Chinese dialects are a rich (and sadly declining) part of Singapore history, and who better to teach us than a native speaker? In an Instagram video posted yesterday (Feb 6), local actor Chew Chor Meng said: "The Teochew phrase I am sharing with everyone today is something my grandma always used to tell me: Don't 'tong tong hee'."
"Which means to play a fool, or do nothing productive, or when you keep fidgeting and can't stay still," the 54-year-old added while clips of Mr Bean played in the background of the video.
"That's tong tong hee."
Donning a curly wig and emulating his grandma, Chor Meng shared some examples of how the phrase would be used in Teochew.
"My grandma always used to say, 'Meng oi! Sit there and eat properly, don't shake your leg! Don't tong tong hee!'"
To which, Chor Meng would respond: "Okay, ah ma. I won't tong tong hee. I shall sit here and eat properly."
That ended the lesson and Chor Meng said he would share another Teochew phrase next time: Pueh liang pueh zhua.