Commonly found variants; note these may range from acceptable alternatives to non-standard forms or incorrect spellings*.
* Singlish is a largely spoken creole, and as such descriptivism (recording forms that reflect actual pronunciation in spoken language, or as appearing in the linguistic corpus) is more pertinent than strict prescriptivism. Nevertheless, the use of more standard forms (or for words originating in languages with Latin script, such as Malay, accurate to the original spelling) is recommended and encouraged.

also can:

bo tua bo suay bo toa bo suay bo toa bo suey bo tuah bo suey bo tua bo sway

bo tua bo suey

Hokkien:

无大无细

poj:

bô-tōa-bô-sòe

expand for details Detailed etymology

definitions

expression

  1. (idiom) to have no sense of seniority or juniority; showing no respect to seniors or elders
  2. The teacher had had enough with the bo tua bo suay attitudes of the wannabe ah lians and ah bengs in her class.


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