<p>It's called "缩脚语".</p>

<p>There are 2 different definitions of xiehouyu:</p>

<blockquote>《辞海》：歇后语是熟语的一种。多为群众熟识的诙谐而形象的语句，运用时可以隐去后文，以前文示意，如只说“围棋盘里下象棋”，以示不对路子；也可以前后文并列，如“芝麻开花－－节节高”。</blockquote>

<blockquote>《中国语言文字大百科全书》<br/>
歇后语：指说话的时候把一段常用词语故意少说一个字或半句而构成的带有幽默性的话语。通常有两种。1.原始意义的歇后语，指把一句成语的末一个字省去不说，也叫“缩脚语”。如《金瓶梅》里来旺媳妇说“你家第五的‘秋胡戏’”，就是用来影射“妻”，因为“秋胡戏妻”是有名的故事、剧目。也有利用同音字的。如称“岳父”为“龙头拐”，影射“杖”字，这里代替“丈”。2.扩大意义的歇后语，在北京叫俏皮话，是指可以把一句话的后面一半省去不说。如“马尾拴豆腐”省去的是“提不起了”。有时候也利用同音字。如“外甥打灯笼－－照旧（舅）”。</blockquote>

<p>The first definition of xiehouyu (like what you see in wikipedia) doesn't include "缩脚语".
The second one is broader and recognizes "缩脚语" as one type of xiehouyu（"原始意义的歇后语"）.<br/>Actually I'm not familiar with "缩脚语" because the first definition is widely acknowledged by common people. But by searching the Internet I found that "缩脚语" has a long history and not only exists in 四川方言, it can be found in many other dialects like 上海方言、吴越方言、山东方言、粤语. I'm a mandarin speaker so I don't know whether they are still in use today.</p>

<p>I found many examples on the Internet. Some examples I found are too long or complicated so I didn't paste them here. You can search "缩脚语" and look for them yourself.<br/>
古文：</p>

<blockquote>“拿那雌雄宝（剑）插在我杨柳细（腰）边”（元-施惠《幽闺记》第九出）<br/>“君子之交淡如（水）”、“醉翁之意不在（酒）”（明-冯梦龙《古今谭概》）。<br/>“你权做个撮合山主亲的月下老（人），俺两个衔环……”（明-无名氏《女真观》第三折）<br/>“七大八（小）、七青八（黄）、七孔八（窍）、七张八（嘴）”（隐指“小黄窍嘴”，清-褚人获《坚瓠集》）。<br/>“一帖发丧药下去，这汗还止得住哩？不由的十生九（死）了。” （古人有时讳说“死”，西周生《醒世姻缘传》第二回）<br/>“号啕痛（哭）”（《醒世姻缘传》第二回、《金瓶梅》七十六回）<br/>“下马威（风）”（《醒世姻缘传》第二回）<br/>“踢天笼（井）”（"笼"谐音"弄"，即踢天弄井，《聊斋俚曲集·俊夜叉》。</blockquote>

<p>粤语：</p>

<blockquote>广东有一种著名饮料：茅根竹蔗水。而广东人又俗称“钱”为“水”，于是，当有人说“茅根竹”时，大家便意会这是“借水”（借钱也，因“蔗”与“借”同音）。 </blockquote>

<p>上海方言：</p>

<blockquote>广东人骂别人呆笨时，会称人家做“猪头丙”，这“猪头丙”一词，是改自上海俗语“猪头三”的。上海俗语“猪头三”，也是一句缩脚语，全句是“猪头三牲”，即指被骂的人，是“牲”（畜生）也。（而“三牲”，本是敬神祭品的三色，即猪头、雄鸡和青鱼，统称为“猪头三牲”。）<br/>上海缩脚语还有如“七勿搭（八）”，“金卫陶（姜）”（谐音僵）、“敲钉转（脚）”、“天官赐（福）”、“坑三姑（娘）”、“么二三（四）”（谐音屎）、“甲乙丙（丁）”（谐音盯，意为盯梢尾随）</blockquote>

<p>吴越方言：</p>

<blockquote>苏州话“格（搿）块猪肉浪子丑寅弗少”，“子丑寅”隐指“毛”（“卯”的谐音。谑称。）最有意思的是南部吴语区温州的俗语雅说，他们把司空见惯的“水”，叫做“青山绿”；把“轻”（用于指责有人轻佻――轻薄、不庄重时）说成“云淡风”。</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-27T04:49:44.793Z
excellent answer. **秋胡戏** for instance has it's own entry in *汉语大词典* - saying 指妻 - further proof of the usage of 缩脚语.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-26T17:56:58.483Z
2014-12-26T17:56:58.483Z
xdcsy
<p>I was going through the <em>四川方言词典</em> the other day and came across this:</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/8Lz8U.png" alt="0.1.0">
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/h8YeS.png" alt="0.1.1"></p>

<p>...and my transcription...</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>冲起屁——[股]   cong1 qi3 pi4——[gu3]    这是歇后语的一种特殊格式。这种歇后语的“引”和“注”合起来是一个完整的四字格词组, 运用时, 只说“引”, 不说“注”。但说话人的意思只在“注”上。“引”和“注”无意义联系, “引”仅起带出“注”来的作用。 ▷小弟冲起屁[屁股]上尘得有月照纱[“窗”, 谐“疮”]。</p>
</blockquote>

<ul>
<li>What is this specially formatted type of xiehouyu called?</li>
<li>What other examples of this type of xiehouyu are there?</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-19T11:26:25.810Z
A starting point perhaps for all of us who have no clue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiehouyu
imrek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-19T14:51:19.393Z
Wow the creative usage. I've never seen anything resembles this before. It's like you say `brother-in` to mean `law`. What you omit is what you mean...
Wang Dingwei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-19T17:01:00.087Z
Seems similar to [Cockney Rhyming Slang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyming_slang) as used in actual practice, for example "I'm goin' up 'e ap'les" [ɒɪm 'gaʊɪn ɐp ʔi æpʔoz] for "I'm going up the stairs". It has been called [hemiteleia](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AI8dAQAAIAAJ&q="hemiteleia"), most famously picked up in Bryson's work "Mother Tongue".
Michaelyus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-25T14:07:06.323Z
I've asked all of my Sichuan friends but no one has ever heard of anything remotely resembles this. It might be a new species that hasn't been named yet. It's probably originated from 黑话, which is a form of 隐语 used among gangsters, but I can't really tell..
Wang Dingwei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-26T04:20:25.733Z
Interesting... I always thought there was nothing in Chinese like Cockney Rhyming Slang.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-26T19:44:30.090Z
看了这个问题才想起来“歇后”就是“省去后半部分”的意思。尽管知道这个意思，但平时一看到“歇后语”总直观的觉得是“歇下来之后说无聊打趣的话”。
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-26T21:57:57.977Z
@NS.X. - that's interesting - I had only ever understood it from the literal meaning (your former meaning) of the characters.  Is the latter meaning what Chinese people commonly people understand it to mean?
Master Sparkles
<proverb>
Specially formatted Xiehouyu: What are they? What others are there?
# Specially formatted Xiehouyu: What are they? What others are there?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-12-19)

I was going through the *四川方言词典* the other day and came across this:

![0.1.0](https://i.sstatic.net/8Lz8U.png)
![0.1.1](https://i.sstatic.net/h8YeS.png)

...and my transcription...

> 冲起屁——[股] cong1 qi3 pi4——[gu3] 这是歇后语的一种特殊格式。这种歇后语的“引”和“注”合起来是一个完整的四字格词组, 运用时, 只说“引”, 不说“注”。但说话人的意思只在“注”上。“引”和“注”无意义联系, “引”仅起带出“注”来的作用。 ▷小弟冲起屁[屁股]上尘得有月照纱[“窗”, 谐“疮”]。

* What is this specially formatted type of xiehouyu called?
* What other examples of this type of xiehouyu are there?

**Tags:** proverb
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: A starting point perhaps for all of us who have no clue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiehouyu  
> **username_2**: Wow the creative usage. I've never seen anything resembles this before. It's like you say `brother-in` to mean `law`. What you omit is what you mean...  
> **username_3**: Seems similar to [Cockney Rhyming Slang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyming_slang) as used in actual practice, for example "I'm goin' up 'e ap'les" [ɒɪm 'gaʊɪn ɐp ʔi æpʔoz] for "I'm going up the stairs". It has been called [hemiteleia](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AI8dAQAAIAAJ&q="hemiteleia"), most famously picked up in Bryson's work "Mother Tongue".  
> **username_2**: I've asked all of my Sichuan friends but no one has ever heard of anything remotely resembles this. It might be a new species that hasn't been named yet. It's probably originated from 黑话, which is a form of 隐语 used among gangsters, but I can't really tell..  
> **username_4**: Interesting... I always thought there was nothing in Chinese like Cockney Rhyming Slang.  
> **username_4**: 看了这个问题才想起来“歇后”就是“省去后半部分”的意思。尽管知道这个意思，但平时一看到“歇后语”总直观的觉得是“歇下来之后说无聊打趣的话”。  
> **username_5**: @NS.X. - that's interesting - I had only ever understood it from the literal meaning (your former meaning) of the characters.  Is the latter meaning what Chinese people commonly people understand it to mean?  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2014-12-26. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

It's called "缩脚语".

There are 2 different definitions of xiehouyu:

> 《辞海》：歇后语是熟语的一种。多为群众熟识的诙谐而形象的语句，运用时可以隐去后文，以前文示意，如只说“围棋盘里下象棋”，以示不对路子；也可以前后文并列，如“芝麻开花－－节节高”。

> 《中国语言文字大百科全书》  
> 歇后语：指说话的时候把一段常用词语故意少说一个字或半句而构成的带有幽默性的话语。通常有两种。1.原始意义的歇后语，指把一句成语的末一个字省去不说，也叫“缩脚语”。如《金瓶梅》里来旺媳妇说“你家第五的‘秋胡戏’”，就是用来影射“妻”，因为“秋胡戏妻”是有名的故事、剧目。也有利用同音字的。如称“岳父”为“龙头拐”，影射“杖”字，这里代替“丈”。2.扩大意义的歇后语，在北京叫俏皮话，是指可以把一句话的后面一半省去不说。如“马尾拴豆腐”省去的是“提不起了”。有时候也利用同音字。如“外甥打灯笼－－照旧（舅）”。

The first definition of xiehouyu (like what you see in wikipedia) doesn't include "缩脚语".
The second one is broader and recognizes "缩脚语" as one type of xiehouyu（"原始意义的歇后语"）.  
Actually I'm not familiar with "缩脚语" because the first definition is widely acknowledged by common people. But by searching the Internet I found that "缩脚语" has a long history and not only exists in 四川方言, it can be found in many other dialects like 上海方言、吴越方言、山东方言、粤语. I'm a mandarin speaker so I don't know whether they are still in use today.

I found many examples on the Internet. Some examples I found are too long or complicated so I didn't paste them here. You can search "缩脚语" and look for them yourself.  
古文：

> “拿那雌雄宝（剑）插在我杨柳细（腰）边”（元-施惠《幽闺记》第九出）  
> “君子之交淡如（水）”、“醉翁之意不在（酒）”（明-冯梦龙《古今谭概》）。  
> “你权做个撮合山主亲的月下老（人），俺两个衔环……”（明-无名氏《女真观》第三折）  
> “七大八（小）、七青八（黄）、七孔八（窍）、七张八（嘴）”（隐指“小黄窍嘴”，清-褚人获《坚瓠集》）。  
> “一帖发丧药下去，这汗还止得住哩？不由的十生九（死）了。” （古人有时讳说“死”，西周生《醒世姻缘传》第二回）  
> “号啕痛（哭）”（《醒世姻缘传》第二回、《金瓶梅》七十六回）  
> “下马威（风）”（《醒世姻缘传》第二回）  
> “踢天笼（井）”（"笼"谐音"弄"，即踢天弄井，《聊斋俚曲集·俊夜叉》。

粤语：

> 广东有一种著名饮料：茅根竹蔗水。而广东人又俗称“钱”为“水”，于是，当有人说“茅根竹”时，大家便意会这是“借水”（借钱也，因“蔗”与“借”同音）。

上海方言：

> 广东人骂别人呆笨时，会称人家做“猪头丙”，这“猪头丙”一词，是改自上海俗语“猪头三”的。上海俗语“猪头三”，也是一句缩脚语，全句是“猪头三牲”，即指被骂的人，是“牲”（畜生）也。（而“三牲”，本是敬神祭品的三色，即猪头、雄鸡和青鱼，统称为“猪头三牲”。）  
> 上海缩脚语还有如“七勿搭（八）”，“金卫陶（姜）”（谐音僵）、“敲钉转（脚）”、“天官赐（福）”、“坑三姑（娘）”、“么二三（四）”（谐音屎）、“甲乙丙（丁）”（谐音盯，意为盯梢尾随）

吴越方言：

> 苏州话“格（搿）块猪肉浪子丑寅弗少”，“子丑寅”隐指“毛”（“卯”的谐音。谑称。）最有意思的是南部吴语区温州的俗语雅说，他们把司空见惯的“水”，叫做“青山绿”；把“轻”（用于指责有人轻佻――轻薄、不庄重时）说成“云淡风”。

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: excellent answer. **秋胡戏** for instance has it's own entry in *汉语大词典* - saying 指妻 - further proof of the usage of 缩脚语.  

---

