Messaging with my nephew in Singapore about a shopping mall in Singapore near him. It was featured in a BBC piece about vending machines taking off in Singapore, selling more than the usual kind of things (e.g., canned drinks). The ones in this shopping mall sell frozen salmon, Singapore’s famous chilli crab, and cacti.
The BBC reporter called it “tired-looking”. I thought it was another one near my sister’s flat that I used to walk through en route to the bus stop. My nephew said the one I had in mind was THE mall of its time for the residents of that (suburban) area.
I said, “I’m not a materialistic person, and I don’t like shopping, so I don’t tend to notice things like that. I only notice bling for the OTT (over the top) element — 'notice' in a negative light. As I always say to people: I see the soul, not the shell.”
Then I realised I’d done a pun: “bling” and “light”.
(London, 2021)
bling: (informal) expensive, ostentatious clothing and jewellery.
Origin: 1990s: perhaps imitative of light reflecting off jewellery, or of jewellery clashing together.
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