What is the origin of the saying “Chop chop suey suey”? [closed]
Solution 1:
Perhaps your dad added the "suey suey" part on his own, maybe for humorous effect?
Wikipedia and The Phrase Finder both talk about the etymology of chop chop, meaning "hurry up" or "quickly, quickly!"
A longer article at an NPR website says:
Several etymological dictionaries trace the origins of the word to a version of pidgin English used on ships (and later by Chinese servants and traders who regularly interacted with foreigners). The Oxford English Dictionary traces the first usage of "chop chop" in print to an 1834 article in the Canton (Ohio) Register. Two years later, it would also appear in The Penny Magazine, an illustrated English publication geared toward the working class. In an 1838 article, "Chinese English," the magazine defined "chop-chop" as "the sooner the better," but made no mention of the phase being rude or curt.
According to Hobson-Jobson: The Definitive Glossary of British India, the noted Anglo-Indian dictionary published in 1886, the phrase originates from the Cantonese word kap, or 急 (which means "make haste"). In Mandarin, the word is jí, and in Malay it's chepat. This evolved into "chop-chop" and was quickly picked up by the Englishmen who traveled the Asian seas.
Solution 2:
“Chop chop” is a phrase rooted in Cantonese.
It spread through Chinese workers at sea and was adopted by English seamen. "Chop chop" means "hurry, hurry" and suggests that something should be done now and without any delay. The word "chopsticks" likely originates from this root.
The term may have its origins in the South China Sea, as a Pidgin English version of the Chinese term k'wâi-k'wâi (Chinese: 快快; pinyin: kuài kuài)2 or may have originated from Malay.
(Language Log)
"Chop chop suey suey" appears to be an extension on the original phrase "chop chop" probably based on the Chinese food name "chop suey" which became popular in the United States from the late 19th century.
Solution 3:
Chop chop is (or possibly was) pidgin English for "quickly". Combining the term with "Chop suey" is very much the sort of jocular expression a dad might use: I don't know if it exists outside your family.
Solution 4:
Your father is not the only person now on record as having used the expression "chop chop suey suey." From "Chop Suey" in Katherine Chew, The Magical Dumplings and Other Chinese Fables (2008):
Many Chinese joined the 1849 California Gold Rush. When they found gold, they were invariably killed by claim jumpers. To survive such a lawless foreign land, the pragmatic and resourceful one opened eateries and laundries instead. ...
Among the successful restaurateurs were two cousins Ah Ying and Ah Sing. ...
Late one night they had locked up and gone to bed dog-tired after every scrap of food was sold. In the middle of the night they were awakened by loud pounding and voices demanding food. Before they could respond, the door was kicked open. In the dim moonlight, they saw two big, mean looking miners had barged in and were pointing a gun and knife at them.
...
The cousins went into the kitchen. What to do? There was nothing they could serve. As they rummaged through the shelves, cupboards and storage places for edibles, they came to the day's garbage, which they had been too tired to throw out before retiring.
In a flash, they dumped a generous portion of the garbage in a wok, made a sauce, and served the dish piping hot.
"Ooh this is good!" the burly miners exclaimed. What is it called?"
Though still shaking in their pants from fear, the cousins managed to say, "Chop chop suey suey."
Indeed, bits and pieces! Under the terror of gun and knife, a new dish was born.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, fifth edition (2010) offers the following definitions and etymological notes on chop-chop and chop suey:
chop-chop adv. Informal Right away; quickly {Reduplication of Chinese Pidgin English chop, quick, of Chinese dialectal origin; akin to Cantonese gap1 and Mandarin jí, hasty, urgent, pressing both < Middle Chinese kip.}
...
chop suey n. 1. A Chinese-American dish consisting of small pieces of meat or chicken cooked with bean sprouts and other vegetables and served with rice. 2. Informal A miscellany: His coterie of execs were up to their pin stripes in chop suey of deals" (TV Guide). {Cantonese zaap6 seoi3, miscellaneous bits (equivalent to Mandarin zásuì) : Cantonese zaap6 mixed (< Middle Chinese tshap) + Cantonese seoi3, to shatter, broken in fragments (< Middle Chinese suaj`).}
The expression "chop chop suey suey," insofar as it isn't simply a nonsense phrase, thus seems to intend to combine the speed of chop-chop with the fragmentary miscellaneousness of chop suey.
For what it's worth, I advise extreme caution in using the expression "chop chop suey suey" because people of East Asian (and especially Chinese) origin might take it as demeaning, patronizing, or otherwise pejorative. The expression "chop-chop" is strongly associated in my mind with orders barked by Asian or European masters to Asian servants, and adopting affected Pidgin English inevitably raises the question, "Why are you talking like that?" That's not to say that there was anything intentionally pejorative in your father's use of the phrase—but I wouldn't use it today.