偷油婆

Etymology

So named because of the shininess of its wings, which was thought to be from oil stolen from the kitchen, a common place where cockroaches are found.

Pronunciation

Noun

偷油婆

1. (chiefly Southwestern Mandarin, Xiang) cockroach
   • 偷油婆他們燒來吃過的。 [MSC, trad.]
     偷油婆他们烧来吃过的。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1948, 艾蕪, 鄉愁

     Tōuyóupó tāmen shāo lái chī guò de. [Pinyin]

     They have roasted cockroaches to eat before.
   • 偷油婆到處爬，腳上也有細菌，它爬過的東西還有臭氣，吃了要發嘔。 [MSC, trad.]
     偷油婆到处爬，脚上也有细菌，它爬过的东西还有臭气，吃了要发呕。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1958 April 7, 許川 and 白丁, 毛主席使紅光社大方紅光, in 四川日報

     Tōuyóupó dàochù pá, jiǎo shàng yě yǒu xìjūn, tā pá guò de dōngxī háiyǒu chòuqì, chī le yào fā'ǒu. [Pinyin]

     The cockroaches crawl all over the place, and there are germs on their legs. Also, things that they have crawled over have a stench, and if you eat them, you will feel like vomiting.
   • 開冰箱時鑽進了一隻偷油婆，特別肥大，特別狡猾。 [MSC, trad.]
     开冰箱时钻进了一只偷油婆，特别肥大，特别狡猾。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 2010, 马骥 and 王跃, 少城轶事, page 193

     Kāi bīngxiāng shí zuān jìn le yī zhī tōuyóupó, tèbié féidà, tèbié jiǎohuá. [Pinyin]

     When the fridge was opened, in crawled a cockroach, which was especially fat and cunning.