梁新記牙刷——一毛不拔

Chinese

		Leung Sun Kee	toothbrush		won't even pull out a single hair, playing on the double meaning of 毛; very stingy
trad. (梁新記牙刷——一毛不拔)		梁新記	牙刷	——	一毛不拔
simp. (梁新记牙刷——一毛不拔)		梁新记	牙刷	——	一毛不拔
Literally: “Leung Sun Kee's toothbrushes - no single bristle will fall / very stingy”.

Etymology

The commercial of Leung Sun Kee Toothbrush Factory on a newspaper in 1921

From the commercial of Leung Sun Kee Toothbrush Factory in Guangzhou in 1920-30s. The slogan 一毛不拔 (jat¹ mou⁴ bat¹ bat⁶) here meant "no single bristle will fall from the toothbrush" and was used to promote the quality of their products.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): loeng⁴ san¹ gei³ ngaa⁴ caat^3-2, jat¹ mou⁴ bat¹ bat⁶

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: loeng⁴ san¹ gei³ ngaa⁴ caat^3-2, jat¹ mou⁴ bat¹ bat⁶
    • Yale: lèuhng sān gei ngàh cháat, yāt mòuh bāt baht
    • Cantonese Pinyin: loeng⁴ san¹ gei³ ngaa⁴ tsaat^8-2, jat⁷ mou⁴ bat⁷ bat⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: lêng⁴ sen¹ géi³ nga⁴ cad^3-2, yed¹ mou⁴ bed¹ bed⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lœːŋ²¹ sɐn⁵⁵ kei̯³³ ŋaː²¹ t͡sʰaːt̚³⁻³⁵ jɐt̚⁵ mou̯²¹ pɐt̚⁵ pɐt̚²/

Idiom

梁新記牙刷——一毛不拔

1. (Cantonese, dated) very stingy