# Politically correct name change for Chinese auction



## wheaties

I am in charge of our annual women's tea at church and we have always called our "put the ticket you bought in the bag to win the item of your choice" event a Chinese auction.  We have a new minister who has suggested we change the name to be more politically correct.  Any suggestions?


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## Sea Six

Our car club calls it an Oriental Auction.


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## Karen G

wheaties said:


> Any suggestions?



Call it what it is--a raffle.


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## timeos2

We once though of adopting a chow dog. Would we now have to call it an oriental if we had? 

This PC stuff is really getting beyond silly. There is nothing demeaning in calling it a Chinese auction. 

Seinfeld covered this a decade ago with the "Indian giver" cigar store Indian episode. It was funny then but now it's just out of hand.


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## pjrose

But it really is a raffle, not an auction.


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## ampaholic

This type of auction used to be called a "Penny Social" because the tickets were a penny - perhaps you could call it that. If your tickets are more call it a Nickel Social, Dime Social or Dollar Social - whatever. 

A variation often seen at Christmas parties was when all the "bidders" took turns and the next person in turn could either keep the item they choose or take the last persons prize/gift - this has been called a "Chinese Gift Exchange" but a more PC term is "Yankee Auction" (who knows why) or "Swiping Secret Santa". This game can be a lot of fun with the right crew involved.


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## Beefnot

pjrose said:


> But it really is a raffle, not an auction.



True. Makes me wonder though if anyone has said "make sure to buy a Chines auction ticket", to which someone responded "you mean a raffle?".  Although "raffle" just doesn't have the same ring to it.


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## hypnotiq

ampaholic said:


> A variation often seen at Christmas parties was when all the "bidders" took turns and the next person in turn could either keep the item they choose or take the last persons prize/gift - this has been called a "Chinese Gift Exchange" but a more PC term is "Yankee Auction" (who knows why) or "Swiping Secret Santa". This game can be a lot of fun with the right crew involved.



Wow. We always just called it a "White Elephant". Depending on who its played with varies on the cost allowed.

I will say that my gift for the White Elephant (or Yankee Auction or Swiping Secret Santa, etc) always is the most popular (I use the same one for them all) and usually ends up in multiple people plotting. 


...


Bottle of wine + lottery tickets. :hysterical:

Please report back after the next Christmas holiday when some of you try it...


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## Timeshare Von

May have to do with the fact that in many areas, raffles are illegal but auctions probably aren't.


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## MommaBear

We call it a Yankee Swap. I am now thinking that that insults those of us from New England. Sometimes being PC goes too far.


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## amycurl

More information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_auction

It's interesting that they think that "the term 'Chinese' may have been used in this case to convey that this type of auction was mysterious, intriguing, or secretive." Which I guess is how Westerners stereotyped Asian cultures?

Personally, I like the "pick-a-prize" name myself; seems more reflective of what is actually happening.


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## Passepartout

A raffle by any other name is still a raffle. You deposit tickets in a 'pot' and a 'winner' is drawn. It's a raffle.

Jim


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## ricoba

I agree that it's a raffle, but I find it more interesting how these type of events have different names in different geographical locations.  I have never heard the term Chinese or Oriental auction or Yankee Swap.  I have heard of the term White Elephant.  Different places, different words, but I guess they are all raffles of some sort.


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## BocaBum99

wheaties said:


> I am in charge of our annual women's tea at church and we have always called our "put the ticket you bought in the bag to win the item of your choice" event a Chinese auction.  We have a new minister who has suggested we change the name to be more politically correct.  Any suggestions?



It's funny that you call it a Chinese auction.  Why don't you call it what they call it in Hong Kong?  They call it a "lucky draw".

In Philadelphia, they don't call it a Philadelphia Cheesesteak.

In New York, they don't call it a New York Strip.

In France, they don't call them French fries.

It's called a lucky draw.


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## Beefnot

But they aren't in China, so the Chinese prefix is not uncalled for.  But still, it is a raffle.


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## ampaholic

BocaBum99 said:


> In New York, they don't call it a New York Strip.



Well wrong, at Shula's Steak House @ the NY Westin they call the 20 oz. a "Kansas City Strip" - but they call the 16 oz. a "New York Strip".

But take solace - in India they don't call it "Indian Food" :hysterical:

Shula's


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## pjrose

I like "Lucky Draw".


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## BocaBum99

ampaholic said:


> Well wrong, at Shula's Steak House @ the NY Westin they call the 20 oz. a "Kansas City Strip" - but they call the 16 oz. a "New York Strip".
> 
> But take solace - in India they don't call it "Indian Food" :hysterical:
> 
> Shula's



Yeah, that's because Shula's sucks.


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## wackymother

It's a Tricky Tray! That's what they're always called in the New York/New Jersey area. None of the other names conveys this specific type of event. Tricky Tray and Chinese Auction are exactly the same thing.


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## Ridewithme38

We do call them New York Strips in NY...but i don't know about Philly or France


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## ampaholic

BocaBum99 said:


> Yeah, that's because Shula's sucks.



How jaded - well OK at both Ruth's Chris and BLT they are called New York Strips, and at Ben & Jack's it is called a Prime New York Sirloin.

All three are considered in the top 20 steakhouses in the USA - so, yes in NY they call them NY strips (or NY Steaks, or NY Sirloins).


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## hypnotiq

Ruth's is by far my favorite. 
Jaks is a close second.

Damn you, now I have to go to Ruth's this weekend for a filet + bbq shrimp.


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## ampaholic

hypnotiq said:


> Ruth's is by far my favorite.
> Jaks is a close second.
> 
> Damn you, now I have to go to Ruth's this weekend for a filet + bbq shrimp.



I love Ruth's as well - anyone reading this should read Ruth Fertel's "story".

I know what's for dinner at Beach Walk when I get there  

A "Waikiki strip" :hysterical: :rofl: :hysterical:


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## Mosca

We've always called them Silent Auctions at our church. That's going back 30 years, so I don't think it was anything with people worried about offense; I think that's just what they're called around here.


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## SueDonJ

Here a "raffle" has a single combined pot for all items, a "penny auction" or "penny social" has separate pots for each item, a "silent auction" is when each item has a sheet and you write down your bids with all bids closing at a pre-set time, a "Secret Santa" is when you pull names and get a gift for one specific person, and a "Yankee Swap" is what we do at Christmas when everybody who puts in a gift takes a number and you choose, swap, take.  Lots of fun!

We've outlawed lottery tickets in our family Yankee Swaps, Hypnotiq.  They just don't require any imagination or effort!  The most fun gift so far for us has been Flat Danno.  You know about Flat Stanley?  Well, two of my sisters work in a print shop and they cooked up Flat Danno.  Danno, one of my nephews, was 17 at the time and they chose him randomly.  They printed a lifesize pic and mounted it on cardboard with a stand; for the past three years Flat Danno's been passed around and every couple months somebody puts a pic of Flat Danno on Facebook to show us what he's been up to.


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## Rob&Carol Q

ampaholic said:


> I love Ruth's as well - anyone reading this should read Ruth Fertel's "story".
> 
> I know what's for dinner at Beach Walk when I get there
> 
> A "Waikiki strip" :hysterical: :rofl: :hysterical:



I seem to vaguely recall a "Waikiki Strip" but I am remembering 8 very drunk Jarheads, one equally drunk Corpsman, a pineapple, a surfboard, and one good ol' country boy shouting "Hey Y'all, Watch This" to start the ball rolling.

Bond was only $50 each which eventually became the fine...but the Sgt Major, while amused, thrashed them for weeks!  Kind of a permanent voluntold working party.

Good times assigned to 3rd Marines in K-Bay


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## ampaholic

Rob&Carol Q said:


> I seem to vaguely recall a "Waikiki Strip" but I am remembering 8 very drunk Jarheads, one equally drunk Corpsman, a pineapple, a surfboard, and one good ol' country boy shouting "Hey Y'all, Watch This" to start the ball rolling.
> 
> Bond was only $50 each which eventually became the fine...but the Sgt Major, while amused, thrashed them for weeks!  Kind of a permanent voluntold working party.
> 
> Good times assigned to 3rd Marines in K-Bay



Glad someone had a good time at MCB Hawaii - I remember almost the exact same thing ... except it was Saigon Ho Chi Minh City and 5 very drunk Devil Dogs, 3 also very drunk SeaBees, a bicycle rickshaw and a minature pig involved. :hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical:


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## pjrose

I want to know what parts the pineapple and miniature pig played.....or maybe I don't


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