Sorry for the crappy iPhone image.  The people are queueing up for free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.  The line switches back and forth in the main center there and then wraps almost 100% of the way back around the exterior.  We were in United Square for a number of hours yesterday (School, quick dr. appt for Ellie–don’t worry grandparents–it’s just a scrape on her foot with a small infection, and a snack) and at no point did the line EVER get shorter.

The Singlish word that came to mind was Kiasu, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right usage.  But my friend Kirsten assured me on facebook that it was the right word to use.

Kiasu is a typical word used by Singaporeans and Singaporeans only. It is to describe a uniquely Singapore way of being overaggressive in the bid to “win” to get what you want. To put it descriptively, you have an impulsive desire to get what you want even at the expense of doing silly things. For eg, queuing up in tents in the middle of the night so as to ensure you are the first one to get a freebie or to purchase something that is on big discount. So common is it in Singapore that we coined a term for it “Kiasu” or “Kiasuism”.

to read more, go here

Don’t get me wrong, I love Ben and Jerry’s, too….but I wouldn’t queue for over an hour to get some.