I don’t really know how to introduce off this post. Here’s some words and phrases that I used to hear when I was a kid, and don’t hear them much nowadays.
“Camel Adventure” – The origin of this term comes from a series of advertisements in the 80’s by Camel clothes, showing these tough men in khaki Camel gear driving off road vehicles through muddy, challenging jungle / river treks. So every time we need to drive through treacherous ground (like I do in construction sites), we always call it “Camel Adventure“.
“Tipp-Ex” – It came in a bottle, with a screw-on cap with a brush attached to it. You used it to correct mistakes in typing and writing. Later, there was “Liquid Paper†(also originally in a bottle & brush) then came Pentel (in the famous red plastic bottle), and now they come in pens.
The term can be used as a verb, like “I need to Tipp-Ex this mistake.â€
“Blanco” – This is a wonder stuff your parents used to make their canvas shoes super white. It also comes in a bottle and brush, you have to dilute it with water every time you used it. Then you wipe it on your CLEAN, wet shoes (although we were always lazy and applied it on our dirty shoes). I believe the most common brand was Kiwi.
Can also be used as a verb, as an, “Don’t forget to Blanco your shoes.â€
“Jaws” – name given to anyone wearing braces or teeth plates. I’m not sure about this, but I think the origin of it from one of the James Bond movies, where the bad guy had a giant henchman, and he had silver capped teeth, and his nickname was ‘Jaws’. Ergo, the called anyone with braces that name. Maybe it could be from the movie ‘Jaws’, too, I’m not to sure.
Curry-puff hair – my mother-in-law still uses this term. For guys (back in the old days), after slicking back your hair with Brylcreem (everybody used it back then), some times they come the hair across the top of their head again, making front bob of hair (‘jambul’) which looks like that famous Malaysian pastry, the curry puff.
“Harga Bata (Bata price)” – Every small town in Malaysia had at least one Bata shoe shop. And they were the first to pioneer the concept of prices like “$3.99†and “$19.99â€. It’s psychological, its $20, but you THINK it’s less than $20. Sneaky. And, yes, back then were used the “$†symbol instead of MYR and RM. So since then, when shops like Carrefour and Giant use prices like that, we always refer to it as ‘harga Bata’.
17 Comments
boringest
ppl still use the word tipp-ex here in the UK =)
arthur_avalon
‘Stencil’ is another word that has gone out of use. You cut a stencil with a typewriter or hand and then roneo it for copies.
We use the CC or BCC in the email. But who uses a carbon paper for preparing copies – carbon copies?
anjali*
Oooh…I used to “Blanco” my school canvas shoes every Saturday afternoon to prepare for school on Sunday. (Kedah mali mah)
And yes, I used to use Tipp-Ex too. With the accompanying bottle of thinner. Have to blow my lungs out to wait for the bloody thing to dry. 😉
My mum used to call that curry puff hairstyle “Elvis” instead.
Heh…Great memories!
hedonistics
you seldom hear the word a-go-go anymore..
apparently this kind of club was very hot during my parents’ younger days.
totoro
“Xerox” it.
mahagurusia
haha… I can relate to all of it. Whenever I go ‘camel adventuring’ the flute theme sound comes to mind! 🙂
Btw, I used code10 and upgraded to vitalis, and now I use only water! kekeke…..
Sashi
Cyclostyle.
I belanja kopi-o for anyone who remembers that word – and what it means. No Googling.
simon
boringest – really? they still use that in UK? I know in the US they say ‘white-out’.
avalon – i read in an internet mag that ‘cc’ now means ‘courtesy copy’. too bad most of the time it isn’t used in a ‘courteous’ way. btw what’s roneo?
anjali – i hate waiting for it to dry. i always write over the puddle causing a gigantic smudge. i hate that stuff!!!
hedonistic – “a-go-go”?! itu 60’an punya cerita lo… like those P.Ramlee movies…lol..
totoro – my time we use ‘fotostat’. they still do actually. i thot only americans use ‘xerox’.
mahagurusia – i love that heavily perfumed vitalis! Finish really fast, though…
sashi – yehheheheh… i know, but i’ll let someone else claim the kopi-O…something to do with our old, old exam papers in school… and blue stencil paper…! Good one sashi!
Wingz
lol karipap hair is like elvis !! lol
lucia
blanco is what we do with our school canvass shoes? i remember that ‘stuff’ with bottle and brush but i forget it is call blanco.
OTOH, i always use ‘blanco’ in place of ‘tipp-ex’ instead! yes whenever i want to reach out for liquid paper to correct something i type or write, i will say “let me blanco it.” we (my sister and some friends and i) even refer to tipp-ex lah, liquid paper lah, pentel lah as ‘blanco’ (where is the blanco?).
anyone use blanco in such manner?
i remember cyclostyle. old fashioned way of photocopying! got big machine with handle, put in your stencil, turn the handle and so on.
“four-eyes” – when i was a kid wearing spectacles, people used to refer to me as that. 🙂
Shan
LOL! This is a great post!
coppersnare
It’s also Tipp Ex in Indonesia. I remember when I came to Malaysia I went, “liquid what?”
lilian
Sashi – Haha, you did not specify age group. I had cyclostled before leh. Got myself all black. Dem those pink correction ink. And I also used telex before. Dem, I am ancient!
anjali*
Vitalis or Old Spice leh?
yuin
blanco is for shoes? o_O
i always hear my parents say that for liquid paper..
curry puff hair = joe jambul 😛
simon
wingz – elvis must got the sideburns one!
lucia – i remember i used to play with my uncle’s cyclostyle blue carbon paper. Without even knowing what it was for!
shan – not as good as your ‘pissing indian girls’ post!!! 😛
coppersnare – glad to know indons are alike!
lilian – i neber even seen telex b4! what’s the pink stencil for?!
anjali – ish, i neber use old spice lar…
yuin – the term blanco can be used for shoes and tippex. joe jambul is so funny!!!
dilla kamal
yeah in england they still use tipp-ex. exactly the ones that come in bottle (with the brush attached to the cap).
when i asked for ‘liquid paper’, they the britons were like “excuse me, but whats that?”