C’est Ironique Sign of the Weeque
Photo by Michael Goodwin, submitted by Jordan Grossi
Yes, the word “dong” is a rather childish and mildly obscene anatomical term in American English, but it’s also, by sheer coincidence, a common word in Vietnamese. For something. A recent linguistic research project comprising quick glances at the top three or four results of two separate Google searches indicates that it might mean “eastern” and/or “money” (the country’s unit of currency is the “dong”).
In any case, there are a lot of Vietnamese restaurants in France, and a lot of them, like this one in Belleville, have the word “dong” in the name. So let’s all just act like grown-ups here and avoid making cheap fun of another culture. Now let’s stop and go back to acting like a bunch of nine-year-olds on nitrous oxide.
Jordan, who sent me this one, expressed his deep regret that he failed to take a photo of a now-closed restaurant in Antibes that was called “Lady Souper Dong.” I’m sure we all share his sorrow.
Have you seen a ridiculous sign in Paris? Or anywhere in France? Send me a photo in care of contact@paris-update.com
FavoriteAn album of David Jaggard’s comic compositions is now available for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music, for purchase (whole or track by track) on iTunes and Amazon, and on every other music downloading service in the known universe, under the title “Totally Unrelated.”
Note to readers: David Jaggard’s e-book Quorum of One: Satire 1998-2011 is available from Amazon as well as iTunes, iBookstore, Nook, Reader Store, Kobo, Copia and many other distributors.