I have never heard of the phrase "帶塞" (Dài sāi) in Mandarin my entire life until last year... When asking my mom where this expression might have come front tonight, I realized that she had no clue such an expression exists.
I was once told that the 塞(Sāi) in 帶塞 (Dài sāi) might have come from the word "屎" in Taiwanese, which is pronounced as (Sāi). In this case, the direct translation of 帶塞 (Dài sāi) would be "carry shit" with 帶 meaning "carry" and 塞, in Taiwanese, meaning "shit." In other words, when someone is 帶塞, it means the person is well-endowed with shitluck... or a magnet of sheer bad luck.
However, earlier tonight, I found an interesting posting online where the author, drawing references from ancient Chinese history, tried to make the argument that the expression "帶塞" (Dài sāi) actually came out over 2000 years ago all the way back in the Han dynasty and is related to the tough luck 蘇武 (Su Wu) had when assigned the task of "帶團出使塞外" (leading the diplomatic team on a mission beyond the Great Wall). Because of this mission, 蘇武 (Su Wu) endured 19 years of pure suffering. This is why people considered "帶團出使塞外" (leading the diplomatic team on a mission beyond the Great Wall)--shortened as 帶塞 (Dài sāi) as pure shitluck... Really interesting argument although I am not quite sure how true it is... lol
I was once told that the 塞(Sāi) in 帶塞 (Dài sāi) might have come from the word "屎" in Taiwanese, which is pronounced as (Sāi). In this case, the direct translation of 帶塞 (Dài sāi) would be "carry shit" with 帶 meaning "carry" and 塞, in Taiwanese, meaning "shit." In other words, when someone is 帶塞, it means the person is well-endowed with shitluck... or a magnet of sheer bad luck.
However, earlier tonight, I found an interesting posting online where the author, drawing references from ancient Chinese history, tried to make the argument that the expression "帶塞" (Dài sāi) actually came out over 2000 years ago all the way back in the Han dynasty and is related to the tough luck 蘇武 (Su Wu) had when assigned the task of "帶團出使塞外" (leading the diplomatic team on a mission beyond the Great Wall). Because of this mission, 蘇武 (Su Wu) endured 19 years of pure suffering. This is why people considered "帶團出使塞外" (leading the diplomatic team on a mission beyond the Great Wall)--shortened as 帶塞 (Dài sāi) as pure shitluck... Really interesting argument although I am not quite sure how true it is... lol
How can you use this expression?
Some people dare not watch the ball game because they feel they are very 帶塞 (Dài sāi).
Some people dare not watch the ball game because they feel they are very 帶塞 (Dài sāi).
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