pakapoo

English

Alternative forms

• pak-a-pu, pak-ah-pu, pak kop piu, pak hop piu

Etymology

From Cantonese, perhaps 白鴿票／白鸽票 (baak6 gaap3-2 biu1).

Noun

pakapoo (uncountable)

1. A Chinese lottery game popular in Oceania in the 19th century, involving tickets marked with rows of Chinese characters.
   • 2017, Fiona Farrell, Decline and Fall on Savage Street, →ISBN, page 63:

     He can feel the cloud coming down: eight hundred owed to Charlie, another hundred to the Chinaman who runs a pakapoo game alongside the apples and bananas.

Derived terms

• like a pakapoo ticket