kalo-kalo

n. a slot machine or casino; (hence) a jocular reference to the financial affairs of Nigeria. Also kalokalo. Subjects: English, Nigeria, Gambling, Money & Finance, Slang

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Citations: 1996 Alfred Ajose Usenet: soc.culture.nigeria (1996) “Re: Beemers and Big Cars”: One of my brother’s friend’s…is a Nissan salesman (notice how he dropped the Maxima into the conversation), he referred to your car as a “kalo kalo” (fruit machine) for gas. And all the gadgets on it, I wish my brother had seen it, he loves stuff like that. 2001 [Babawilly] Babawilly’s Dictionary of Pidgin English Words and Phrase (Nigeria): Kalo-kalo: 1. One armed bandit. 2. Amusement arcade game machines. 2002 Mike Ikhariale Niger Delta Congress (Nigeria) (Aug.) “Buhari’s Polemical Marksmanship”: So the Buhari that is likely to register in the minds of many Nigerians today, depending on where you belong and from where you are looking at him, is…the man who attempted to liberate the Nigerian economy from the clutches of corruption and its kalo-kalo fiscal idiosyncrasy. 2002 Tunji Bello THISDAY (Nigeria) (Oct. 30) “Were You Better Off Under IBB?”: No wonder scores of kalo-kalo banks sprang up overnight as beneficiaries of rentier era. 2003 Kingsley Osadolor Naija-news (June 18) “Y’hello, network busy!”: It is like you are using slot machines, the so-called kalokalo. 2003 Louis Odion Lagosforum (Lagos, Nigeria) (Nov. 24) “The Truth Okonjo-Iweala Didn’t Tell About Naira”: The finest hour for those who have always likened the management of Nigeria’s economy to Kalokalo (casino), it appears, is here. Put roughly, Kalokalo refers to the inclination to enter an economic river without compass.

Posted 1 May 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend