Spit take

[asterroc]

A Chinese friend says she's never seen Asians do a spit take nor snort anything out their nose. Can anyone here confirm they do?

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

Comments

[spazzy444.livejournal.com]

What is that?

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

When you take a drink and something startles you or makes you laugh and you spray the drink back out.

[sildra.livejournal.com]

I had two Asian friends in college who were prone to that kind of reaction (one was Chinese, and the other was half-Japanese, the latter born and both raised in America). I'm not sure I ever saw either of them literally spit, though--that seems like more something that happens in elementary school or in movies/tv.

Umm... the TV Tropes page on spit takes (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpitTake) has a whole section for anime/manga, which, given that anime and manga are by Japanese people and intended for Japanese audiences, I think is pretty good evidence that it's a cultural phenomenon that exists in Japan, at least. The movie section of that same page also lists a Japanese movie. The live-action TV section of that page lists a Korean show. TV Tropes in general is very strongly biased toward media in English or that have an English-speaking fanbase, so that I even found any hits at all (other than anime) says something, I think. Googling ["spit take" martial arts movie] I get some kung-fu movie database that lists two things under the keyword "spit take," one of which is an American movie, but the other is a Hong Kong movie.

So I think whether or not any individual Asian does it (and really, how many people have you ever seen do an unintentional spit take at all in real life? I've probably only seen it happen a handful of times), we can at least say it's a phenomenon that Asians might be expected to be familiar with, presumably because at least some do it.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

And what about snorting drinks up/out their nose? (as in, laughing during a drink so it goes into and/or comes out your nose instead of out your mouth)

[sildra.livejournal.com]

I hate that! We used to try to make each other do that on purpose in first grade (but I'm at least 70% sure the girl I played that game with was white). And then when I was a bit older, like late elementary school through most of high school, my mom and my best friend's mom made trying to make me do that into a game that they played at my parents' dinner parties. Sometimes when there were random guests who I didn't know that well. Occasionally I had to leave the table because I was choking and had to go throw up, because they did it when I was swallowing food rather than a drink. It was awful.

Or... did you mean you wanted me to look that up for you? I'm not sure I know of a succinct name for that. TV Tropes considers it a subset of spit takes, which I guess makes sense, because it's basically a spit take while you're swallowing rather than while you have something in your mouth. I tried a page search for "nose" on the TV Tropes page, but that didn't turn up anything beyond the intro. The obvious google searches turn up people with anecdotes about movies/tv making them do that. So, I don't know? But I'd be shocked if it didn't happen.

[tiurin.livejournal.com]

I've definitely snorted something out my nose. Carbonated beverages fizz going up the wrong pipe too.

[blahblahboy.livejournal.com]

Not sure if this is related to many mainlanders here spitting at will on the street, into the recycling bin next to their desk at work, or into the pantry sink. I think what you're describing is somewhat harder because most Asians probably don't use straws that often because they usually drink hot beverages? But that's probably a bias too. in fact I'd say the only place you could catch anyone with a straw nowadays is if they order soda at a restaurant. (beer and wine don't get straws).

[sildra.livejournal.com]

What does a straw have to do with it?

[blahblahboy.livejournal.com]

Oops, good catch! I misread the description of what spit take was up above. I've actually never heard this phenomenon properly named. Guess it could happen at any time... Though I rarely have ever seen anyone do it, outside sitcoms and movies.