good wind, good water
Chinese Pidgin English
FWOTD – 18 July 2020
Etymology
Calque of Chinese 順風順水／顺风顺水 (shùnfēngshùnshuǐ).
Interjection
good wind, good water
- bon voyage
- 1889 November, Thomas W. Knox, “The Talking Handkerchief”, in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, volume LXXIX, number CCCCLXXIV (in English), New York: Harper & Brothers, publishers, page 937:
- The compradore had accompanied us, and as soon as I was safe on board he cast off the line that held the sampan to the side of the junk, and with a wave of his hand in the direction of Hong-Kong, ejaculated, “Good wind! good water!”—the pidjin-English equivalent of “Bon voyage!” or “Good-luck to you!”
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References
- Gow, W. S. P. (1924) Gow’s Guide to Shanghai, 1924: A Complete, Concise and Accurate Handbook of the City and District, Especially Compiled for the Use of Tourists and Commercial Visitors to the Far East, Shanghai, page 105: “Good wind: Good water: a farewell wish to a friend starting on a voyage.”