Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Those that deserve death
At the quiz, the inevitable happens: a Japanese question comes up. Tel and I look sheepish.
Which group of Japanese people's name means "those that serve"?
The dad's knee-jerk answer is "Samurai." I consider the alternatives, Geisha and Ninja, and conclude that Samurai is probably closest to the mark.
We put down our answer as "Samurai" accordingly. Then the team waterboy pipes up:
"Hang on, what about Geisha? Because they were like Chinese prostitutes or something weren't they?"
"That's absolutely correct: Chinese prostitutes," I concur, somewhat indistinctly: it's not easy to speak through clenched teeth.
Which group of Japanese people's name means "those that serve"?
The dad's knee-jerk answer is "Samurai." I consider the alternatives, Geisha and Ninja, and conclude that Samurai is probably closest to the mark.
We put down our answer as "Samurai" accordingly. Then the team waterboy pipes up:
"Hang on, what about Geisha? Because they were like Chinese prostitutes or something weren't they?"
"That's absolutely correct: Chinese prostitutes," I concur, somewhat indistinctly: it's not easy to speak through clenched teeth.
