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呼死你 （hu1si3ni3）
phone number jamming
“Call you to death,” as this term means literally, refers to a special tactic employed by some city inspectors to deal with illegal ads posted on walls or telecomm poles. The city inspectors record and type the phone numbers on those ads into a special voice mail system, which automatically call those numbers around the clock. As a result, those phones have to be turned off or suspended.
牛皮癣 （niu2pi2xuan3）
nagging problem, eyesore ads
The term for a skin disease, psoriasis, is often used to describe a prolonged nagging problem. It may also be used to depict the eyesore ads, such as illicit trashy ads posted or printed on walls, telecomm poles, door steps or even pavements, which are very difficult to get rid of.
虚火 (xu1huo3)
inflated price, superficial glory
“Hyperactivity of the fire,” or “false fire” as translated literally, is the term for an illness in traditional Chinese medicine with a symptom of a dry tongue. But the Chinese word “fire” in this sense can also mean “glory” or “popularity” or “high price.” If you believe some products are sold at inflated prices, you may say those products are having “false fire.”
钟点房 （zhong1dian3fang2）
hour-rate room, love hotel
More and more “love hotels” have mushroomed around universities in the city. These hotel rooms are usually priced by the hour. Such hotels are often patronized by students. There’s also another kind of hour-rate hotel rooms in airports, which are designed for passengers who have to wait several hours between two flights.
甩手掌柜 （shuai3shou3zhang3gui4）
hands-off manager
The phrase refers to owners or managers who don’t actively participate in their business, instead letting others take care of the daily chores for them. The term may also be used to describe “do-nothing” government departments or a person who does not lift a hand at home.
硬骨头 （ying4gu3tou2）
tough job, tough guy
This term “hard bone” refers to a tough job that is hard to complete. It can also be used to describe people who are tough, hard to beat and unwilling to surrender.
讨债人 (tao3zhai4ren2)
debt collector
Six Shanghainese recently obtained debt-collection certificates after taking courses at a professional training center. The center is authorized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to train debt collectors in six fields, including state regulations and negotiation skills.
吃瘪 (chi1bie1)
eat humble pie, eat boiled crow
This is a widely used term in the Shanghai dialect, which means to be forced to accept a defeat resentfully or admit one’s faults in humiliating circumstances because the parents were indebted to someone in their previous life.
花样美男（hua yang mei nan）
androgynous man
The on-going “Cheer Up, Good Man” TV singing contest brings us a fresh notion of androgynous beauty. This term refers to those boys or men who are nice looking (especially with feminine features), who wear long hair and act with less-masculine characters.
清凉装（qing liang zhuang）
revealing clothing
It refers to women’s summer wear that reveals a lot of skin. However, these days, people have expanded its meaning to any moderately sexy clothing.
吃药（chi yao）
screw up someone
It means more than the literal definition of taking a medication in colloquial conversation. It refers to the act of using a trick to make someone look embarrassed or get into trouble.
搅局（jiao ju）
spoil the party
Action movie star Jackie Chan recently created a disturbance in real life by exchanging insults with the audience when he appeared as a guest singer at Taiwan singer-songwriter Jonathan Lee’s concert in Hong Kong.
装嫩族（zhuang nen zu）
grups
Grups refers to people who are in their 30s or 40s but act like they’re in their 20s. They have been credited with killing off the generation gap as they redefine age. This word originated from a New York magazine that described a “Star Trek” episode featuring a planet run by wild children trapped in perpetual youth. The children call “Captain Kirk” and his crew grups, short for grown-ups.
职业舞伴（zhi ye wu ban）
taxi dancer
Paramount, one of the oldest entertainment venues in Shanghai, began recruiting professional “taxi dancers” recently, to dance with guests and guide them.
阶梯计价（jie ti ji jia）
volumetric pricing
Volumetric pricing is a tiered pricing system used in Tokyo and 12 Chinese cities including Nanjing and Shenzhen. It charges heavy users higher fees compared to light users, which encourages conservation.
发福（fa fu）
grow stout
Chinese believe that middle-aged people putting on some weight is a sign of well-being. The Chinese character “fu” means felicity, and the term “fafu” is a propitious saying of gaining weight.
换房旅游（huan fang lv you）
home-swap travel
Exchange houses with the people who want to spend their vacation in your city and have a cheap holiday in theirs. This way you can collect great local insider tips and the money saved on hotels can be used to extend your stay abroad.
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