Anybody remember the Hershey’s candy bar called “Bar None”? Years back, when I was in college, I had a roommate from Hong Kong who told me that the name of this candy bar was very, very close to a rather nasty swear word in Cantonese, and he couldn’t even say the name of the candy without blushing. He wouldn’t, however, tell me what the actual word in Cantonese was, nor what it meant.
So now, years later, I’m just wondering. Is there actually a word or phrase in Cantonese that sounds very close to “bar none” that is extremely offensive? And, if so, what the heck is it, anyway?
While we’re at it, I once read (if it’s on the internet, it must be true, right?) that basketball star Yao Ming was confused when he got to the US because the phrase “Wazzaaaap” sounded much like a Cantonese swear word, but the article wouldn’t say what word. Anyone?
Bar None? Your roommate must’ve had something reasonable in mind being from Hong Kong, but it sounds like a real stretch to me. You can’t even make an “r” sound in Cantonese. I’m thinking that he may’ve thought “none” was close to “lun,” “cock,” but to me it’s a real stretch. A lot less embarrasing for him than saying “dik kok” is for me.
Does Yao Ming even speak Cantonese?.. “Wazzaaaap” sure doesn’t sound like any Cantonese curse I can think of.
I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic about “really,” but I kind of doubt it since “ma” is a real surname and “youyou” is something that people are actually named, while I really doubt that anyone would name a boy “ma-ma” as it means the same thing in Chinese as it does in English.
Actually, now that I think of it, there’s a posh bar/lounge named Bar None tied to the Marriott Hotel here in Singapore. It seems unlikely that they would name a business establishment something vulgar in a country where the majority population is Chinese.
Well “wazzaaap” could sound a bit like “hamsap,” depending on how you say it (hamsap means “horny person” - according to this swearing site. Yeah, I’ve been in HK for almost my entire life and I don’t even know how to swear in Cantonese).
First, Yao Ming speaks Shanghaiese as his first language and Mandarin as his second. His parents are both Shanghaiese, so it would be a real stretch to think that somehow he speaks Cantonese.
Wuzzup doesn’t sound anything like any of the Shanghaiese swear words I know, and my Shanghaiese wife doesn’t make any connections either. My Wife also speaks canto and “Bar none” and variations don;t strike a chord with her. I ahem have some passing knowledge with canto swear words, and at least Bar None is not one of the real common expressions IMHO.
