Considering it reputedly comes from the typical expression of people when they are shown how it works, then no.
You’d think, but… Army Deletes Tweet About ‘Chinks In Armor’ After People Cry Racism | National Review
Unbelieveable
Another satisfied Durand customer here. I can’t imagine not having it.
Also another happy Monopol owner. I’ve had mine for 10+ years and love it.
Cheers,
-Robert
I believe it. People be crazy.
Remember this? Got Bretos a one-month suspension. Funny coincidence, his wife is Asian.
An editor used “Chink in the Armor” as a headline about Jeremy Lin and the editor was fired.
That said, I’m somewhat dubious about the origins of the name “ah so”, but it’s possible that it’s benign.
That just means gap and has been in usage since the 1400’s, were there Asian immigrants here then?
Ah So in Japanese means something like “Is that right”, or “So I see”. I don’t detect anything remotely racist about the phrase.
P Hickner
I’m not an expert on this, so I’m happy to be proven wrong, but I believe the term came into prominence through Charlie Chan movies, which featured a white actor in “yellowface”.
Per wiki:
Readers and movie-goers greeted Chan warmly (in the 1930s, audiences even in Shanghai found the character positive and funny), but twenty-first century critics have taken contending views. Some see Chan as an attractive character who is portrayed as intelligent, heroic, benevolent and honorable in contrast to the racist depictions of evil or conniving Asians which dominated Hollywood and national media. Others find that Chan, despite his good qualities, reinforces condescending stereotypes such as an alleged incapacity to speak idiomatic English and a tradition-bound and subservient nature. Many found it objectionable that he was played on screen by Caucasian actors in so-called Yellowface.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chan
When is the Durand going to come down in price? I’d have bought one by now if it didn’t cost more than some (make that most, if you are talking about purchase price) of the bottles I want to open with it.
In that case he was using “Chink” to mean both in a figure of speech in line with its dictionary definition (a narrow opening or crack) and to refer to Jeremy Lin. It’s the latter that got him in trouble and IMO deservedly so.
This raises an interesting question - was “chink” used to refer to Asians because of its dictionary definition? If so then maybe the two can’t be separated. If the “n-word” had a 2nd, non-offensive definition, would it be acceptable to use it in that context? I think probably not.
That said, “ah so” is reminiscent of those old movies, however people use the phrase all the time to mean nothing of the sort.
You can always call it a “butler’s friend” which it was called because the butler could use it to steal wine and re-cork the bottle without damage to the cork. Derogatory towards butlers?
There’s no question that the phrase the editor used could have been intended as a double entendre. The editor claimed otherwise. I think it’s impossible to know his intent, but even if no malice was intended it was a TERRIBLE coincidence.
Around the same timeframe Jason Whitlock used a racial stereotype to describe Jeremy Lin’s anatomy and, IIRC, received no suspension from his employer (Fox).
Sports and race is very weird.
Now back to wine openers.
Ah the insidious scourge of political correctness. Seven degrees of offensiveness.
Monopole +1
Monopole +
They can be sharpened, which is an added advantage.
I recall someone bringing a cheap one to one of our Zin offlines that broke in the first bottle. The one I have is 30+ years old and still going strong. It’s probably opened as many beer bottles as it has wine bottles.
Have a few mostly cheap Ah-So’s and can’t speak directly to the Monopol, but the Durand is amazing and has saved dozens of bottles in my sight, though I am waiting to purchase one (giving my wife a chance to gift it to me)
True that. I guess RWC (or the manufacturer of them) hasn’t learned basic economics that made Walmart a strong company: lower the price= sell more product=make more $'s. I’ll never understand the fascination with “cachet” that wine sellers have.
You called?
There is also the German phrase “ach so” that is interpreted as “I see”.
Yep. After which I bought the Monopol.