Dictionary

there is no war in Ba Sing Se en · X

Etymology

From the episode “City of Walls and Secrets” of the American animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, aired on 22 September 2006, in which the corrupt officials of the city Ba Sing Se [Cantonese 不城碎 (bat¹ sing⁴ seoi³)] try to keep order by hypnotizing citizens to believe that "there's ^([sic]) no war in Ba Sing Se", even as the city is being besieged.

Meanings

1. (Internet, qualifier:occasionally sarcastic) Nothing is going on; everything is under control; it is business as usual (suggesting that important information is being covered up).
   • When something is wrong, and people seem to be ignoring it, we'll often say, "there is no war in Ba Sing Se." [2020 July 19, Rich Knight, “Why Avatar: The Last Airbender Fans Have Issues With M. Night Shyamalan's Movie”, in CinemaBlend, archived from the original on 27 Dec 2022:
   • Today, I'm negotiating with myself: You have tacos in a meal kit box that's arriving in a couple of days, so at least you won't have to wait long. And burgers are good. You like apples, especially Granny Smith. Pork and apple burgers are what you want. Relax, there is no war in Ba Sing Se... Wow, my burgers are so good and exactly what I wanted! 2021 April 27, “A Week In Edmonton, AB, On A $61,000 Salary”, in Refinery29, archived from the original on 05 Jan 2023:
   • At the very least, even if there is no patch, we now know that they're stating that they're aware of the problem, which contrasts the previous 'there is no war in Ba Sing Se' approach that they were taking. 2022 December 1, Ryan Pearson, “Nintendo Backtracks On Claim They Didn't Hear Of Performance Issues In 'Pokémon Scarlet & Violet' And Releases Much-Needed Patch”, in Bounding Into Comics, archived from the original on 05 Jan 2023:
   • The LinkedIn page is pretty creepy with terms like "Giving employees the best work environment they'll never know with our patented and extremely safe Severance procedure." It gives off "There is no war in Ba Sing Se" vibes […] 2022 March 22, Dean Daley, “Severance's Lumon Industries has its own LinkedIn page”, in MobileSyrup, archived from the original on 14 Apr 2022:
   • There is no war in Ba Sing Se, and there are no lesbians in China. 2022 December 16, Andy Golder, “23 Screenshots Of People Being Wrong, Wrong, Wrong In 2022”, in BuzzFeed, archived from the original on 29 Dec 2022:

Forms

Relateds

these aren't the droids you're looking for (Star Wars) · we have always been at war with Eastasia

Synonyms

there's no war within the walls

wikipedia: Avatar: The Last Airbender · wikipedia: City of Walls and Secrets