Big Doorstep, ch. 10, 143 Commado said, ‘When them twins get in the show like lass time, one’s gotta make pee-pee, the udda one gotta climb on the seat [etc.].’  1962 Bruce Jay Friedman Stern, ch. 1, 58 Do you still make peepee in your pants?]

nursery  A child’s penis.

pek chek /pek chek, pEk tSEk/ a. [Hk. pek (?) + 气 chek get angry, be enranged; Mand. qì]  Frustrated.

Penang char kway teow /pee-nang (pə-) chahr kuay tiow, pIÈnaN (p«-) tSAr kUeI tIaU/ n. [Penang, a state of Malaysia < Mal. pinang areca palm (Areca catechu); areca nut (buah pinang); a gen. name for many palms suggesting the areca palm and for many things associated with the areca nut (Wilkinson) + Char Kway Teow]  The version of Char Kway Teow from Penang, Malaysia.
2006 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 17 September. Ask any Malaysian and he’ll say that when it comes to fried kway teow, nothing – not even Singapore’s pride and joy, the sweet, slippery char kway teow – beats the Penang version. .. If Singapore’s version is like pop singer Christina Aguilera – loud, in-your-face and packed full of flavour from the first note – then Penang fried kway teow is like Norah Jones, the soothing chanteuse who is light, subtle but slowly addictive. .. She prepares the noodles.. with evident pride. She buys the ingredients from the market next door every morning. The prawns are carefully marinated in sugar and soya sauce, and every plate is presented on top of a sheet of banana leaf. The noodles are springy, smooth and not too oily, offering a wonderful bite seldom found in its Singapore cousin. The dish is clean and appetising, unlike the dark Singapore version which often contains black bits – like chips from the wok from the cook’s rigorous frying. Madam Tan says the most important part of the dish is the sauce, which is made of soya sauce, fish sauce and other ingredients she won’t reveal. She also uses lard, which she fries fresh every day. Other signature additions are prawns, eggs, beansprouts and chives.

Penang laksa /pee-nang (pə-) lahk-sah, pIÈnaN (p«-) ÈlAksA/ n. [Penang, a state of Malaysia (see preceding) + Laksa]  A dish originating from Penang consisting of thick rice noodles with mashed fish, shredded cucumber and chilli in a sour-tasting clear soup flavoured with Assam.
2002 Magdalene Lum (quoting Elisa Chew) The Straits Times (Life!), 2 April, L6 Along Penang Road [in Penang], you can find a lot of food-stalls selling Penang laksa, char kway teow and Penang loh bak which comes with deep-fried doufu, fishballs, meat and sausages dipped in a special chilli sauce.  2006 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 17 September. The Penang laksa, in particular, won’t disappoint. A wondrously thick, sour and super spicy soup is poured over a batch of thick noodles, enmeshed with tasty fish meat, chilli padi, lettuce, red onions, cucumber and pineapple.

peng /peng, pEN/ n. [Hk. 兵 a weapon of war; a person who uses such a weapon, a soldier (Medhurst); Mand. bīng soldier (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)]  A soldier.
2000 Dennis Wee with Sylvia Fong Making Luck with Your Hands 31 The army made me rub shoulders.. with the Hokkien pengs.

Comb.:

Cha Tow Peng

Chau Peng

Hokkien Peng

lau peng /low, laU/ n. phr. [Hk. 老 lau old; Mand. lăo]  mil. slang  A soldier who has completed basic military training.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 309 lau peng. Old soldier: Hokkien. A reference to anyone who has passed out from BMT.

seow peng n. phr. [Hk. seow crazy]  mil. slang  A soldier who plays the fool or behaves in an erratic manner.  See also Clown.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 312 siau peng. Hokkien for mad soldier. See ‘clown’.

pengsan /peng-sahn, ÈpENsAn/ v. [Mal., fainting, loss of consciousness (Wilkinson)] freq. joc.  Collapse or faint, esp. as a result of work.
2000 Brendan Buxton The Straits Times, 8 February, 32 I suggest he does my work for a week and tries not to peng san.

Peranakan /pə-rə-nah-kahn, pə-rə-nah-kahn, Çp«r«ÈnAkAn, p«Èr«nAkAn/ n. & a. [Mal., born, native (Wilkinson); foreigners but locally born (Winstedt) < Mal. anak child; native (of a place) (Winstedt)]  A n. A person of Chinese, Chinese and Malay, or other mixed descent born in the Malay archipelago, particularly in the Straits Settlements (Malacca, Penang and Singapore) and Java; Straits Chinese.  B a. Of or relating to the Peranakan.
A 1894 N.B. Dennys A Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya 74 Chinese emigration differs in two material respects from other emigration – that it consists mainly of adult males, to the exclusion of women and children, and that it never embraces either the upper or middle classes. The settlers, whenever it is in their power, form connections with the native women of the country; and hence has arisen a mixed race, numerous in the older Settlements, known to the Malays under the name of Peranakan China, literally, “Chinese of the womb,” that is, Chinese by native mothers. These intermarrying, either among themselves or with native Chinese, a race of quadroons, and almost of creoles, has sprung up, differing from the original Chinese – perhaps somewhat less energetic, but always possessed of more local knowledge.  [1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 1, 27 pěranakan (born, native), cf. Bugis yang jati dan yang pěranakan (Bugis born in Celebes and Bugis born in Malaya), Ht. Bugis [Silasilah Melayu dan Bugis (Singapore, a.h. 1329 [1911])] 101  1963 Richard Winstedt An Unabridged Malay–English Dictionary 15 pěranakan .. foreigners but locally born, Jawi p. Muslim Tamils born in Malaya often with a Malay mother]  1999 Lynn Pan (ed.) The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas 202 Later, the local-born descendants of China-born settlers in the Straits Settlements would also be considered ‘Straits-born’, especially if they married into Straits Chinese families or became increasingly adapted to local ways. Straits Chinese were known as Babas if male, and Nyonyas if female. Alternatively, Babas were referred to by the term used for the local-born in the Dutch territories, including the Riau islands. One Singaporean commentator, Lim Boon Keng.. described Chinese Peranakans as ‘a new race… created by the fusion of Chinese and Malay blood,’ and there was indeed some intermarriage between Chinese men and local women. Lim also observed that Peranakans has [sic] ‘lost touch with China in every respect, except that they continued to uphold Chinese customs, and to practise, in variously modified forms, the social and religious practices of their forefathers.’ But their modification of such practices and the fact that their speech was a patois combining Chinese and Malay led Lim to consider them ‘a class by themselves.’  [2006 William Gwee Thian Hock A Baba Malay Dictionary 25 peranakan popular reference to members of the Baba community; local born]  2006 Eveline Gan Weekend Today, 22–23 July, 23 Like most food-proud Peranakans, owners Mr and Mrs Kelvin Lee are extremely finicky about what goes into their food.  B 1993 National Geographic Traveler March–April 103/2 But Peranakan food is what Singaporeans know best. Nonyas, as Peranakan women are called (the men are called Babas), have long been famous for their expertise in the kitchen.  2005 Sandra Davie The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 8 October. NUS given $5m to buy Peranakan homes: Daughter of late businessman wants the young to learn the legacy [title] Here’s $5.5 million to spend, but you must buy a Peranakan house. The National University of Singapore (NUS) received this unusual request from the daughter of the late Malaysian Chinese Association founder Tun Tan Cheng Lock. Miss Agnes Tan, 85, asked NUS to acquire a traditional Peranakan house along Neil Road, near Singapore General Hospital, and two shophouses in Malacca. She wants them to be used to teach young Singaporeans about Peranakan history, culture and architecture. .. Miss Tan’s nephew, Mr Peter Lee, will be the honorary curator of the Neil Road house, which may have a local Peranakan bibik (old lady) impersonator to act as a live-in housekeeper. NUS architecture dons, who described the pre-war Neil Road house as ‘one of the last remaining authentic Peranakan houses in Singapore’, said it will be restored and preserved as a unique architectural gem. The total cost: $4 million. Besides being a museum of Peranakan history, architecture and artefacts, there are plans to turn the three-storey house into a centre for exhibitions, talks and performances. NUS Development Office director Chew Kheng Chuan described the house as an unusual but ‘charming’ gift. ‘This gift is not about bricks and mortar. It is a gift to preserve and build further understanding of the Peranakan legacy; something that is also very much a part of Singapore’s history. ..’  2006 Linda Lim The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 19 June. National identity has been reshaped to serve economic and political goals, with the state itself becoming the determinant and arbiter of acceptable ethnic identities and their expressions, such as the enforced diminution of the Malay heritage of Peranakan Chinese and of the dialect heritage of the majority non-Mandarin-speaking Chinese.  2006 Eveline Gan Weekend Today, 22–23 July, 23–24 A marriage of both Chinese and Malay influences, Peranakan cuisine is unique to the culture of the immigrant Chinese community that made the Straits Settlements their home in the 19th century. Those unfamiliar with this eclectic cuisine may have the misconception that it is usually spicy. Truth is, there are also many Nonya dishes which are gentle on the palate.  2006 Stephanie Yap (quoting Desmond Sim), The Straits Times (Life!) (from Straits Times Interactive), 20 November. I grew up in an extended Peranakan family in a big shophouse in Upper Serangoon. So, as a child, I just assumed that everybody’s grandmother wore the sarong kebaya, and had bottles of sambal belacan in their fridges.

perng tang /pərng tahng, p«rN tAN/ n. [Hk. 饭 perng rice + 桶 tang bin, container; Mand. fàntǒng]  A person able to consume a large quantity of food at one sitting.
1994 C.S. Chong NS: An Air-Level Story 32 It is not surprising that with all that training and all that energy used up, we easily became perng tang. This is an image that is forever tagged to NS guys.  139 perng tang. Literally, rice bin.

petai /pə-tı, p«ÈtÃI/ n. [Mal.]  An edible flat green seed with a strong odour and flavour used as a vegetable, which is obtained from pods from the tree Parkia speciosa.
¶ Known in Mand. as 葱豆 cōngdòu: cōng onion; scallion + dòu legumes; pulses; beans; peas; or 臭豆 chòudòu: chòu smelly, foul, stinking (see quot. 1991).
[1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 896 pětai. A tree, Parkia speciosa. Also (Java) pěte; (Min. [Minangkabau]) patai; and patal (Cl. [Clifford & Swettenham, Dictionary of the Malay Language, and notes on the unfinished part]). It bears a long pod with flat beans that smell offensively but are thought to be good eating whether cooked or raw.  1963 Richard Winstedt An Unabridged Malay–English Dictionary 273 pětai, buah p. [petai], a stinking edible pod, Parkia speciosa.]  1991 Kok Poh Tin et. al. A Guide to Common Vegetables 88 Parkia speciosa Hassk. (Leguminosae).. petai, petah.. A large tree which can reach 40–50 cm tall. .. Pods are large, 40–55 cm long and 4–5 cm wide, straight or more commonly twisted, dangling in small bundles, green becoming black. Each pod contains 10–18 large seeds. .. The pods taste like garlic and have a very strong odour. The immature seeds, young leaves and fresh parts of the flower stalks can be eaten raw. Half-ripe pods are pickled in salt.  2006 Wong Ah Yoke The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 26 November. I liked the tendon curry as well as the sambal cockles with petai.., as both had my favourite ingredients. .. The sambal prawns with petai.. were a favourite all round..  2006 Low Shi Ping Weekend Today, 16–17 December, 37 Chilli lovers can also go for the sambal prawns natibu ($12) – a Malay dish which has been altered by the Europeans to suit their palates. Juicy prawns are doused in fiery sambal, made using fresh and dried chillies. Petai, which is a green bean, is also added.

†PGO /pee jee oh, più dZiù «U/ n. [abbrev. of P(olice G(eneral O(rders] derog. mil. slang  A soldier, esp. an officer, who carries out or complies with directives, orders and rules with unwarranted strictness; a stickler for rules.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 310 PGO. Reputed to be the initials for Police General Orders. Used to describe someone who carries out orders to the letter. Closely associated with niau.  1985 Michael Chiang Army Daze 47 PGO. Police General Orders. Describes an officer who sticks to the books.

phai cho var. of Pai Cho.

phak bang /pahk bahng, pAk bAN/ v. phr. [Hk. 拍 phak clap, pat, beat + 蚊 bang mosquito; Mand. pāiwén] mil. slang  Train in the field, esp. in a location infested by mosquitoes.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 311 phak bang. Literally, ‘beating off mosquitoes’: Hokkien. In the SAF, it refers to training in mosquito-infested grounds.

Pinkerton Syndrome n. [Eng. < the character of Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton in the opera Madama Butterfly (1904) by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)]  The tendency (perceived to be possessed by Asian Singaporeans in particular) to be favourably disposed towards, or prejudiced in favour of, Caucasians to the detriment of persons of other ethnic origin.
¶ In Madama Butterfly, Pinkerton, an officer of the United States Navy stationed in Japan, arranges a marriage to a Japanese geisha girl, Cio-Cio-San, known as Butterfly. He goes through a wedding ceremony with her but then returns to America, leaving the faithful Butterfly who, unknown to him, bears his son. Butterfly refuses to believe that Pinkerton has abandoned her. Three years later he returns to Japan with a new American wife. When Butterfly learns the truth she kills herself.
2001 Neil Humphreys Notes from an Even Smaller Island 213 Like vampires, the ang moh crowd comes out at night, dressed in their best shirts and armed with plenty of tax-free Singapore dollars to woo those local darlings tragically struck down by the Pinkerton syndrome. Like the character in Madame Butterfly, they are somehow lured by the attraction of drunken voices and the possibility of a fat wallet.  2001 Ravi Veloo Radio Singapore International Archive, 2 March. Latino rhythm has taken a whole new generation of Singaporeans by storm .. Today’s generation lacks a sense of discovery, and is simply led by the nose, by whatever is popular in the West. .. There is a popular Indian pub in Singapore that draws only Indians for the music. .. [T]his pub, which alternates between Indian music and the latest cool R&B American hits will never have even a fraction of the attention of the Latino pubs opening all over the place. Ironically, even Latin music can have a Pinkerton Syndrome.  2003 Ian De Cotta Today, 12 December, 39 Not too long ago, another Singaporean wrote that sarong party girls, better known as ‘SPGs’, who crave white men of any shape, size or intellect, are different from the educated Singapore woman, such as herself, whose penchant for ang moh men is restricted only to those who admire women for their ‘brains’ .. What balderdash! Both types of women fall into the classical definition of an SPG, which is an Asian woman who is hopelessly infatuated with white men only. And whichever way you turn the coin, both are SPGs who suffer from the Pinkerton Syndrome.  2004 Eileen Yu ZDNet Asia, 16 December. In a bid to inject new skills into the market and beef up its workforce, the Singapore government encouraged local companies to hire foreign workers. The move sparked off a heated debate in the country, with some arguing that it would feed the Pinkerton Syndrome and encourage organizations to drop local workers in favor of foreigners. The government then stressed the need for companies to keep their focus on merit.

pisang /pee-sahng, ÈpiùsAN/ n. [Mal.]  A banana.
1865 John Cameron Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India 397 Appendix I. LIST OF THE FRUITS TO BE FOUND IN THE BAZAARS OF THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS [compiled by Dr. Ward].  401 Pisang .. Musa paradisea .. The plantain. Of this about 40 varieties might be enumerated. The best are the Pisang mas, P. raja, P. oodang, and P. medgi. Decoctions of the root are used as emollient applications.  [1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 907–908 pisang. «Banana». .. a specific name for the banana in its many forms. The principal varieties of banana are: (i) p. mas (small, golden-yellow, popular); (ii) p. raja, buah punti (large, ruddy-skinned, good eating); (iii) p. Ambon or p. hijau (large and green, good eating); (iv) p. Almeida, p. rastali (Singapore varieties); (v) p. susu (very delicate in flavour); (vi) p. tandok, p. kapas, p. rimpi (edible only in cooked form). Other varieties (of little importance) are: p. abu; p. anak lěbah; p. awak; p. ayam; p. batu; p. běraksa or p. raksa; p. běrangan; p. Boyan; p. gěmbar; p. gěrasau; p. buaya or p. jari buaya; p. kajar; p. kerok (a wild variety of which the leaves are used as torches); p. kělat; p. kěling; p. lang; p. lěmah manis; p. lidi; p. moris; p. monyet; p. muli; p. nangka; p. Padang; p. Pahang; p. pinang; p. sěrěndah; p. udang; p. wangi.]

Comb.:

pisang goreng var. of Goreng Pisang.

pisang mas /mahs, mAs/ n. [Mal. mas gold < Hind. माश māś any variety of the pulse green gram (Phaseolus radiatus); Hind. माशा māśā a jeweller’s weight, one twelfth of a tolā (McGregor) < Pers. ماش māś a kind of pea; ماشه māśa a small weight (Palmer) < Skt. माष māsha a bean (the sing. is used for the plant, the pl. for the fruit), Phaseolus radiatus, a valued kind of pulse having seeds marked with black and grey spots; a particular weight of gold, etc.; Skt. माषक māshaka a bean; a particular weight of gold, etc. < Skt. मस् mas to measure, weigh; a measure, weight (Monier-Williams): see quot. below]

[1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 744 mas. .. «Mace», – an Indian term that bears various meanings in Indonesia. Also «gold», because measured by the mace. (i) Etym., the weight of a bean, the Skr. masha (Phaseolus radiatus or Ph. mungo), used as an equivalent of the weight of eight seeds of Abrus precatorius (Mal. saga). This bean-weight is the «mace» of ancient India, only traceable in Malaya in attempts to represent the later mas as equal to 8 saga, q.v. (ii) The medieval Indian masha, introduced into Malaya by purchasers of gold dust, weighed about 17 grains troy or about 10 Abrus seeds. In India the tul or tola (Mal. tahil) was variously recorded at 12 or 16 mace; the latter was the value introduced into Malaya. It survives in the proportion between the mas and the tahil. (iii) This «mace», as a weight of gold dust, was a convenient standard of value, which gave its name: (a) to a gold coin weighing one mas, and (b) to gold generally. The coin is now obsolete; but the meaning «gold» is the commonest attaching to the word mas at the present time..]

A small banana with a bright yellow peel and flesh with a fine, smooth texture.
1894 N.B. Dennys A Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya 137 Some sixty-three varieties of the banana and plantain are described by botanists, many having distinct names in Malay, e.g., pisang mas, p. rajah, &c.  [1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 907 .. p. [pisang] mas (small, golden-yellow, popular)..]

pisang raja /rah-jə, -jah, ÈrAdZ«, -dZA/ n. [Mal. raja king; prince; administrator (Wilkinson); king, queen; any prince or princess (Winstedt) < Skt. राजन् rājan a king, sovereign, prince, ruler, chief, governor; any principal object or anything the best of its kind < Skt. राज् rāj to reign, rule, exercise sovereignty, to be a king or sovereign, to be the first or chief (of anything); to rule over; to govern, direct; to be illustrious or eminent; to shine, glitter, glisten, be radiant or splendid (Monier-Williams)]  A medium-sized banana with a dull yellowish-green peel that blackens quickly and flesh that has a somewhat coarse texture. Goreng Pisang is usu. made using pisang raja.
1894 N.B. Dennys A Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya 137 Some sixty-three varieties of the banana and plantain are described by botanists, many having distinct names in Malay, e.g., pisang mas, p. rajah, &c.  [1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 907 .. p. [pisang] raja, buah punti (large, ruddy-skinned, good eating)..]

plaster prata n. [Eng. (sticking-)plaster a material for covering and closing superficial wounds spread with an adhesive substance, poss. f. its appearance] Also prata plaster, ellipt. plaster.  A prata with an egg cooked on top.
2003 Cynics.info (http://www.cynics.info/journal/2003/01/milo_dinosaur), 1 May. [P]laster is a variation of the egg prata. Instead of having it beaten and mixed within the dough of the prata, the egg is cooked on top of a plain prata. A well cooked plaster, you’ll find the egg yolk still juicy and the prata crispy.

play cheat v. [Eng.]  Do something to gain an unfair advantage, cheat.

play play v. [Eng., poss. < Mand. 玩玩 wánwán: wán play, have fun, amuse oneself; trifle with, treat lightly; or cognates in other Chi. dialects]  Play the fool, fool around, take lightly.
2002 Leong Horn Kee Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 5 April, vol. 74, col. 587 .. Dr Ng Eng Hen, has called this Chamber a “theatre”. I am sure he did not mean that this House is a theatre for shows. Not a place for wayang wayang, or play-play. This House debates on serious matters.  2003 Tan Shzr Ee The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 16 November, L2 Mr Ahmad Ali.. works as a security guard at the Kasturina Lodge condominium in Kay Poh Road, off River Valley Road. Whenever he takes a taxi to work, the driver will inevitably tell him ‘Don’t play play.’ He adds: ‘They don’t believe me. So I tell them to drive to the famous chicken rice stall nearby instead.’ The road, which means ‘busybody’ in Hokkien, is named after a 19th-century Chinese businessman called Wee Kay Poh, who was a managing partner of an opium and liquor business.

play punk /pung(k), pÃN(k)/ v. phr. [(?)]  1 Play the fool.  2 Aggravate, irritate, provoke.  3 Stymie, sabotage; refuse to co-operate. 
1 1994 C.S. Chong NS: An Air-Level Story 64 He warned us that we would do better than to chiak chua and ‘play punk’ behind his back.  2 2002 The Coxford English Dictionary 86 play punk. To provoke, irritate or aggravate. I told you not to do it, you still go and do. Don’t come and play punk with me, ah, I tell you first!  2004 Colin Goh The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 1 August, L16 Restaurants play punk all the time!

PLU /pee el yoo, più El juù/ n. [abbrev. of P(eople L(ike U(s, an informal Singapore gay and lesbian group formed in 1993]  A homosexual, bisexual or transgendered person.  Compare A-Jay, G.

pom pom /pom pom, p�m p�m/ v. [origin unkn., poss. imit.] nursery  Defecate, move the bowels.

pondan /pon-dahn, Èp�ndAn/ n. [Mal.]  1 A male transvestite.  Compare Ah Kua 2.  2 A male homosexual, whether effeminate or not.

pong kan a. [Hk. 碰 pong bump against, run into, strike, collide + 睾 (or 丸) kan testicles, balls; Mand. pènggāo (or wán) (?)]  Be frustrated.  Also Bang Balls.

Pongal /pong-gahl, Èp�NgAl/ n. [Tam. பொங்கல் poṅkal boiling, bubbling, ebbing, swelling, leaping; a preparation of boiled rice seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin seeds and ghee; solar festival when the sun enters Capricorn and takes a northward course, being the first day of the month Tai, when poṅkal is prepared as an offering; fullness, abundance, excess, profusion; bloom, splendour < Tam. பொங்கு poṅku– to boil up, bubble up by heat (Tam. Lex.)]  1 A four-day harvest festival of Tamil origin which begins on the last day of Maargazhi, the ninth month of the Tamil calendar (in the Gregorian calendar, mid-December to mid-January), and e