Silly English
No Japanese blog is complete without a page on Silly English.
Most of us are familiar with the idea of unintentionally hilarious phrases found on Japanese T-shirts and food products. This sort of stuff is already detailed extensively on excellent sites such as Engrish. But I’ve been coming across so many great examples recently that I just knew I had to make up a Silly English page of my own.
Here then are my humble offerings. May there be many more in the years to come.
Asahi STRONG OFF: just what were the advertising gurus trying to say?
I assume it’s a full-flavoured beer with low alcohol content.
So that’s how you spell Giant Slope in Dutch then.
Not sure I’d want to chew this gum; it might affect my speech.
The kids wanted one of these ice-creams but I said: No more Mr. Ice Guy.
(Feel free to submit your own lame Ice Guy gags.)
A cafe latte. In a bag. With a little tube on top.
It’s just the coolishest thing ever.
Not sure if this one qualifies as “silly” — it could
just as easily be patronising, or condescending, or
plain unnecessary. You be the judge.
DON’T CAT is stuff to keep cats off the garden.
A Cruiser-style mixed drink. Even funnier when
you consider that the Japanese “a” is pronounced “u”
Don’t forget to Care Your Hand!
Some of my favourite windcheaters.
This one was so (possibly) good I had to have it for myself:
This blog is about the adventures of a family of Australian barbarians spending two years in the islands of southern Japan. Stay tuned for regular updates on the food, the culture, the earthquakes, the wacky festivals, the school system and more. 
Comments
March 9th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Simp
I reckon there is a whole new website project for you in just listing this sort of stuff – hours of fun for us guaranteed! As a feline aficionado, particularly loved the Don’t Cat signage!
Rose
April 3rd, 2010 at 1:44 am
Heaps of stupid phrases on t.shirts here in Brasil also.
Brand names too. The most common is “Billabong”
I always feel like asking people wearing them if they know what a “Billabong” is??
Gords
April 16th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
…to think it all started with “Curry the Hot” all those years ago and has blossomed into an entire industry – JC
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:24 am
Haha! ‘No more Mr Ice Guy’ really cracked me up. Thanks for that.
July 2nd, 2010 at 9:40 am
Oh Simon, you are so ‘possibly good’, it reminds me of a birthday card i once received from my sister. “To Emily, everyone tells me you’re a good sister, but I’ll tell you the truth… (wait for it) you’re good sometimes”
I hope you possibly have a good birthday (I didn’t know where else to post), i thought possibly this was the right place… (okay I’ll stop.) Have a great day today, I’ll send something out to you.. possibly..
Love Em xxx