4 Comments
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Kris Mole's avatar

I was today years old when I learnt that a Chinese burn is called an Indian burn in America. Very interesting!

Nanako Water's avatar

Where and when is "Chinese burn" used? Maybe the term is indicative of who is picked on at the time...

Kris Mole's avatar

Chinese burn is what we call it in England. Never heard the term Indian burn before. I'm curious now to understand why.

Kris Mole's avatar

As per ChatGPT:

Why “Indian burn” in the US and “Chinese burn” in the UK?

United States: Indian burn

“Indian” (meaning Native American in older US usage) was often used in American English to imply:

toughness

stoicism

endurance of pain

The term likely spread through schoolyard slang in the mid-20th century.

United Kingdom: Chinese burn

In British English, “Chinese” has historically been used in informal idioms to mean:

strange

intricate

unusually painful or confusing.