Tag: written exam

炒冷饭(chǎo lěng fàn)
Rehash, repeat old content, flogging a dead horse

Shanghai locals are mostly rice eaters. So, if there’s any leftover cooked rice, they tend to 炒冷饭, meaning to “stir-fry the cold rice,” usually by adding a spoon of edible oil, a pinch of minced green onion or even an egg. As a result, 炒冷饭 is a common meal among many Shanghainese.

But when the phrase is used figuratively, it means to rehash old materials, repeat old content or reproduce an old idea. It’s like flogging a dead horse or putting old wine in a new bottle in English.

So, this colloquial term has a connotation of cliché, banality, bromide and lack of excitement.
Despite the fact that many Shanghainese do eat 炒冷饭 from time to time, few like it in speeches and writing. Locals also tend to use a vulgar alternative to express their dislike of this type of 炒冷饭: “Why do you always eat today’s fresh rice, but fart yesterday’s gas?”