S L A N G S O C.

Yaya, adj.

Pronunciation: Yaya

Forms: Yaya, yaya papaya

Etymology: Of Malay origin yaya, adj.

1. To over-proudly boast what one's got.

2. To be arrogant and stuck-up.

Shiok, adj.

Pronunciation: Sh-i-oak

Forms: Shiok

Etymology: Of Malay (From the Straits Chinese) origin shiok, adj

1. To signify something to be awesome, in a positive manner.

2. To represent something to be of extreme pleasure, especially food.

Bochup, adj.

Etymology: From Hokkien dialect words: Bo - do not have and Chup - to have a stake in.

1. Nonchalance, especially towards important or significant events. Similar to the American slang phrase: "could not care less".

Ev0lutionz posted on 22nd July 2008: "Today my petrol ran out... Why singaporean drivers so bochup one? I was like flagging for help and none of them came zzz."

Etymology: < clipping of spoil the market

v. phr. (Eng.) often joc.

1. To engage in a task resulting in high standards and cause others doing that same task to try and work harder in order to meet these higher standards. This is usually in order to refrain from looking inferior if the expectations, which were raised, are not met.

Source: http://mrsuan.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/totally-spoil-market/

Blur, adj.

Etymology: Blur n. and vb. appear about the middle of the 16th cent.: their mutual relation is doubtful, and the origin of both unknown: they have been conjecturally viewed as a variant of blear n., and may perhaps be onomatopoeic, combining the effect of blear and blot . The mod. Scots is blore . (Source: OED. Retrieved 24 Oct 2011)

The Singapore style of the word 'blur' is different from the original meaning and the part of speech. Singaporeans use 'blur' as an adjective, to describe somebody who is 'ignorant, stupid, or slow to catch on'. It can also mean 'confused, muddle-headed'.

1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 165 Being ‘blur’, he did not know exactly what he was puffing but was told it was just ordinary tobacco.

2000 Dennis Wee with Sylvia Fong Making Luck with Your Hands 77 That blur-blur kid being pushed around.

2000 Cindy Lim The Straits Times, 1 April, 54 He kept horning at me but I was so blur.

2000 Magdalene Lum (quoting Kumar) The Straits Times (Life!), 29 August, 15 But I’ve met a lot of blur-blur sales-people there.

2001 Magdalene Lum (quoting Mark Lee) The Straits Times(Life!), 9 January, L8 I am really blur about geography and used to fail the subject in school. .. I’m so blur, I didn’t know they existed.

2003 Marc Lim & Peh Shing Huei (quoting Mah Bow Tan) The Straits Times, 22 November, A37 We were all blur when we started in 1996. We didn’t know how to run a professional club.

2006 The Sunday Times, 20 August, 42 The way we use the word “blur” may also confuse a non-Singaporean. .. [I]t is most commonly used by Singaporeans as an adjective to describe people who never seem to know what’s going on! An example would be the question: “Eh, why are you so blur?”

Source: A dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English. Retrieved on 24 Oct,2011