This happened to me tonight at dinner while eating shabu-shabu.
One of my co-workers brought his new baby. To make small talk, I wanted to ask how old his new arrival was. Instead of saying “ikutsu” (how old), I said “ikura” (how much).
How much?
How much for the baby?
Takeaway point: offering to buy someone’s baby in Japan is absolutely p*ss funny, apparently.
So how did negotiations go? Are you the proud owner of a delicious tender baby?
They go well with soy sauce. Or so I am told.
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By: MDB on 14 September, 2007
at 9:03 am
Erm, right – so WordPress doesn’t clean up html so well. Let me try that again…
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By: MDB on 14 September, 2007
at 9:04 am
>.< So what were your plans after you bought it? Not good for much, babies.
Except MDB’s suggestion. I prefer mine without sauce……
By: Leanne on 14 September, 2007
at 9:39 am
Whilst having children is one of the significant milestones in life, buying one (especially if it sleeps through the night and has been toilet trained already) is a coward’s way out, sir. You must endure the joys and trials of child-rearing, like the rest of civilisation.
By: pegasus on 14 September, 2007
at 2:36 pm
I’m here, I’m late, and there hasn’t been a Blues Brothers reference yet? That makes me old, too…
By: Joel on 14 September, 2007
at 7:01 pm
And where’s the obligatory photo, hmm? Don’t make me come back there….
By: Joel on 14 September, 2007
at 7:03 pm
My favourite thing about this post is that it required the creation of a “faux pas” category – a worthy addition to any blog.
By: damo on 18 September, 2007
at 10:19 am
Yeah, I’ve been making plenty of embarrassing language mistakes while I’ve been here, so I thought it was high time I started cataloging them for the ages.
And Joel: oh, I was so close to respecting you for being the only one to write about the Blues Brother’s reference before you had to go and turn my blog tag line against me again…. curse thee! I am considering changing to “A photo journal about Japan, but sometimes there aren’t any photos”, but I have a feeling it lacks zing.
By: Seahorse-ily on 25 September, 2007
at 11:45 pm