奉子成婚(fèng zǐ chéng hūn)
shotgun marriage/wedding
A marriage necessitated by an unplanned pregnancy. It is believed to have been from a hyperbolic scenario wher the father of a pregnant female resorts to coercion including threatening with a shotgun to make sure the male partner responsible for the pregnancy goes through with the marriage.
数字节(shù zì jié)
figure-featuring festival
Chinese netizens have set some days apart as festivals to mark, either according to the shape or pronunciation of the Arabic numbers. These include Lolita Day on October 11 (10.11), Singles’ Day on November 11 (11.11) and Gossips’ Day on August 18 (8.18), as eight here stands for ba gua, which means gossip in Chinese.
乡下都市人(xiāng xià dū shì rén)
ruralpolitan
Given the shaky job market, an increasing number of young urban dwellers in the US move their families to the countryside to seek peace, security and self-sufficiency by living a simple life on their own piece of land, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
快闪族(kuài shǎn zú)
flash mob
A group of people who are pulled together through Internet or cellphone text messages to take part in an unusual and sometimes pointless sudden act at a pubic place that catches onlookers totally unawares. They disappear in no time after the act designed for entertainment, satire or publicity.
恋爱实名制(liàn ài shí míng zhì)
relationship registration
Students at Fuzhou University are required to report, among other private matters, whether they are dating anyone. A picture of the university’s “register your relationship” questionnaire has spread on the Internet, drawing public criticism over the institution’s alleged invasion of the students’ privacy.