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Chinaman
Definitions
- 1 A dealer in porcelain (china). obsolete
- 2 A left-arm unorthodox bowling action (left-arm wrist-spin). dated
"Several cricketers came up to them and asked Pradeep about his effortless action mimicry and his promising chinaman bowling."
- 3 A Chinese person, or person of Chinese descent. dated, offensive
"A disorderly Chinaman is rare, and a lazy one does not exist. So long as a Chinaman has strength to use his hands he needs no support from anybody; white men often complain of want of work, but a Chinaman offers no such complaint; he always manages to find something to do.[…]Any white man can swear a Chinaman’s life away in the courts, but no Chinaman can testify against a white man."
- 4 a ball bowled by a left-handed bowler to a right-handed batsman that spins from off to leg wordnet
- 5 A spin bowler who uses such an action.
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- 6 A sailing ship of the 18th and 19th centuries engaged in the Old China Trade
- 7 (ethnic slur) offensive term for a man of Chinese descent wordnet
- 8 A ball delivered with such an action.
- 9 Addiction from a narcotic, especially heroin. US, obsolete, offensive, slang
"Chinaman half in and half out of the door. Codeine and goof balls, and complete discouragement."
Etymology
From china (“porcelain”) + -man.
From Chinaman, a dated, now offensive term for a Chinese person. Compare Chinese (“unfamiliar, unexpected”). Named in reference to Ellis Achong, a West Indian player of Chinese descent.
From Chinese Pidgin English. Calque of Chinese 中國人 /中国人 (Zhōngguórén) ("China + -man"). Applied also to ships by analogy with East Indiaman.
See also for "chinaman"
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Unscramble this word: chinaman