pak pai

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Cantonese 白牌車白牌车 (baak6 paai4-2 ce1), literally ‘white numberplate’.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

pak pai (plural pak pai or pak pais)

  1. (now historical) A car used as an illegal taxi in Hong Kong. [from 20th c.]
    • 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 471:
      He took pak-pais, knowing they were less under the thumb of the police.

Synonyms

[edit]