White people living or travelling in South East
Asia.
White ex-pats are often seen as fat, white and inert. Common variants are "fat potato", "stupid potato", "dirty potato" and so on.
Potato was first coined in 2008 by ex-pats living in Vietnam. It was first reference in the Vietnam Times in January 2009, and spread quite quickly throughout Vietnam and is currently becoming pervasive in major ex-pat hubs including Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City. Term has also surfaced in the SE
Asian community in Australia.
In
Sydney the increased Anglo-Saxon interest in
Asian cultures has led to this word being used in a derogatory manner to describe Anglo-Saxon patrons to SE Asian establishments.
Potatospeak is a humorous term used to refer to metaphors which use this slang, including:
Potato
Salad - a large gathering of potatoes, usually around hotel
swimming pools.
Mashed Potato - amotorbike accident involving at least
one potato. Often includes a muffler burn.
Baked Potato - sunburn
Potato Wedge - a poorly executed motorbike manouever
Potato Famine - a potato orders a meal at a local restaurant. On arrival he realises it is completely inedible.
Atkins Diet - a
period of
time when the potato decides he or she doesn’t want any more potato in his
life.
Bubble and Squeak - older potato who has hooked up with a younger, beautiful local girl
Fauxtato - a local person who is sitting in a Hard Rock Cafe.
"We went to this really nice Italian Restaurant in the old quarter of Hanoi, and it was full of
potatoes."
"You should have
seen the potato
salad around the pool at the Sofitel last weekend."
