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Meaning of chinese fire drill7/10/2023 The use of Chinese to mean 'clumsy inferior' may stem from these phrases, although there were earlier isolated examples which were based on ideas of the inferiority of the Chinese. Several expressions in common use in aviation since World War I, such as Chinese landing 'a clumsy landing' and Chinese ace 'an inept pilot', derive from the English phrase one wing low, thought to resemble the Chinese language or a Chinese name. Chinese here is not necessarily a racial sentiment. The first sense was first used in the military in World War II. If these findings are not accepted for publication in a scientific journal, then I will be requesting that Science return my expired brain cells.įor the origin of the phrase "Chinese fire drill," see this portion of the entry from the Random House dictionary: After completing the fire drill, I came to the surprising conclusion that it is difficult to breathe in an oxygen-deprived plastic bag. I let a little bit of outside air come in the bag through the neck, but in the interest of Science, I sacrificed a few brain cells and tried to see how well I could breathe in the oxygen-deprived bag. After going down about seven floors, it became very uncomfortable. The bag became stuffy, and going down floor after floor, the oxygen content in the bag decreased. Everybody has a plastic bag on his head! We're going through the smoke! After descending two or three floors down the staircase, the fire drill started being less fun. In this way, I began the fire drill, which included unscented smoke of some sort (not dry ice), so the drill was actually fun as it started. Then, one puts his head inside and holds the opening of the bag closed around the neck. First, one opens the bag and waves it through the air, filling it with air. In the recent fire drill, I finally had a chance to test out the plastic bag. The second device is the "thick smoke escape bag," or, more literally, "plastic bag." Contrary to what you were taught as a child, this clear plastic bag is used by sticking your head inside the bag and cutting off your air supply, in the hope of providing a small but smoke-free air supply as you flee a building. This device is often placed next to a removable window. The first is the "slow descent machine," or "escape sling," which is a device used to rappel down the side of a building. That is not true of Taiwan, but there are some unique fire escape items here. In some countries, elevators are actually used as part of the fire escape plan. Although the drill was not chaotic, it was the most uncomfortable drill I have participated in.įire regulations vary from country to country. I recently took part in a fire drill in Taiwan, which is normally a totally unremarkable event, but it turned out to be different from the average fire drill-it was a fire drill with Chinese characteristics. It is also the name of a game, which you may have seen in the opening sequence of the TV series "Happy Days," in which a car stops at a red light, everyone gets out of the car, runs around the car, and then gets back in the car before the light turns green. An exercise in the use of firefighting equipment or the evacuation of a building in case of a fire.The phrase "Chinese fire drill" usually describes a state of confusion. A rod which is rotated on a flat surface like a drill until it is hot enough to start a fire exercise conducted in order to test readiness for a fire When there is a fire drill in a particular building, the people who work or live there practise what to do if there is a fire. Sorry I didn't get back to you earlier, I've been involved in a fire drill all afternoon. In this way, fire drill is often used in the same idiomatic way putting out fires or fire fighting is used.) (With the dropping of Chinese the phrase has also often lost its pejorative meaning of pointless and unproductive. Since they changed the standards again, our previous efforts now just amount to a fire drill. Definition of fire drill in English English dictionary An organised practice to prepare occupants of an office, school or other public building for evacuation in the event of a fire any pointless, unproductive, useless, or chaotic activity (sometimes Chinese fire drill, but this usage is becoming outmoded in an age of political correctness)
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