chao keng
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Teochew 臭 (cao3, “dirty, ill-reputed”) + 經 / 经 (gêng1, “to evade; to pass the buck”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]chao keng (third-person singular simple present chao keng or chao kengs, present participle chao keng or chao kenging, simple past chao keng or chao kenged, past participle chao keng)
- (Singlish) To malinger, to skive, to shirk one's duties (particularly military duties) by feigning illness or reporting sick.
- 2015 October 19, “Guys, here are 10 foods that will make your skin glow and hopefully help you get some”, in Mothership:
- That said, going back for reservist training would without a doubt be a pain — digging up all your old gear, your uniform and your dusty field pack once a year is enough to make you wish you chao kenged during your NSF days.
- 2017, Max West, How To Forge A Frogman, →ISBN:
- I couldn't actually bring myself to chao keng, but though it was only 4 km, that march was one of the tougher evolutions we've done.
- 2017 April 26, “Are the new sentencing principles for NS defaulters fair?”, in The Online Citizen:
- I would argue that those who 'slack' or 'chao keng' are probably more a threat to our national security than a defaulter who has postponed his NS, but done well while in NS.
- 2017 September 18, “If you're too sick for work, this startup lets you get your MC online”, in Asia One:
- I'm willing to bet all of us have tried to chao keng our way out of work sometime in the past, myself included.
- 2018 May 3, “To Prevent More Deaths Like Pte Dave Lee’s, Chao Keng Culture Must End”, in Rice[2]:
- For the longest time, there’s existed the rampant problem of soldiers malingering, or more colloquially “chao keng”, to excuse themselves from training. This has led to the deep-seated mistrust of soldiers who report sick or declare themselves unfit.