As already mentioned in another blog, the lunch outings for the local staff at Conoco Taiwan often had ten, if not 12, people at the table.
On one occasion, there was no lazy Susan on the table, for some reason. The accountant, Cray Chang, who was sitting at the other side of the big table from me, asked me, looking at the bean curd dish placed in front of me, “我可以吃你的豆腐吗？wǒ kěyǐ chī nǐ de dòufǔ ma? / Can I eat your bean curd?” Because Chinese meals are communal, I happily said, “Of course you can!”
Everyone roared with laughter. Cray’s assistant Peggy said, “You’ve walked into his trap!”
It turned out that 吃豆腐 chī dòufǔ / “eat bean curd” means “[a man] taking advantage of [a woman]”, usually in the sexual way.
Some 20-odd years later, in my middle age (and therefore less easily embarrassed about such things), I discovered the imagery behind this phrase: bean curd has the same texture as a woman’s breasts.
(Taiwan, 1975)
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