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Glite Dictionary
Asian don't raisin

Asian don't raisin

9.9
A joking saying that people of Asian background seem to stay looking young for a long time
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : [Ofensivo] los asiáticos no envejecen
  • He credits his youthful looks to good genes, joking, "You know what they say, Asian don't raisin."

Examples

  • After seeing her grandmother's smooth skin, she laughed and said, "Asian don't raisin."

  • Whenever people are surprised by her age, she responds with the phrase, "Asian don't raisin."

  • My friend always says that I have the Asian don't raisin look.

  • Isn't it true that many people believe in the Asian don't raisin phenomenon?

  • When complimented on her youthful appearance, she laughed and replied, "Asian don't raisin."

  • At the reunion, he joked about his friends who still look young, saying, "That's just proof that Asian don't raisin."

  • She often uses the phrase, "Asian don't raisin," whenever someone is amazed by how young she looks for her age.

Synonyms

agerasia
vsAsian don't raisin
9.9

Keeping a young appearance even when you are old

is a humorous phrase that attributes slow ageing to a specific ethnic group

Surface Forms

Asian don't raisin main

Morphology

Asian + don't + raisin

This is a humorous, nonstandard play on words where 'raisin' evokes the idea of drying/wrinkling so the intended meaning is that Asians 'don't age' or 'don't get wrinkled.' The expression relies on a pun (noun used metaphorically/verbally) and nonstandard grammar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not reliably derive the intended meaning without cultural or contextual exposure. Because there is a detectable metaphorical link but it is playful and unpredictable, it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Asian don't raisin is a joking, nonstandard saying that uses the picture of a raisin, a small dried grape that looks wrinkled. One popular story says people used that picture to mean someone 'stays looking young' or 'doesn't get wrinkled', so the phrase now jokingly means a person ages slowly.