Dictionary

gao lak en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /kɑʊ̯ ˈlʌk/ (Singapore)

Etymology

Borrowed from Teochew 侯栗 (gao⁶ lag⁸, “chestnut”).

Meanings

1. (Singapore, colloquial, uncountable) Roasted chestnuts.
   • I saw in the papers that there was this graduate frying "gao luk". 2004 February 3, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):
   • Kuali Baba: Today as I walked passed the gao lak seller, I almost thought I heard him chanting that. 2007 March 9, “'No more sweet potato boy – SgForums.com (Singapore)”, in SGFORUMS:
   • In China, even buying gao lak or chestnuts from a street vendor is done via e-payment methods such as WeChat Pay and AliPay. This is one area Singapore is lagging behind, PM Lee noted. 2017 August 20, Lee Min Kok, “PM Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally speech: All you need to know in 3 minutes”, in The Straits Times:
   • The economy now had a wide range of jobs, and society here welcomed a broad spectrum of ideas."........ get ready to sell gao lak/chestnuts for a living, maybe that's what he means.... :P 2003 June 4, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):
   • Chestnuts roasted on wooden pushcarts. Gao lak probably fell out of fashion when littering laws came into effect and tossing the chestnut shells behind you as you walk would earn you a fine. 2015 April 14, Natalie Koh, “17 Nostalgic Street Snacks in Singapore that Bring Tears to Our Eyes”, in Tripzilla:Make it happen:

Forms

Relateds

chestnut