rice burner
1
9.9
- noun
- /raɪs ˈbɜrnər/
- Slur
:
[OFENSIVO] coche asiático (término despectivo)
- She bought a used rice burner because it was more affordable and reliable.
Examples
-
A rice-burner Strat, Korean-made, but it would play.
Fiction book (2002) -
He drives a rice burner that gets excellent gas mileage.
-
The small rice burner zipped past us on the highway, known for its efficiency.
Synonyms
1
9.8
A small fast car often made faster with extra parts
How Economical
- US
3
4.3
- Slur
1
9.9
- US
4
2.8
- US
80
1.9
- Informal
4
4.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
rice + burner
The sense 'a small, inexpensive car of East Asian make' does not follow from the literal meanings of 'rice' (a grain) and 'burner' (something that burns); a B1 learner who knows the constituents would not predict this automotive, derogatory sense. This is a culturally specific, slang/metaphorical and sometimes offensive label tied to ethnicity, so its meaning is idiomatic and unpredictable for learners.
Etymology
The slang rice burner is sometimes offensive and may come from a rude image: people linked rice (a common food in some East Asian countries) and burner (something that uses fuel) to name cars from those places. That's why the phrase came to mean 'a small, inexpensive car, especially one of East Asian make'.