# Bubastis offends Japan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 11, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578 "2006-01-11T23:16:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/1 "2006-01-11T23:16:55Z")
Some japanese guys were in the store today; they were doing some DIY so needed a few things. One item they needed, but didnt have the english to ask for, was sandpaper. After a while, I realised what they needed and fetched it. I was asked “Ah! What do you call this?” to which I replied “Sandpaper”. Nods all round. This is where I should have left it. But I continued. “You know, sandpaper… Sand on… Sand off…” One guy got pissed off and left. The rest gave weak smiles. I felt like an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2006, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/2 "2006-01-11T23:48:09Z")
That’s good. It reminds me of the time I was on my second date with a girl. She was black, I am white. When talking about restaurants and food we like I talked about how I love southern style BBQ. I then said “You must know a good barbecue place.” As soon as I said it I just thought how asinine and prejudiced that was. Like saying to an asian “You must know a good chinese place around here.” She didn’t take it that way… but I soon found out that she had no idea what good bbq was… the place she took me was the souther bbq equivalent of Applebees. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/3 "2006-01-12T00:20:20Z")
> [@bubastis](#): > > I felt like an asshole. Quite right, so you should. It’s “_Wax_ on, _wax_ off.” “Sand on, sand off” makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/4 "2006-01-12T00:20:38Z")
I guess I don’t get it. Why would sand on…sand off be offensive? In any case why would their inability to understand English make something you said an insult? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/5 "2006-01-12T00:26:43Z")
I don’t understand either the \*sand on/off \* or the \*wax on/off \* version. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/6 "2006-01-12T00:28:51Z")
Next time say “Right the circle, left the circle…”. Not that that’s any better, but at least it’s accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/7 "2006-01-12T00:30:33Z")
> [@SandyHook](#): > > I guess I don’t get it. Why would sand on…sand off be offensive? It’s a reference to Mr. Miyagi’s fractured English in _Karate Kid_. It’s vaguely humorous, but also thinly veiled racism and certainly not something you’d want to say to people you don’t know from Adam. ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/8 "2006-01-12T00:31:16Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Quite right, so you should. > > It’s “_Wax_ on, _wax_ off.” “Sand on, sand off” makes no sense. For car, wax on, wax off. For floor, sand on, sand off. You have much to learn, otto-san. ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/9 "2006-01-12T00:34:50Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > thinly veiled racism I wear my racism on my sleeve, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/10 "2006-01-12T04:38:07Z")
> [@bubastis](#): > > For car, wax on, wax off. > For floor, sand on, sand off. > > You have much to learn, otto-san. For floor, it’s just “sand floor.” There is no “sand on, sand off” in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/11 "2006-01-12T04:48:34Z")
If nothing else, this thread is an excellent example of MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![sundog66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@sundog66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sundog66)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/12 "2006-01-12T06:05:11Z")
> [@bubastis](#): > > One guy got pissed off and left. The rest gave weak smiles. I felt like an asshole. So, they didn’t know English well enough to know the word for “sandpaper”, and yet with a four-word English phrase (involving only the word “sand” in the same sense as “sandpaper”, plus two trivial particles, no less) you were able not only to elicit in their heads a relatively obscure reference to an American movie, but also to do so clearly enough that they knew it was appropriate to take offense? 😕 Did you do the hand movements, too, or something? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/13 "2006-01-12T06:36:56Z")
> [@sundog66](#): > > So, they didn’t know English well enough to know the word for “sandpaper”, and yet with a four-word English phrase (involving only the word “sand” in the same sense as “sandpaper”, plus two trivial particles, no less) you were able not only to elicit in their heads a relatively obscure reference to an American movie, but also to do so clearly enough that they knew it was appropriate to take offense? 😕 > > Did you do the hand movements, too, or something? So obscure that many people on this board didn’t even get the reference (including myself) . I was kind of wondering if they were telepathic or something. ---
**Author:** ![aurelian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f4b2a3/32.png) [@aurelian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurelian)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/14 "2006-01-12T06:40:57Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > For floor, it’s just “sand floor.” There is no “sand on, sand off” in the movie. **Otto** , don’t you remember when Mr. Miyagi started a flooring business to raise money for the karate tournament? There was an extended montage of Ralph Macchio sanding wood panels, coughing and staining…it was set to some Chicago song, but I forget which one… ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/15 "2006-01-12T07:28:57Z")
This thread is making me feel very old. How can there be people in the world that don’t instantly understand that reference? ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/16 "2006-01-12T08:35:20Z")
> [@sundog66](#): > > Did you do the hand movements, too, or something? (Sheepishly looks at floor…) ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/17 "2006-01-12T08:37:22Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > If nothing else, this thread is an excellent example of MPSIMS. I’m getting there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/18 "2006-01-12T08:39:22Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > For floor, it’s just “sand floor.” There is no “sand on, sand off” in the movie. Maybe thats what offended them; I misquoted! ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/19 "2006-01-12T08:44:26Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > For floor, it’s just “sand floor.” There is no “sand on, sand off” in the movie. Maybe thats what offended them; I misquoted! ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578/20 "2006-01-12T09:01:07Z")
> [@bubastis](#): > > (Sheepishly looks at floor…) And the accent? Please tell me you did the accent? Wait! Do you look like Billy Zabka? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-offends-japan/339578.md?page=2)