Note 16 — Chapter VII

This word has various meanings; I do not know, however, why it is applied to these floating houses. The Chinese merchants speak of a “chop” of tea or silk, meaning an amount which bears a certain mark. They eat with chop-sticks; and a ship’s clearance to go to sea, after she has taken cargo, is called a “grand chop.” Then there is the expression, “chop-chop,” meaning, if addressed to a servant, to “be quick,” or, “do it immediately.” To say “chop-chop” to your chair-Coolie, means “step faster.”