catch no ball

English

Alternative forms

catch no balls

Etymology

Calque of Hokkien 掠無球／掠无球 (lia̍h bô kiû, “to not understand”, literally “catch no ball”).

Pronunciation

(Singapore) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛt͡ʃ no bɔː(l)/

Phrase

catch no ball

(Singapore, Malaysia, colloquial) To fail to understand something; be unable to comprehend what others are saying.
- 1992 March 19, soc.culture.asean‎^[1] (Usenet):
  Being someone who doesn't understand Hokkien, I catch no ball as to what you say :-).
- 1993 October 15, soc.culture.malaysia‎^[2] (Usenet):
  From the way he described population trend, he may well be right. He mentioned something about expo something function. Boy, we all catch no balls.
- 1999 April 29, soc.culture.malaysia‎^[3] (Usenet):
  Ah! I see the problem. Fearless is only semi-literate. In which case, I can understand why he catch no ball. I guess we must ALL show patience to the slow-witted.
- 2000, Chong Yen Chung, Clarence Plays the Numbers: A Novel, page 83:
  "Infini... what? Sorry, I catch no ball. Again, please."
  "Infinitessimal - small, small winnings, Chin," said Clarence...
- 2005 March 23, soc.culture.malaysia‎^[4] (Usenet):
  "The sense of meaning halal should debated on either symbolic reminder of hygiene also define the level of hygiene to the level of a stomach ache or death that is what make sense!"
  Huh? What kind of English is this? Catch no ball....LOL.
- 2010 December 15, “The 'catch no ball but will keep trying’ award Inception”, in TODAY‎^[5]:
  THE ‘CATCH NO BALL BUT WILL KEEP TRYING’ AWARD INCEPTION Only the incomparable Christopher Nolan, after reviving the superhero genre, could have had the cojones to convince a tightfisted big movie studio to greenlight a movie as ridiculously convoluted and richly layered as this.
- 2012, Regina Long, Singapore and the Supernatural: The Weight of Fate Rests Great on Those Who Must Relate, page 55:
  "And now you cry...go lah...sleep with that old man...for what? Nothing! Totally liak Bo Kiu!...catch no balls!" Meaning her action was incomprehensible.
- 2013 August 14, soc.culture.china‎^[6] (Usenet):
  Catch no ball of what you're talking and saying in your content. Talking and saying, and writing are different ways of expressions. They are not the same.