Where did the expression slow boat to China come from?

Composer Frank Loesser used the phrase as the title and the first line of a 1948 romantic ballad, and the expression started being used as a compliment.

What’s a slow boat?

: If someone has gone to the store, for example, and takes a long time returning, it might be said: “He must of taken a slow boat to China.” When the West first started trading with China, it was before modern transportation. It was a long trip even on a fast boat, longer if one was on a slow boat.

Who sang Id like to get you on a slow boat to China?

Dee Dee Bridgewater
(I’d Like to Get You on A) Slow Boat to China/Artists

Who wrote slow boat to China?

Frank Loesser
(I’d Like to Get You on A) Slow Boat to China/Lyricists

What does it mean to be born yesterday?

The idiom, “born yesterday” describes a person as being naive, ignorant, gullible, or even unintelligent.

When did the song Slow Boat to China come out?

1997
(I’d Like to Get You on A) Slow Boat to China/Released

Where does the term full boat come from?

The most likely origin is that the term “Full house” became “Full boat” as a result of riverboat gambling, where the game was frequently played, and they were on a boat not in a house. Full boat then became shortened to just “boat”.

What does cat has your tongue mean?

Definition of cat got your tongue —used to ask someone why he or she is not saying anything “You’ve been unusually quiet tonight,” she said. Cat got your tongue?”

What is the meaning of the idiom back to the wall?

In a hard-pressed situation; also, without any way of escape. For example, In the closing few minutes, our team had its back to the wall but continued to fight gallantly, or The bank has him with his back to the wall; he’ll have to pay up now.

Why is a poker hand called a boat?

What does having the nuts in poker mean?

the strongest possible hand
In poker, the nut hand is the strongest possible hand in a given situation. The term applies mostly to community card poker games where the individual holding the strongest possible hand, with the given board of community cards, is capable of knowing that they have the nut hand.

What does leaving someone high and dry mean?

to leave someone in a difficult situation which they are unable to do anything about.

Who sings on a slow boat to China?

“On A Slow Boat to China” is a popular song by Frank Loesser, published in 1948. The song is a well-known pop standard, recorded by many artists, including a duet between Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby (for their album Fancy Meeting You Here (1958)), Ella Fitzgerald, Joni James, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Buffett, Fats Domino and Liza Minnelli.

What is a slow boat to China in poker?

The player who lost at a slow and steady pace was often referred to as a “slow boat to China”. Consequently the patient player achieved his winnings slowly and steadily much like a slow boat to China. In a way the victim’s plight was profitable for the winning poker player.

What is the origin of the catchphrase “China boat”?

My father turned it into a romantic song, placing the title in the mainstream of catch-phrases in 1947. The idea is that a slow boat to China was the longest trip one could imagine.

Where does the phrase “on a sloe boat to China” come from?

As far as I know it comes from the song from the 1940s, “On a Sloe Boat to China”, a romantic piece of fluff that would put a man and a woman in close proximity for a long time, sung by Bing Crosby and others. China was probably seen to be one of the furthest countries from the United States that could be reached by boat.