The idea is that a slow boat to China was the longest trip one could imagine. Loesser moved the phrase to a more romantic setting, yet it eventually entered general parlance to mean anything that takes an extremely long time.
Who sang Slowboat China?
Medley/Artists
Can you go to China by boat?
Getting to China by boat
International cruise ships do make use of the most prominent ports, though, with Shanghai, Qingdao and Tianjin among the most popular stop-off points.
Who first recorded slow boat to China?
“Slow Boat to China” is a song written by Mike Ragogna and recorded by American country music group Girls Next Door. It was released in May 1986 as the second single from their album The Girls Next Door. The song peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
What is the meaning of slow boat to China? – Related Questions
Where did the phrase slow boat to China originate?
The origins of the term appear to lie in the game of poker. Card sharks used to refer to someone who lost slowly and steadily as a “slow boat to China,” referencing the fact that a patient player could “ride” the victim all the way to the bottom of his or her pocket book.
Why is it called a Chinese GYBE?
It is called “Chinese” for the poor level of sailing preparation of the people of same name but it is actually an involuntary gybe. Highly feared in the era of spinnakers, now it is perceived as a less serious danger.
What does the saying gravy boat mean?
(figuratively) A source of easily obtained money or benefits.
Why are Chinese boats called junk?
This word comes from the fact that the Arabic script cannot represent the sound spelled with the digraph “ng”. The word was used to denote both the Javanese/Malay ship (jong or djong) and the Chinese ship (chuán), even though the two were markedly different vessels.
Are junk ships still used today?
Junks were the first ships to have rudders, which allowed them to be steered easily. From the 13th to 15th centuries, Chinese junks were bigger than any other ships and were the most advanced in the world. Today, junks are still used in China, Hong Kong, and many parts of Southeast Asia.
What is a Chinese junket?
junk, classic Chinese sailing vessel of ancient unknown origin, still in wide use. High-sterned, with projecting bow, the junk carries up to five masts on which are set square sails consisting of panels of linen or matting flattened by bamboo strips.
What were Chinese junk ships made out of?
Built from lightweight woods, with flat bottoms and bamboo-slatted masts, the junk epitomizes Chinese shipbuilding techniques. Read more about its origins below. Junks first appeared in China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), a small, shallow-hulled vessel with one or two masts.
Are Chinese junks seaworthy?
By that time Chinese junks were the largest, strongest, and most seaworthy ships in the world. Some of them were hundreds of feet long. Each coastal region of China had its own ways of designing and building junks.
What is a junk boat Hong Kong?
The junk boat — tall and wooden with its three bright-red sails glowing in the Victoria Harbor sunlight — is one of the most iconic visual symbols of Hong Kong. These vessels are commonly depicted on postcards, retro travel posters, keychains, T-shirts, ceramics and even the logo of the city’s tourism board.
Why was the Chinese junk invented?
The magnificent junks described in the travel report of Ibn Battuta (1304–1377) evoke a grandeur befitting the most iconic among Chinese naval inventions. As Battuta’s account suggests, junks were used as warfare ships. But they served other purposes as well, including trading, fishing, housing, recreation and…
What is the difference between the European ship and the Chinese junk?
One of the unique features of the junks were the shape of their sails, which were very different from those of Western ships. Chinese junks were not square-rigged; they had elliptical, curved sails, which were reinforced with inner bars made of bamboo. Because the bamboo kept the sails strong, less rigging was needed.
What was China called in 1492?
Answer and Explanation: Europeans gave China several names in 1492, when knowledge about the country was extremely limited. Marco Polo referred to the region as Catai, meaning the northern part of China under control of the Mongols, which morphed into a common term Cathay, describing the entire region.
Why is it called a junk?
Junk meaning trash – also in junk food, junk mail – has a different origin: from the Old French jonc (“reed”) to Middle English’s nautical junke, meaning “old rope”, extending to mean old refuse from ships to any discarded items.
Why is junk called junk?
Originally a nautical term for a piece of old cable (perhaps like the rope that went into BP’s junk shot), it was transferred to unwanted rubbish or poor-quality stuff more generally in the mid-19th century.
What is a boy junk?
The word “junk” is American English slang for a man’s genitals.
Why is mail called spam?
The name comes from a Monty Python sketch in which the name of the canned pork product Spam is ubiquitous, unavoidable, and repetitive. Email spam has steadily grown since the early 1990s, and by 2014 was estimated to account for around 90% of total email traffic.