Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Language

I was at the bike shop last night looking for bicycle toe clips- the old fashioned plastic type that just cup the front of your foot. Didn't know how to say 'toe clips' in Chinese, so I just used the English and pointed at my foot. No problem, they grabbed some out of the back, blew the dust off (what? nobody uses this kind any more?), and started to mount them on the pedals. While they were working, I asked them the Chinese name, and was absolutely delighted at the answer: They are called 狗嘴套 (dog muzzles).

I love this language sometimes.

2 comments:

P. S. said...

I'll bring all my old dog muzzles to you since I can't wear them anymore. Try not to get foot surgery like I did.

By the way, did you fix your knee pain by now? And how is the bike working out for you?

Chaon said...

The Dog Muzzles were my latest salvo in the war against the knee pain. I think that if I can keep my foot in the correct position at all times, the problem will be solved. The other option is to use pedals with better and more holding tips for the bottom of the shoe. But I'm such a huge spaz when I ride, I am skeptical of that working.