- “These jellies have even more Q than the boba."
Q (2)
noun; clipping
The quality of chewiness in a food. This is a property that is desired in beverage toppings such as boba and jellies. The term ‘Q,’ originating in Taiwan, exists as an adjective meaning ‘chewy.’ However, the usage of ‘Q’ as a noun seems to be the result of an American interpretation of menu items such as ‘QQ ball’ and ‘QQ tea’ as compounds in which ‘QQ’ is a noun. Whether or not this interpretation was correct is uncertain since the usages of ‘Q’ and ‘QQ’ are not standardized in English. From ‘QQ,’ the noun may have been clipped to ‘Q’ for brevity.
Etymology : Clipping of the noun ‘QQ.’ The origin of ‘QQ’ in Taiwan is not well documented in English, but it may come from a Hokkien word.
Source : spoken by a high school student in Southern California, fall 2019. Addition information on etymology: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/0…-q-texture.html https://taiwanlanguage.wordpress.…BB%9F%E9%9D%AD/.
Last modified: 23 November 2020