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tio be pio

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:

tio be pio tioh be pio tio beh pio

tioh beh pio

Hokkien:

poj:

tio̍h

+

马票

poj:

bé-pio

expand for details Detailed etymology

definitions

verb

  1. (sarcastic) to be chosen for an unpleasant or undesirable task
  2. synonyms:

    antonyms:

  3. to strike the lottery; to have a stroke of great luck
  4. Will it be the Main Upgrading Programme? If not, how about Interim Upgrading Programme? Better still, give us the Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme. ... being picked for any of these schemes is like tio beh pio ...

    — 1995 December 20, Sonny Yap. The Straits Times, "Time to stop seeing Government as Santa Claus". p.28

    As Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong observed in a May Day speech, workers who once regarded retrenchment benefits as "tio beh pio" ... now know that it is getting harder to walk into another job.

    — 1998 June 13, Sonny Yap. The Straits Times, "Are bosses doing enough to save jobs?". p.63


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