Gov. Abbott meets Taiwan president, commits faux pas

[TexasTowelie]

HOUSTON -- In a friendly gesture, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott presented the president of Taiwan a clock with the Texas seal when they met in Houston on Sunday.

Only in Chinese culture, the phrase “giving a clock” is like saying “it’s your funeral” or “your time’s running out.” “Sleeping with the fishes,” if you prefer.

“The governor’s choice of a clock was untimely,” the Taiwan News reported wryly.

“Fortunately, Tsai did not seem to be phased by the culturally inappropriate gift as it was surely well intentioned.”

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article125627494.html

[50 Shades Of Blue]

1. It's fazed, not phased.

[TexasTowelie]

2. You're correct,

but newspapers don't spend as many resources on editing as they did in the past.

[cyclonefence]

3. oh my god

you beat me to it

[TexasProgresive]

4. Ever read text translated into English from

Chinese or Japanese by a non English speaker? Phased for fazed is pretty close coming from Taiwan, doncha think?

[50 Shades Of Blue]

6. It was included in text quoted by a presumably English-speaking reporter

writing for a U.S. newspaper. He could have corrected it or added &quot sic)" after it.

I see "phase/d" and "faze/d" used interchangeably all the time by native English speakers. Sick of it.

[bmbmd]

5. "Untimely"

Heh.

[DuckBurp]

7. Abbott can be stupid ...

without even trying.