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ta pau /tah pow, tɑ paʊ/ v. phr. [Cant. 打 tá to beat, to hit, to strike; an auxiliary verb in the sense of to make, to do, to cause + 包 páu to enclose, to contain, to hold, to wrap up (Eitel); Mand. dă gather in, collect, reap + bāo bundle, package, pack, packet, parcel (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)]  Pack a meal to take along with oneself rather than to consume it at an eating establishment; have a meal to go, take away, take out.
2000 Dennis Wee with Sylvia Fong Making Luck with Your Hands 73 I tar pau a packet of nasi lemak home for dinner.  2004 Philip Lee Streats, 23 April, 22 I have never done any ‘tah pow’ (packing) at such functions.. [E]ven at home parties in Singapore when food is served buffet style, the hosts often ask guests if they want to ‘tah pow’ the leftovers. To ‘tah pow’ food home is a way of life here, a part of our culture. I do not find anything reprehensible about it.  2004 Sharlene Tan (quoting Russel Wong) Streats, 29 December, 6 The last meal I had with Jackie (Chan) was laksa and chicken rice ‘ta pao’ from Newton Circus or some place. We ate it off the coffee table..  2006 Teo Pau Lin (quoting Robert Godley) The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 25 June. When my wife gave birth to the girls at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, she made me go there to tapow (take away) food.

tau /dow, t̚aʊ/ n. [Cant. 豆 tau legumes (Eitel), Hk. taoù (Medhurst); Mand. dòu]  A legume, pulse, bean or pea; spec. the soybean or soya bean (Glycine maximus). Commonly used in the following combinations.

tau cheoh /chioh, tʃɪəʊ/ n. [Hk. 浆 cheoh paste, sauce; Mand. dòujiàng] Also taucheo.  Fermented soya bean paste, used in Chinese cooking.
2001 Sylvia Lim The Sunday Times (Sunday Plus), 4 February, P7 Add 2 Tbs brown soya bean paste (tau cheoh) to brown as well.  2006 Cheong Suk-Wai The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 6 August, L12 [S]lice them and saute them with oyster sauce, taucheo (yellow bean sauce), nutmeg and Thai chilli flakes for a quirky kick.  2006 Sylvia Tan The Straits Times (Mind Your Body) (from Straits Times Interactive), 6 October. [T]he nonyas have a dish called chap chye bulat where they braise the whole cabbage in a soya bean paste (tau cheow) stock together with dried soya bean products, black mushrooms and fungus.  2006 Teo Pau Lin (quoting Benjamin Seck) The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 31 December, L28 I also do.. crayfish sambal with taucheo (fermented soy beans). .. Peranakans come from the Hokkien and Teochew dialect groups. My family is Teochew, so you can see the use of taucheo in our dishes.  2015 Chris Tan The Sunday Times (SundayLife!), 22 February, 21 Taucheo: Chinese fermented, salted yellow soya beans, most commonly sold mashed into a fine or coarse paste, although provision shops may also sell them whole in brine. The most widely available type as a yellow-brown hue and concentrated pungency that mellows out during cooking. Used to season many kinds of dishes, from steamed items to braises and stir-fries, and also added to sauces and marinades. .. There is black soya bean taucheo.., which has an earthier, more mineral-tinged flavour than yellow taucheo; and a spicy pre-seasoned taucheo.. with added ginger, garlic, chilli and condiments, meant for stir-fries and steamed fish. Another common type is flavoured with pureed red dates.

tau huay /huay, hʊeɪ/ n. [Hk. huay flower, blossom, bloom; anything resembling a flower; Mand. 花 huā]  A Chinese hot or cold dessert of the consistency of very soft jelly made of coagulated soya bean milk. It is either served plain or with a sugar syrup, and occasionally with flavourings such as almond or ginger.  Known in Cantonese as Taufa.
2005 Teo Pau Lin (quoting Fong Loo Fern) The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 23 October. For lunch, I eat popiah or a bowl of tau huay (soya beancurd).  2006 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 16 July. It takes a brave man to open a tau huay shop right next to the famous Rochor Original Beancurd in Short Street. But David Koh, 38, has no fear. He is confident that his tau huay (beancurd custard with syrup) can stand up to Rochor’s, even though the latter is a household name known for its super-smooth beancurd texture. After all, he is none other than the younger brother of Rochor’s shop owner, William Koh, 47. .. The Rochor legacy began in the 1960s when the three men’s parents started peddling tau huay from a pushcart in the Rochor and Beach Road areas. Their eldest son, Koon Meng, helped them from the time he was 12, and the trio went on to improve the recipe through years of trial and error. Their brand of silky smooth beancurd comes from watering down soya milk to the right thickness, and adding just the right amount of coagulant and sweet potato flour.

tau huay chui /chui, tʃʊɪ/ n. [Hk. 水 chui water; a liquid; Mand. shuǐ]  A sweet or plain beverage made of the boiled liquid squeezed from mashed soya beans, sometimes flavoured with almonds; Soya Bean Milk, soybean milk.  Known in Cantonese as Taufa Shui.
2006 Li Xueying (quoting Goh Kai Suah) The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 21 April. ‘I’m going to tell my supplier tomorrow that I now want 12 tanks of tao huey zui every day,’ said soya bean milk hawker Goh Kai Suah, 42, who usually needs 10 plastic tanks for his stall.  2006 Hannah Tan The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 4 June. Competition is.. shaking up the humble tau huay chui (soya bean milk). .. Soya bean milk is now also sold as soft-serve soya ice cream and frothy soya shake.  2007 Arlina Arshad The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 9 February. [T]he cafe did not materialise because the operator ‘wanted to sell sugarcane, ming chiang kuay (pancakes) and tau huay chwee (soya bean drink)’, which went against the mall’s ‘hip and trendy’ image.

tau kua /guuah, ɡʊɑ/ n. [Hk. 干 kua dry; Mand. dòugān]

[1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 1177 taukua. (Batav. [Batavia], from Ch. [Chinese]) A dish sold by food-hawkers.]

Also tau kwa.  Firm beancurd.  Known in Cantonese as Tau Kon.
2003 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times, 5 October, L41 Pan-fried tau kwa.. A cheap and rare meal, this is simple man’s food – pan-fried pieces of firm beancurd dipped in chilli sauce.  2015 Thng Lay Teen The Sunday Times (SundayLife!), 22 February, 21 I had asked for more taukwa and fewer pieces of steamed rice cake [in my Lontong]. I ended up with two fried beancurd pieces and more vegetables and still, I paid the same price.. I saw someone enjoying mee siam ($3) at the next table and decided to check it out. The popular Malay dish came with lots of fried diced taukwa which I love.

tau kua pau /bow, baʊ/ n. [Hk. 包 pau bun, bundle; Mand. bāo]  See quot. 2003.
2003 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times, 5 October, L42 Tau kwa pau are fried beancurds stuffed with streaky pork, sliced fishcake, fried yam, egg bits and cucumber, which you drench in dark sauce or a zesty chilli dip.

tau pei /pay, peɪ/ n. [Cant. 皮 p‘i skin of the body, a hide, fur; a wrapper, a covering (Eitel); Mand. pí skin (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)]  A Chinese food item consisting of a soft, thin cream-coloured sheet of bean curd which is used in soups, desserts, etc.; bean curd skin. It is made from the coagulated layer that forms on the surface of the mashed soya bean mixture used to make Tauhu.

tau sar /sahr, sɑː/ n. [Hk. 沙 sar a granulated or powdered substance; Mand. shā]  A sweetened paste made of Red Beans, Green Beans, etc., used as a filling in Chinese pastries.

tau sar piah /biah, biɑː/ n. [Hk. 饼 piah round, flat cake; Mand. bǐng]  A round, flaky Chinese pastry filled with tau sar.
2003 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times, 5 October, L39 Tan Boon Chai.. is still making Hokkien tau sar piah from his ancestor’s original recipe from Fujian province. ..  Filled with green bean paste, the 50-cent pastries are rich in taste and aroma.  2006 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 10 September. This 60-year-old institution [Tan Hock Seng Cake Shop] is famous for its Hokkien tau sar piah, which owner Tan Boon Chai, 56, makes using his grandfather’s original recipe from Fujian province. .. [I]ts signature tau sar piah (flaky pastries with green bean filling)..  2009 Thng Lay Teen The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 19 April, 28 The salty tau sar piah (bean paste pastry, 60 cents) was good, with the thin pastry gently flaking off as I bit into its homemade mung bean filling with just the right balance of salty and sweet.

taufa /tow-fah, ˈtaʊfɑ/ n. [Cant., bean-curd jelly: 花 fá flowers, blossom (Eitel); Mand. huā flower, blossom, bloom; anything resembling a flower (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)] Also taufu fa.  The Cantonese term for Tau Huay.

taufa shui /shuui, ʃʊɪ/ n. [Cant. 水 shui water (Eitel); Mand. shuǐ: water, a liquid (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)]  The Cantonese term for Tau Huay Chui.

taufu /tow-foo, ˈtaʊfuː/ n. [Cant., bean curd: 腐 fú putrid, rotten, decayed, spoiled (Eitel); Mand. fu rotten, putrid; bean curd (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)] Also taufoo.  The Cantonese term for Tauhu.

taugeh /tow-gay, ˈtaʊɡeɪ/ n. [Hk. 芽 geh bud, sprout, shoot; Mand. yá]

[1963 Richard Winstedt An Unabridged Malay–English Dictionary 355 tauge, Ch. [Chinese], sprouts of the mung bean, Phaseolus aureus, eaten with rice]

Also towgay.  Sprouts of the Green Bean used as a vegetable; bean sprouts.
2009 Lee Siew Hua The Straits Times (Saturday), 12 December, E6 [H]e describes how he grows towgay – soak beans overnight, toss them into pet bottles, harvest in seven days.

tauhu /tow-hoo, ˈtaʊhuː/ n. [Hk. 豆腐 taoù hoō a jelly-like preparation from pulse (Medhurst); Mand. fu rotten, putrid; bean curd (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)]

[1832 Walter Henry Medhurst A Dictionary of the Hok-Këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language 481 豆腐, taoù hoō, a jelly-like preparation from pulse, very much eaten by the Chinese.  1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 1177 tauhu. Ch. [Chinese]. Bean curd (shaped but not pressed); Hn. [A.W. Hamilton]]

A Chinese food item consisting of a curd made from mashed soya beans; bean curd, tofu.  Known in Cantonese as Taufu.

tauhu goreng /gor-reng, ˈɡɔːrɛŋ/ n. [Mal. tauhu < Hk. Tauhu + Mal. goreng fry in a pan]  A Malay dish consisting of deep-fried pieces of Tauhu that are stuffed with bean sprouts and served with a sauce of chillies, cilantro (coriander leaves) and peanuts that are ground up and mixed with soya sauce, salt and vinegar.

taupok /tow-pok, ˈtaʊpɒk̚/ n. [Hk. 薄 pok thin; Mand. báo] Also tau pok.  1 A variety of fried beancurd which is flattish and square with a brown, wrinkled skin and soft, spongy interior.  2 transf.  A prank where several people pile on top of another and flatten that person like a piece of taupok.
1 2005 Peh Shing Huei The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 13 October. The Guangxi and Gaozhou Association will serve up this dish [Guangxi yong tau foo], with its special soft-skin tau pok and meat with chives.  2005 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 11 December, L31 Turns out chilli noodles is just a version of dry prawn noodles. But instead of just noodles topped with fresh prawns and fishcake, it has pork spare ribs, slices of taupok (fried beancurd), a hard-boiled egg and a huge dollop of burn-your-lips-off chilli sauce.  2006 The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 2 July. [C]ooked with taupok, mushrooms and vegetables, the noodles are springy and smooth, and boast a delicate flavour of soya sauce.  2008 Thng Lay Teen The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 16 November, 27 I also liked the tau pok (fried beancurd, 50 cents) braised in the same gravy.  2012 Thng Lay Teen The Sunday Times (SundayLife!), 7 October, 30 The fried taupok (soy bean puff) provided a delightful contrast in texture.  2 2004 Maria Almenoar The Straits Times, 12 January, H5 “[T]aupok”, in which students gang up to pile onto one of their brethren, is common in schools here, though principals say they neither condone nor encourage it. The prank starts when one student signals five to 10 others to pile on top of a targeted friend – flattening him like piece of “taupok”, or compressed brown tofu. Students say it is spontaneous, and targeted at boys who are good friends. .. Said Mark Chen, 18, an RJC student: “I’ve been ‘taupok-ed’ before and it’s actually quite fun. It’s usually not painful because everyone piles on quickly and gets off just as fast.”

tauyu bak /bahk, bɑk̚/ n. [see Bak]  A Peranakan dish consisting of fatty pork cooked with soya sauce and spices such as cinnamon and star anise.
2009 Wong Ah Yoke The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 19 April, 28 I also like the flavour of the tau eu bak (soy sauce pork, $10.90), which is strong with aromatic spices such as cinnamon and star anise. I enjoy fat with my meat but even the pork is too fatty for me. It would be better if there was slightly more meat than fat instead of the half-half ratio here.

teh /tay, teɪ/ n. [Mal. < Hk. 茶 teh tea; Mand. chá]  Tea, esp. with milk and sugar.
2000 Josephine James (quoting Erlin M. Amin) The Straits Times, 27 November, H6 I still come here for the best teh (Malay for tea).  2002 Karl Ho The Straits Times (Life!), 23 March, L10 They serve hot beverages brewed from Myanmar or Indian tea leaves and a choice of sugar or condensed or evaporated milk – quite similar to our teh or teh si.

teh halia /hah-li-ah, ah-li-ah, ˈhɑliɑ, ˈɑliɑ/ n. [Mal. halia ginger] Also (erron.) teh alia.  Tea brewed with ginger.

teh kosong /ko-song, ˈkɒsɒŋ/ n. [Mal. kosong nil, nothing, zero]  Unsweetened tea with milk.  See Kosong 2.
2005 Eric J Brooks The Sunday Times, 10 April, 36 Fortunately, the drink seller across from her was able to provide me a teh-c ping kosong for 80 cents and without sugar, just as I had requested.  2006 Philip Soh Yeok Khoon The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 1 March. One can see that more health-con[s]cious Singaporeans are drinking ‘teh-o-kosong’ or ‘kopi-o-kosong’ (without sugar).

teh peng /peng, pɛŋ/ n. [Hk. 冰 peng ice; Mand. bīng]  Iced tea.
2005 Eric J Brooks The Sunday Times, 10 April, 36 [D]espite my pointing at the sign which clearly stated that a teh-c ping was 80 cents, the seller continued to demand $1.50.  2006 ‘Mr Brown’ (Lee Kin Mun) Today 36 No more daily teh peng (iced milk tea loaded with lovely condensed milk), no more soft drinks, and no more sweet drinks.

teh po /poh, p˺əʊ/ n. [Hk. 薄 po ; Mand. báo weak, light (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)]  Tea that has been made thinner.
2014 Akshita Nanda The Sunday Times (SundayLife!), 23 February, 19 [O]ver a cup of “teh po” or light tea, his drink of choice.

teh tarek, teh tarik /tah-rik, ˈtɑrɪk̚/ n. [Mal. tarek, tarik to pull]  Tea with milk and sugar which has been ‘pulled’, or frothed and mixed by pouring from one mug to another, often from a height.
2003 Sheena Chan The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), L40 At the row of ornate conservation shophouses along rustic Kandahar Street, you can sip your teh tarik at any of five halal restaurants, two of which have been there for more than four decades.  2006 Peter Khoo The Straits Times (Life!), 4 December, 6 No one complained even though there was only teh tarik at the table. But there was joyful banter and great kinship.  2006 Stephanie Chu Huiying The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 28 January. I don't think it is ‘blind patriotism’ to prefer local works [of literature]; it is more like preferring teh tarik to English breakfast tea. If we know only tea, we will never know the joys of teh tarik, which is uniquely satisfying.  2006 Eveline Gan Today, 31 July, 27 [O]ld-school beverages such as teh tarik, bandung and barley are served in traditional kopitiam mugs.  2006 Anthony Bourdain New York Times Magazine (from Travel.nytimes.com), 24 September. Wong also insisted that I try some chicken and mutton curries, which we washed down with teh tarik, or ‘pulled’ tea.. This Indian tea is brewed from leaves, dosed with condensed milk and then pulled, meaning poured back and forth between pitchers from increasing heights until it is frothy.

teh-C /see, siː/ n. [< the initial letter of the Eng. word C(arnation, a proprietary name for a brand of evaporated milk first sold by American grocer E.A. Stuart in the late 19th or early 20th century and now manufactured by the Nestlé company: see Kopi-C] Also teh see, teh si.  Tea made with evaporated milk.
2005 Eric J Brooks The Sunday Times, 10 April, 36 I recently ordered a “teh-c ping kosong” from a drink seller at HDB Hub’s basement foodcourt. For good measure, I also politely said: “One tea with ice and milk, no sugar.”  2009 Mak Mun San The Sunday Times, 19 April, 29 .. I popped in at my neighbourhood kopitiam for my teh c and kaya toast fix.  2011 Ng Kai Ling The Straits Times (Home), 15 December, B1 She used to pay $1.10 for her teh-c (tea with evaporated milk) but switched stalls after buying from another which charged her just 90 cents.  2014 Rob O’Brien The Sunday Times, 26 January, 35 I drink Teh C in the afternoons, I eat local hawker food – with a particular penchant for xiao long bao.

teh-o /or, ɒr/ n. [Hk. or black, dark; Mand. 乌 wū]  Sweetened tea without milk.

teh-o kosong /ko-song, ˈkɒsɒŋ/ n. [see Kosong]  Tea without milk or sugar; black tea.  Compare Teh Kosong.
2006 Philip Soh Yeok Khoon The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 1 March. One can see that more health-con[s]cious Singaporeans are drinking ‘teh-o-kosong’ or ‘kopi-o-kosong’ (without sugar).

tembah /tahm-bah, ˈtɑmbɑ/ v. [Mal. tembah, (formerly) tambah increase by repetition or continuation; compare tambahkan, tambahi, menambah, menambahkan, menambahi supplement, add to; increase (Wilkinson)]  Add (to something).

Teochew /teeoh-choo, ˈtiːotʃuː/ n. & a. [Teo. 潮 dio the phenomenon of the rising and falling of the waters of the seas caused by the attraction of the sun and moon; an abbrev. for Chaozhou + 州 ziu¹ an ancient type of administrative district, now commonly used in place-names; a type of national autonomous administrative district (Chaozhou Dict.); Mand. cháo tide + zhōu (autonomous) prefecture (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)]  A n. 1 An inhabitant of Teochew or Chaozhou, a prefecture-level city in eastern 广东 Guǎngdōng Province in China, or a descendant thereof living in another part of the world.  2 The Chinese dialect of Chaozhou, a variant of Mǐn Nán [Mand. 闽南 Southern Min: Mǐn another name of Fujian Province + nán south], which was originally spoken in the Chaoshan [Mand. 潮汕 Cháoshàn < 潮(州 Cháo(zhōu + 汕(头 Shàn(tóu Swatow, a coastal city in eastern Guangdong Province (shàn a bamboo fish trip; a weir (Lin); a wicker basket for catching fish (Giles) + tóu head; top)] region of Guangdong Province and is today commonly spoken in Singapore.  B a. Of or pertaining to Teochew, its culture, and its inhabitants or persons who trace their ancestry thereto.
A 1 1893 James Dyer Ball Things Chinese (2nd ed.) 229 By.. 1891 there were 43,791 Teo Chews in the Straits Settlements: Teo Chews is the term applied generally to them in that part of the country, while Hoklo is the name by which they are generally known by the Cantonese speakers in China; the former name being derived from the Departmental city Ch‘ao Chao fú (in the local dialect Tíú Chíú fú, or Teo Chew fu).  1927 Richard John Hamilton Sidney In British Malaya To-Day, ch. 12, 144 Trouble had been brewing between Hok-kiens and the Teo-chews for some time.  1966 Maurice Freedman Chinese Lineage and Society, ch. 3, 95 People will assume for all Hakka or Hokkien or Cantonese or Tiuchiu that.. [etc.]  1979 China Now, January–February 10, col. 2 The Teochiu group from one district in Guangdong (Kwangtung) province.  1999 Lynn Pan (ed.) The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas 203 Status distinctions apart, Chinese groups divided along speech lines. In his 1848 article, Seah [Eu Chin], a Teochiu speaker himself, named five other speech groups: Hokkien, Cantonese (also called ‘Macao Chinese’), Hakka and Hainanese. .. Teochius lived closer to the banks of the Singapore River..  204 While Teochius – twice as numerous as Hokkiens at the time – were also well represented in trading and agriculture, more than half were in gambier and pepper planting, a sector which they monopolized until soil deterioration drove them to Johor in the 1850s. Both Hokkiens and Teochius were in economic sectors with significant rates of capital accumulation.  2010 Rebecca Lynne Tan The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 25 July, 20 The Teochews are the second largest dialect group in Singapore, making up about 21 per cent. Many Teochew ancestors came to Singapore from Shantou, in the eastern part of Guangdong province.  2 1970 Michael Pereira Pigeon’s Blood, ch. 15, 164 He was speaking in the Teo-chieu dialect.  1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 86 [T]he only dialects spoken in the family are Hokkien and Teochew (Swee Poh comes from a Hokkien-speaking family, but is also conversant in Teochew because they have always stayed in Teochew neighbourhoods) although all members of the family except the parents have been educated in Chinese schools.  1999 Lynn Pan (ed.) The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas 203 .. Seah, a Teochiu speaker himself..  2005 Colin Chee The Electric New Paper, 12 July. In our three-storey SIT (Singapore Improvement Trust) flat, we had.. Chinese families speaking in Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew and Hainanese.  B 1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 54 There was only a Rediffusion set placed at the common corridor to the several cubicle rooms occupied by several families, among which was Poh Hock’s. And from this Rediffusion set came loud Teochew wayang (opera) music.  2005 The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 30 September. Ngee Ann Polytechnic has received a $12.1 million ‘red packet’ from the Teochew philanthropic foundation it is named after.  2006 Thng Lay Teen The Sunday Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 26 February. [T]raditional Teochew food at Teo Soon Loong at 55, Jalan Hang Kasturi [in Malacca, Malaysia].  2010 Rebecca Lynne Tan The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 25 July, 20 [A] Teochew-style steamed fish would involve boiling slices of ginger with preserved sour plum, tomato and slices of preserved vegetable. Broth is then added to the fish before it is steamed. The result is a fish served in a slightly tangy light broth. .. As for porridge, the Teochew style is more like soupy rice, versus the smooth, creamy Cantonese style.

terror /te-rə, tɛˈrə/ a. [Eng.]  1 Havoc.  2 Impressive, solid.
1 1982 ‘Paik-Choo’ (Toh Paik Choo) Eh, Goondu! 10 Terror Siamese twin of Havoc. Except where Havoc invariably involves the opposite sex, Terror is one who even challenges his class teacher to step outside for a fight.  2 2003 Peh Shing Huei (quoting Mervyn Koh) The Sunday Times, 12 October, 32 Damn terror.

teruk /te-rohk, ˈtəɹok̚/ a. [Mal., acute (of illness, pain); severe (of a beating); arduous (of work) (Winstedt)] Also (formerly) terok.  1 Serious, severe, very bad.  2 Of work, training, etc.: arduous, difficult, tough.  Compare Siong.
1 1994 C.S. Chong NS: An Air-Level Story 59 I heard of that platoon sergeant of yours: real sadist; how he tekan the whole butt party for ten minutes during nightshoot just for accidentally dropping a rifle. The guy was teruk.  1998 The Straits Times, 2 August, 40 Terok man. Luckily I am like a cat who has nine lives or else I would have been dead by now because of the tension.  2 1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 313 terok. Means ‘tough’: Malay. Reference to training. See ‘siong’.  1985 Michael Chiang Army Daze 51 Terok (Malay) Tough; like siong.  140 teruk. Terrible/extreme/worse.  2002 Tessa Wong (quoting Lim Poh Huat) The Straits Times (Life!), 15 April, L3 ‘Our work is quite teruk sometimes, and I want the public to know about us.’ Teruk is Malay for terrible.

Thaipusam /tı-puu-səm, ˈtʌɪpʊsəm/ n. [Tam. தைப்பூசம் taippūcam the full moon in the month of Tai, a day of festival: தை Tai the tenth month of the Tamil calendar (in the Gregorian calendar, mid-January to mid-February) < Skt. तैषी taishī the day of the full moon in the month of तैष Taisha (December–January of the Gregorian calendar), the month in which the full moon stands in the asterism ितषय Tishya, which is regarded as shaped like an arrow and is named after a mythical being who, like Kṛiśānu, is a kind of heavenly archer (Monier-Williams) + Tam. பூசம் pucam the eighth nakshatra, one of 27 (or, according to some texts, 28) lunar mansions or equal divisions of the ecliptic through which the moon passes during the course of a sidereal month (Tam. Lex., OED)]  A Hindu festival celebrated on a full-moon day in the Tamil month of Tai that marks the birthday of Lord Murugan – a deity representing virtue, youth and power – and the occasion when his mother, the Goddess Parvathi, gave him a spear to slay the demon Surapadman (see quot. 2007). During the festival, devotees carry kavadis, pots of milk, etc., in procession to fulfil vows they have made, seek forgiveness or offer thanks to Lord Murugan.
¶ A kavadi is a decorated pole of wood with an arch over it that is carried on the shoulders which has long skewers that pierce the bearer’s skin [Tam. காவடி kāvaṭi: காவு kāvu to carry on the shoulder, as a palanquin, a pole with a weight at each end; to bear or sustain anything heavy on the arms or on the head + தடி taṭi stick, staff, rod, cane; to hew down, cut down, cut off (Tam. Lex.); Telugu కావడి kāvaḍi (Brown)]
1931 L. Elizabeth Lewis National Geographic Magazine, April, vol. LIX, 517–522 To the Hindu god Subramanya, son of Siva, the Tai Pusam vows are made. This three-day ceremony takes place in Singapore in January. Weeks in advance the participants prepare themselves by abstaining from the routines of life. The first day of the ceremony the silver car, which is the palanquin of the image of the god, is brought forth from its shelter in the courtyard of the Tank Road Temple, dusted and polished, then drawn to the South Bridge Road Temple, where it remains under a canopy until the third day. .. On the second day the difficult part of the vow is performed. .. Before me sat a Tamil clad in a loincloth and silver pins. Two temple officials, one on each side, were preparing the martyr for his three-mile pilgrimage to the temple on Tank Road by thrusting pins into his flesh. His chest, his back, his forehead, his arms and thighs, were entirely covered with small, shining, V-shaped pins. He seemed almost in a state of coma and his eyes rolled in their sockets until at times only the whites were visible. .. I found myself in the midst of another group, watching the priests thrusting long spearlike needles through holes in the metal laths of a fanlike arch over another devotee. These needles, which were from two to three feet long, had to be fastened securely in the flesh of the chest and back in order to hold in place this heavy metal canopy. Through his cheek had been thrust a silver skewer, which protruded an inch or more on each side of his face. .. When the route has been traversed and the goal has been reached, the devotee kneels before the image of Subramanya while the friends place on the altar appropriate offerings and the priest bestows his blessings upon the gift and the giver. Then the devotee is taken to a corner of the temple, where the needles, spears, or hooks, as the case may be, are removed. After thus fulfilling his vow he proceeds on his way, apparently none the worse for the ordeal, no trace of blood appearing at any time during the procedure.  2001 Sharmilpal Kaur The Straits Times, 8 February, H3 Thaipusam, which falls on a full-moon day in the Tamil month of Thai, has been celebrated in Singapore for over 150 years.  2005 The Straits Times, 26 January, H4 Balancing milk pots on their heads, devotees set off from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Serangoon Road on a 4km walk to Sri Thendayuthapani Temple in Tank Road. The Thaipusam festival is a time to offer thanks to Lord Murugan, the deity believed to represent virtue, youth and power. Besides milk pots and the traditional wooden arch decorated with peacock feathers, some carry the spiked kavadi, with skewers that pierce their tongues, cheeks and bodies.  2005 Prasanna J. Pillai The Straits Times, 28 January, H20 Thaipusam is a religious festival observed by many Hindus in Singapore, where the devotees make offerings to Lord Muruga by carrying kavadis and milk pots, sandals, flowers, etc. It is observed on the full-moon day of the Tamil month of Thai (January–February). Thaipusam was once a public holiday.  2006 Sonia Tan The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 28 January. Speak of Hindu festivals and, more often than not, Deepavali comes to mind rather than Thaipusam. For many Singaporeans, Thaipusam is a little-known festival. .. Thaipusam, or the Day of Thanksgiving, falls on Feb 11 this year. On this day, Hindu devotees carry kavadis from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple to Sri Thendayuthapani Temple in Tank Road. A kavadi, or ‘yoke of burden’, is an offering to Lord Muruga, and can range from milk pots to intricate spiked kavadis which pierce the carrier’s skin.  2007 The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 1 February. Thaipusam offerings [title] Hindu devotees at the Sri Mariamman Temple in South Bridge Road make offerings to Lord Murugan ahead of Thaipusam today. Thaipusam celebrates the deity’s birthday and the occasion when his mother, the Goddess Parvathi, gave him a spear, to slay the demon Surapadman. It is believed that by making offerings, devotees will be blessed and have a safe and fulfilling Thaipusam. Yesterday, an idol of the deity was placed on a silver chariot and taken in a procession from Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road to the Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple in Keong Siak Road and back.

than chia /tahn chiah, tɑn tʃɪɑ/ a. [Hk. 赚 than earn + 吃 chia eat; Mand. zhuàn chī] mil. slang  Relating to a job, work, etc., done solely to make a living or for survival.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 313 than chiah.  Literally, earn to eat: Hokkien. More strongly, it means to earn for survival. If applied to a soldier it means he is really serious in being a soldier as his livelihood or survival depends on it. Usually used to denote a regular in the Army. (Carries the implication that the person is good for nothing else.) However, it takes on an accusatory tone when applied to a national serviceman who works too well. Apparently, the ethos is that a national serviceman should not be as hardworking as a regular.  1985 Michael Chiang Army Daze 51 Than chia (Hokkien) Livelihood. Refers to regulars who depend on the army for a living.

Comb.: than chia peng /peng, pɛŋ/ [Hk. 兵 peng soldier; Mand. bīng] mil. slang  1 A soldier who works solely to make a living or to survive; (derog.) soldier, especially a full-time National Serviceman, perceived to be too hardworking.  2 An army regular.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 273 This turning away from the Army as a source of regular jobs is reflected in the widely-circulating reference to a professional soldier as a ‘tung chiat peng’, meaning a soldier who earns solely for his survival. 1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 273 Now and then, a NS youth is called a ‘tung chiat peng’ if he works harder than other NS soldiers. Apparently the prevailing ethos prescribes that a NS man should not be as hardworking and serious in his military job as a permanent regular soldier.  314 than chiah peng. Same as above.  ‘Peng’ is a soldier in Hokkien.

thosai /toh-say, ˈtoseɪ/ n. [< Tam. தோஸா tōcai a kind of rice-cake (Tam. Lex.); or Telugu దోసె dōse a kind of cake (Brown, which suggests it is apparently < Skt. దోషకము dōssakamu (not found in Monier-Williams)); compare Kannada ದೋಸ dôsě a holed, i.e., spongy, cake of rice-flour, uddu, etc., baked on a potsherd or iron plate (Kittel); Malayalam ദോസ dōsá a kind of cake prepared with dough mix of rice and black gram or similar dough and fried on a metal plate (Mal. Lex.)]  A South Indian pancake made of a rice flour and black gram batter (which sometimes has been allowed to ferment) and flavoured with ingredients such as chilli, cumin, curry leaves, fenugreek and turmeric. A thosai may also be made with a batter containing onions (an onion thosai), have an egg cracked on it when it is cooking (an egg thosai), or be stuffed with mashed potatoes, onions and spices (a masala thosai). Thosais are usu. eaten with curry or sambar (a lentil dish).
2001 Angela Ee The Sunday Times (Sunday Plus), 25 February, P11 I first learnt to appreciate the multi-cultural richness of Singapore through fish-head curry, satay, mee pok, dhosai and a hundred other dishes.  2006 Teo Pau Lin (quoting Milind Sovani) The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 8 October. What Mumbai food do you miss most? / Dosa (or thosai, a breakfast crepe). In Mumbai, you get very crispy and golden dosas. But I can’t find them here. Maybe the Tamil dosa isn’t meant to be crispy.  2008 Don Mendoza Weekend Today, 6–7 September, 42 From mouth-watering tandoori delights to the regular briyani, thosai, prata, meat and vegetarian choices..

tia bo /tiah boh, tɪɑ bəʊ/ v. [Hk. 听 tia hear + 无 bo nothing; Mand. tīng wú]  Liak Bo Kiu.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 314 thia bo. Translated, ‘hear no’: Hokkien. Same meaning as ‘liat bo kiu’. Spoken by the mentally retarded.  1985 Michael Chiang Army Daze 52 Thia boh (Hokkien) Hear nothing; as in liak bo kiu.

tio be pio /tioh be pioh, t̚iəʊ bɛ piəʊ/ v. phr. [Hk. 中马票 tio be pio win a bet at a horse race: tio hit, fit exactly + be horse + pio ticket; Mand. zhòng măpiào] mil. slang  Be selected for some undesired or unpleasant duty or work.  Compare Kena.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 314 tio be pio. ‘Got a winning lottery ticket’: Hokkien. The sardonic humour of the Hokkien-speaking soldiers has brought the use of this expression to cover those occasions when a soldier has been nominated or detailed to perform some unpleasant chores or duties such as guard, fatigue and the like.  1985 Michael Chiang Army Daze 52 Tiok beh pio (Hokkien). To strike lottery. Commonly used when one checks the guard duty list on the notice board and spots one’s name.  2003 ‘Pak Cham Kai’ Talkingcock.com <http://www.talkingcock.com/html/article.php?sid=1289>, 14 December. I immeelly thought, wah lan eh, tio beh pio ah!

tio hoo var. of Diao He.

tock tock man /tok, tɒk˺/ n. [imit.] hist.  An itinerant seller of cooked noodle dishes, who made his presence known by knocking two pieces of bamboo together to make a ‘tock-tock’ sound.
2011 Eunice Quek (quoting Lim Soon Hock) The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 18 September, 30 I always looked forward to piping hot wanton mee when the “tock tock” man came around my kampung area in Towner Road.  2011 Eunice Quek (quoting Peter Goh) The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 28 August, 28 There was also the “tock tock” man selling mee tai mak (short noodles), prawn noodles and mee pok (flat noodles) for just 10 or 20 cents.

togok /toh-goh(k), ˈtəʊɡəʊ(k̚)/ v. [poss. < Mal. gogok (imit.) gulping down water; the gurgle of water (Wilkinson); Johor Mal. gogok, menggogok gulp down water with lifted chin; Mal. ogok greedy; mengogok swig, gulp down liquid with lifted chin (Winstedt says the words are Ind., but not found in Echols & Shadily, Ind.–Eng.); compare Ind. gogok gulping (drinks) (Echols & Shadily, Ind.–Eng.); Jav. gogok (digogok, nggogok) to drink from an earthen water pitcher (Horne); or poss. < Port. tocado bruised (of fruit), going off, somewhat rotten; tipsy, drunk, boozy, fuddled (Dicionário de Português–Inglês; Michaelis says this is a popular South Brazilian usage); compare Kristang tokadu drunk (Baxter & de Silva, Marbeck Ungua Adanza 212); or poss. < Jav. tog, ditogaké to do something to capacity; compare Jav. katog to the utmost, to the limit or end; or < Jav. togog a corner fence post; togog to sit like a bump on a log (not contributing to the conversation, etc.) (Horne); or < Mal. togok tree trunk stripped of branches (Winstedt); a body with mere stumps of arms and legs; misshapen, deformed (Wilkinson)]  Drink alcohol, esp. to excess.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 314 togok. (1) To togok is to gobble: Malay. (2) To go for a togok is to go for a drink in slangland language. Used among junior officers more than anyone else.  1985 Michael Chiang Army Daze 52 Togok (Malay) To guzzle. Used to describe drinking sessions.

toh hay /toh hay, təʊ heɪ/ n. [(?)]  A dark red Peranakan condiment made of shrimp fermented with salt, ground rice, red yeast and brandy.
2003 Teo Pau Lin The Sunday Times, 5 October, L41 Nonya toh hay.. It is a dark-red stew of pork and chicken pieces, simmered in a painstakingly prepared shrimp paste. Shrimps are first pounded and mixed with fermented rice wine to form a paste. It is then allowed to sit for up to three months, with brandy added to it every two weeks for a full, alcohol-flavoured kick. The dish is then put together with meat, tamarind water, lemongrass, onion, kaffir lime leaves and chillies.  2010 Chris Tan The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 21 February, 24 Rather more rare a condiment is toh hay (also spelt tho eh and toh eh), a traditional Peranakan preparation used to flavour and colour stir-fried and braised dishes. This ferments geragau shrimp with salt, ground rice, red yeast rice (angkak) and a dash of brandy. It is a brilliant brick-red from the angkak, which also layers a funky, yeasty note on top of the prawn aroma.

tok kong /tok kong, tɒk̚ kɒŋ/ a. [Hk. (?)]  Best.
2001 Ng Sue Ling The Straits Times (Life!), 16 June, L8 My.. younger brother favours ‘tok kong’, which means ‘best’.

tolong /toh-lohng, ˈtoloŋ/ int. [Mal., aid, assistance; favour, mercy, help]  Help me; please; I beg of you.
2004 Colin Goh The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 22 August, L14 ‘Tolong, please don’t use the word ‘haunt’ in this context. It’s too creepy,’ said the Wife, smoothing away her goosebumps.  2006 Colin Goh The Sunday Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 12 March. The endless pieties [at the Academy Awards], the thanking of one’s extended family, name by name, the mutual ego massaging... Tolong.

toman /toh-mahn, ˈtomɑn/ n. [Mal. toman (barung) or toman (bunga) snakehead (Channa striatus [sic]): barung stall, booth; bunga flower; design, pattern on cloth, etc. (Ridhwan)]  The snakehead murrel (Channa striata), used as a food fish.
¶ The common and scientific names of the fish were obtained from “Channa striata”, Fishbase.org (15 July 2009; accessed 16 December 2009).
2009 Thng Lay Teen The Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 8 November, 27 The freshness of the Toman fish prompted me to try the claypot fish head ($22) but I have eaten both better and worse versions elsewhere. The roast pork slices were not great and there were too few of my favourite yam slices.  2013 Tan Hsueh Yun The Sunday Times (SundayLife!), 28 April, 31 A milky bowl of sliced fish beehoon ($6.50) hits the spot the night we dine there.. . There are at least four generous chunks of meaty, lightly fried toman fish, a gingery broth that does not taste too much of evaporated milk, slippery rice noodles and a handful of greens.

tong chye /tong chı, tɒŋ tʃʌɪ/ n. [Hk. 冬 tong + 菜 chye; Mand. dōng winter + cài vegetable, greens (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)]  Preserved dried cabbage or mustard greens, used in Chinese cooking.
2005 Teo Pau Lin (quoting Robin Lee) The Sunday Times (LifeStyle) (from Straits Times Interactive), 9 October. My late grandfather.. was a pig farmer. When I was growing up, he would take the best part of the pig to cook for me, almost every day. It’s a very simple dish of pork soup cooked with flour and tong cai (preserved vegetable). I think about him whenever I think of the dish.

toot /toot, tuːt˺/ a. [unkn.]  1 Inept; foolish, ridiculous.  2 Unfashionable, uncool.  Compare Obiang.

topo king /toh-poh, ˈtopəʊ/ n. [Eng. topo(graphy + king] mil. slang  A soldier who is very poor at topography.  Also topo general.
1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 314 Topo General. Sarcastic name for one who is very bad at topography. ‘Topo-king’ is another version of this slang.

towgay var. of Taugeh.

towkay /tow-kay, taʊˈkeɪ/ n. [Mal. tauke < Hk. 头 tow chief, head + 家 kay family, household; a person or family engaged in a certain trade; a specialist in a certain field; Mand. tóu chief, head + jiā family, household; a person or family engaged in a certain trade; a specialist in a certain field (Chi.–Eng. Dict.)]

[1955 R.J. Wilkinson A Malay–English Dictionary, vol. 2, 1177 tauke. Ch. [Chinese] «Towkay»; Chinese employer of labour or financier behind an enterprise; descriptive title given to Chinese of good position.  1963 Richard Winstedt An Unabridged Malay–English Dictionary 355 tauke(h), Ch. [Chinese], employer; any Chinese above the labouring class.]

A boss, a chief, a leader; esp. a prominent businessman.
1854 Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, vol. 8, 16 Country born Chinese have a club called Sip Gee Seeah; they elect 12 Towkays or trustees.  1894 N.B. Dennys A Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya 138 The following account of the burial of a leading Malay, from the Singapore Free Press of September 1st, 1887, will give a fair idea of the ceremonies usually observed:– “The interment took place at 4 p.m. in the ground of the Mosque at Kubu. Several Government officials were present. The general European population and Chinese Towkays were well represented, and thousands of Malays, of course, thronged the mosque and its environments. ..”  1900 Walter William Skeat Malay Magic, ch. 5, 253 The Malay pawang may squeeze a hundred or perhaps two hundred dollars out of the Chinese towkay who comes to mine for tin in Malaya.  1948 The Straits Times, 7 July, 4/5 Our lives were probably saved by a Chinese towkay from Karak who used to keep us supplied with fresh fruit and tinned milk.  1966 Duncan Charles Forbes The Heart of Malaya, ch. 3, 41 Nancy, the fourth daughter of Lee Kwan Bock, the saw-mill towkay, was a schoolteacher.  1978 Leong Choon Cheong Youth in the Army 314 thau ke. Same meaning as ‘boss’: Hokkien.  2003 Sue-Ann Chia The Sunday Times, 26 October, 3 Formed by Hokkien towkays (bosses) such as Lim Nee Soon and Gan Eng Seng, the Ee Hoe Hean is one of Singapore’s oldest social clubs for wealthy Chinese men.  2005 Koh Buck Song The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 16 August. In the past, only tycoons and towkays could contemplate seeing their names carved onto the grand archways of buildings. Today, with the rise of private wealth, an explosion of naming platforms and a decline of ostentatious nationalism, anyone with reasonable savings can do their bit for the community.  2006 Neil Humphreys Today (from Todayonline.com), 26 August. [A] TV news presenter informed us that Forbes magazine had released Singapore’s 40 Richest List and the towkays’ combined net worth was US$28 billion ($44 billion).

1 Take a lift (in one’s car, etc.).  2 fig. Have someone do a favour for oneself.
2 2003 Yvonne Kwok (quoting Keith Colaco) Streats, 12 December, 68 Whenever we go to Bangkok.., at least five or six friends would ‘tumpang’ (Malay for ‘hitch a ride’) us to buy these pants.