Rice burner

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Rice burner
Delsol.jpg
Picture of a 'Riced' Honda
Manufacturer Japanese or Asian
Also called Ricer car, rice rocket, rice grinder

Rice burner is a pejorative describing Japanese-made — or by extension, Asian-made — motorcycles and automobiles.[1][2] The term is often defined as offensive or racist stereotyping.[3][4][5] In some cases users of the term will go out of their way to assert that it is not offensive or racist.[6][7]

Variations are rice rocket (used mostly but not exclusively for Japanese motorcycles), rice machine, rice grinder or simply ricer. The pejorative is often intended to denigrate cars which have been modified cosmetically to give a false impression of high performance, but not actually capable of it. The accusation behind this is that the car has been customized with the intent to fool people. The term is most often used against east Asian made vehicles where the population is presumed to subsist on a diet of rice.[8][5]

Contents

[edit] Origin

Wiki letter w.svg
 Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (July 2009)

Canadian troops in the Korean War initially referred to the Korean labor and support unit providing their food, water, ammunition and other supplies as "G Company" which was short for the racist slur gook. They quickly became known instead as "rice burners," due to the Canadians' admiration for their Korean support unit's demonstrated strength and stamina in carrying 55 lb (25 kg) loads over rough terrain, sometimes in snow and ice. While dehumanizing the Koreans as machines that ran on rice was a form of contempt, it was condescendingly approved by the men serving at the time as an improvement over the word it replaced.[9] Comparably, Alaskan slang for a sled dog is "fish burner," as in a beast of burden that runs on fish.[10]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ McCutcheon, Marc (2003), Roget's super thesaurus (3rd ed.), Writer's Digest Books, p. 378, ISBN 1582972540, 9781582972541, http://books.google.com/books?id=nQ268PTS3z0C&pg=PA378 
  2. ^ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry (2007), The concise new Partridge dictionary of slang and unconventional English, Routledge, p. 538, ISBN 0415212596, 9780415212595, "rice-burner noun a Japanese car or motorcycle. UK 1979 [...] rice machine noun a car manufactured in Japan or by a Japanese manufacturer in US 1993 [...] rice rocket noun a motorcycle made by a Japanese manufacturer. Offensive. US 1993" 
  3. ^ Green, Jonathon (2005), Cassell's dictionary of slang (2nd ed.), Sterling Publishing Company, p. 1189, ISBN 0304366366, 9780304366361, http://books.google.com/books?id=5GpLcC4a5fAC&pg=PA1189, "rice-burner [1980s] US campus) a Japanese manufactured motorcycle. [racist stereotyping] [...] ricer n. [1980s+] a derog. term for an Asian person [...] rice rocket n. [1990s] 1 (org. US Black) a Japanese-made car (usu. a 4-wheel drive Jeep clone, e.g. a Shogun) or motorcycle. 2 a cheap or old automobile, usu. owned by someone of Hispanic descent. [racist stereotyping]" 
  4. ^ Herbst, Philip (1997), The color of words: an encyclopedic dictionary of ethnic bias in the United States, Intercultural Press, p. 199, ISBN 1877864978, 9781877864971, http://books.google.com/books?id=UiZQH5gHuggC&pg=PA199, "rice-eater A derogatory stereotype of Asian people, especially Chinese, whose diet is based on rice. Variations include [...] Rice-burner has been used in the twentieth century by motorcyclists to express contempt for Japanese motorcycles." 
  5. ^ a b Breitenstein, Jeff; Paiva, Troy (2004), Ultimate Hot Rod Dictionary, MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company, p. 170, ISBN 0760318239, 9780760318232, http://books.google.com/books?id=OtKWmLLiuTgC&pg=PA170, "rice boy n. Derogatory term sometimes used by HOT RODDERS for high performance import (see RICE ROCKET) builders or drivers.
    rice rocket (also rice grinder, ricer or rice burner) n. Any custom modified or STOCK high-performance Japanese import automobile as significantly popularized during the 1990s and early twenty-first century."     
  6. ^ Meyer, Daniel B. (2003), Life Is a Road, the Soul Is a Motorcycle, iUniverse, pp. 18-19, ISBN 0595269907, 9780595269907, http://books.google.com/books?id=of9UPafIVT0C&pg=PA18, "There is also some us vs. them stuff in here. This is the usually friendly ribbing and other shenanigans that go on between the 'Rice Burners' and the Harleys. Before you fire off an angry letter to me about it, please note that I do believe, and have always believed that if you ride, you are a rider, no matter what you are astride. [...] I do wave to all other riders, and proudly ride a Rice Burner (a Japanese made bike)." 
  7. ^ Pierson, Melissa Holbrook (1998), The Perfect Vehicle: What Is It About Motorcycles, W. W. Norton & Company, p. 166, ISBN 0-393-31809-5, http://books.google.com/books?id=gX-yd9KpqdQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+perfect+vehcile&client=firefox-a#v=onepage&q=rice&f=false 
  8. ^ "You might be a rice rocket jockey if. (Pony Tales).", Mustang Monthly 25 (5): 14, May 2002, "
    1. You find yourself using the excuse 'Yo, but you got twice as many cylindaz' after every race.
    2. Your gumby pants make it hard to shift.
    3. You have stickers for parts you don't have.
    4. When you drive by, WW2 veterans run for shelter.
    5. Your exhaust tip diameter is four times the inner muffler diameter.
    6. Birds make nests on your spoiler because it's taller than the trees.
    7. You will only race if the other guy removes four spark plugs.
    8. You have 'All Motor' emblazoned on your rear hatch, right next to your 1.8L engine badge.
    9. You brag about having nitrous and have a 15.50 dial-in.
    10. The exhaust system for your 1.8L is bigger than most pro-stock cars.
    11. You've spent more money on stickers and stripes than you did on actual performance mods.
    12. You go to a performance shop and go directly to the decal bin.
    13. Your tach is bigger than your head.
    14. You have a shift light and your car is an automatic.
    15. Your bright green $300 air filter is bigger than your engine."     
  9. ^ Watson, Brent Byron (2002), "Rice Burners and KATCOMs", Far Eastern tour: the Canadian infantry in Korea, 1950-1953, McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP, pp. 65-66, ISBN 0773523723, 9780773523722, http://books.google.com/books?id=1IDlqGSyvdkC&pg=PA65 
  10. ^ Blevins, Winfred (2001), Dictionary of the American West: over 5,000 terms and expressions from Aarigaa! to Zopilote (2nd ed.), Sasquatch Books, ISBN 1570613044, 9781570613043, "FISH BURNER Alaskan slang for a SLED DOG. Similarly, in the Northwest, a Japanese motorcycle is a rice-burner." 

[edit] External links

Search Wiktionary Look up rice burner or rice rocket in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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