©
Jack Tsen-Ta Lee |
zai
/tzı, tzɑɪ/
a.
[Hk.] Calm, steady,
collected, cool, esp.
in a stressful situation.
1994
C.S. Chong
NS: An Air-Level Story
65 I was to understudy the current, supposedly more
zhai
IC. 2001
Susan Long (quoting
Khoo Swee
Chiow)
The Straits Times,
23 February, H12 You have to stay very focused, very
zai
(Hokkien for steady) under pressure.
Comb.:
ai zai
/ı, ʌɪ/
[Hk.
要 ai
be; Mand.
yào]
Be cool, calm down, don’t panic.
1994
C.S. Chong
NS: An Air-Level Story
115 Guard commander should not
worry too much. Ai zhai!
Right or not? 140 zhai/ai
zhai.
Savvy/skilled/steady/showing expertise.
buay zai /buuay, bʊeɪ/ [Hk. buay not; Mand. 不 bù] (Having a tendency to be) frantic, panicky.
zap
v.
[Eng.] Photocopy, photostat, xerox.
2004
Kevin & Lily Shepherdson
The Straits Times (Digital
Life), 19 October, 16 Got
to go and zap this document now.
zero point
n. [Eng., origin unkn.] A children’s game involving the use of a skipping rope,
often made from linked rubber bands.
Also known as
Yeh Yeh.
2012 Frances Ess
Today on Sunday,
11 March, 8 [W]e would accumulate rubber bands to be strung into a homemade
skipping rope and play yeh-yeh or zero point.
zhi cha, zhi char var. of Zi Char.
zi char
/tz chah, tz tʃɑ/
n.
[Hk. 煮 zi
cook + 炒 char
stir-fry, fry; Mand.
zhǔchăo]
Also zhi cha,
zhi char.
Chinese home-style dishes cooked to order.
2001
Wong Ah Yoke
The Sunday Times
(Sunday Plus), 4 February, P7 The humble zi char stall – that
ubiquitous coffeeshop eatery where home-style dishes are cooked to your order –
has finally caught up with the times.
2002
The Straits Times (Life! This Weekend), 12 April, L23 She avoids sitting
near zhi cha (cooked food) stalls as their stoves are the hottest.
2003
Katrina Karim
Today, 22
December, 40 While many people who enjoy eating crab usually order dishes such
as chilli crab or pepper crab, more zhi cha (wok-cooked) eateries are
offering crabs cooked in other ways. 2006
Teo Pau Lin
The Sunday Times
(LifeStyle) (from
Straits Times
Interactive), 11 June. [F]rom top Chinese restaurants to neighbourhood
zi char (restaurant-style food) stalls. 2006
Teo Pau Lin (quoting
Benjamin Seck)
The Sunday Times
(LifeStyle), 31 December, L28 Just three shops away, there’s another zhi
char (restaurant-style coffee shop) place.. 2008
Colin Goh
The Sunday Times (Sunday
Plus), 5 October, 13 The
places I raved about weren’t the posh, fine-dining restaurants, but the declasse
zhi cha joints, preferably with seating in an alleyway next to a longkang.
2008 Huang Lijie
The
Sunday Times (LifeStyle), 23 November, 24 Once synonymous with comfort,
home-style food, zi char (cooked food in Hokkien) eateries are becoming the hot
bed of innovative, if not haute Singaporean cuisine.