biking

n. an (all-you-can-eat) food buffet or smorgasbord. Subjects: English-derived, Japanese, Japan, Food & Drink

Editorial Note: Rendered in Japanese as バイキング and usu. Romanized as baikingu. Etymological Note: From English Viking, referring to the Scandinavian origins of the Swedish smörgåsbord.

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Citations: *2003 Bill Edwards A Visit With Bill “Fireflies and Such II”: “Whah? The dinner was biking?” We were obviously confused. “Yes, biking style.” And it is here that we must explain, dear reader, one of the many things which makes communication with the Japanese difficult. Much like the constant confusion between “l” and “r”, there is often no difference between “v” and “b” to the Japanese. So we slowly came to realize that a buffet dinner is considered to be a meal eaten “viking” style. 2004 Seth Rosenblatt Big in Japan (Japan) (Apr. 10) “The Truth About ‘Biking’”: “Biking” is one of many Japanese words that they’ve taken from English. It means “all-you-can-eat,” pretty much the same as “tabehodai,” the proper Japanese words for such culinary indulgence. *2004 Alan R. Miller Loan Words: Examples are バイキング which sounds like biking. However it is from the word Viking and means smorgasbord.

Posted 29 Apr 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend