* 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:
taupok tau poh
tau pok
→
Cantonese / min nan:
豆泡/卜
jyutping:
dau6 pok1/bok1
definitions
noun
- a deep-fried puffed tofu with a spongy texture. It is popularly used in dishes with sauce, soup, or gravy which it can soak up, such as laksa and yong tau foo.
- a ragging or hazing ritual where a person’s colleagues, classmates, friends etc. tackle that person to the ground and pile their bodies on top of them, while shouting 'tau pok!'. It is popularly performed by adolescents or young men, especially boys in Junior College, though most institutions have moved to forbid the practice as it is deemed to be dangerous.
We eat bean curd puffs or taupok all the time, but seldom do we see it featured as the main "star" of the meal.
— 2002 November 26, Pauline D Loh. Today, "Stuffed puffs". p.23
... when Nick was about to finish his initial two years of NS, his bunkmates subjected him to a round of tau pok ... Here, it referred to a prank where several people pile on top of another, and flatten that person like a piece of tau pok. Although I imagined it as part of a hazing ritual, Nick insisted that tau pok here was done good-naturedly ...
— 2021, Chris K. K. Tan. Stand Up for Singapore?: National Belonging Among Gay Men in the Lion City. Taylor & Francis. ISBN: 9781000450729
synonyms:
verb
- to tackle a person to the ground and (as a group of people) pile on top of them, usually done as a ragging or hazing ritual
synonyms:
interjection
usage notes
Usually done by boys, though it is not unheard of for it to be done by girls as well — in which case, it may also be referred to as a tau huay.