Monday 1 November 2010

Why is it called "A Chinese takeaway"?

Why don't we just call it "A Chinese -"?

My latest blogpost: Why is it called "A Chinese takeaway"?Tweet this! Posted by Mark Wadsworth at 10:30

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8 comments:

George Speller said...

we do

1 November 2010 at 12:06
Sniper said...

so do we

1 November 2010 at 12:08
Chuckles said...

Or 'a takeaway', as they do in civilised parts of the world?

I'd suggest also that the 'Chinese' is usually the agent of production of the product, rather than the product itself?

In Germany they are 'China' takeaways if my memory serves?

And why are there so many rhetorical questions?

1 November 2010 at 12:15
Witterings from Witney said...

I don't eat Chinese or their takeaways!

1 November 2010 at 13:18
Anonymous said...

We do. Sister not well pleased when she adopted one and I said you'll feel like another soon.

She did.

1 November 2010 at 13:21
Chuckles said...

Anon, Yes, it happens in the best families, and the trouble with the German Chinese restaurants is that half an hour later, you're hungry for power.

1 November 2010 at 14:32
gordon-bennett said...

This bloke was in bed with a Chinese girl and they were really going at it. The bloke suggested to the girl that they should try 69.

She said that if he thought she was going to get out of bed and cook him a Chicken Chow Mein at this time of night he was out of his mind.

1 November 2010 at 14:40
TDK said...

I would guess that it is because many people also eat Chinese food in restaurants and the word is a useful distinction. This is in contrast to say fish and chips which (apart from some odd people in Leeds) is only eaten as a take away.

Note that the same is true of Indian food which is also eaten both as takeaways and in restaurants and is hence known as Indian takeaways.

A more interesting question is why does Indian food invariably get prepared and served by people of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin. Why isn't it a Pakistani take-away?

4 November 2010 at 12:03

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