Old Macdonald The Pimp

Most of you know Old Macdonald and his farm, which he still has; contrary to some memes floating around the internets. In China, Old Macdonald’s name is 王老先生 (wáng lǎo xiānshēng), and there’s something fishy about the animals on Wáng Lǎo Xiānshēng’s plot of land. The Rosetta Wok breaks it down for you, because we don’t want you to get the wrong idea about our sitcom.

In the pilot episode, a waitress reacts to Larry calling her a whore by explaining, in no uncertain terms, that he is in a restaurant not a 妓院 (jìyuàn); otherwise known as a whorehouse. Guess what also sounds like 妓 (jì), the word for female prostitute? 鸡 (jī), which is the word for chicken. However, 鸡 (jī) is also slang for female prostitute. Although the two words are written differently, they sound very similar; so similar that Melvin and Larry probably thought the waitress told them they were not in a chicken coop. It was obvious they were not in a chicken coop, even to them.

While we’re on the topic, the Chinese word for duck, 鸭 (yā), is also slang for male prostitute.

Next up, the Rosetta Wok will discuss Wáng Lǎo Xiānshēng’s cow’s anatomy in detail.