bao toh

English

Alternative forms

• pao toh

Etymology

From Hokkien 包刀 (pau-to, “wrapped knife”), referring to backstabbing.

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): [ˌpaʊ˨ ˈto˦]

Verb

bao toh (third-person singular simple present bao tohs, present participle bao tohing, simple past and past participle bao tohed)

1. (Singapore, informal, Singlish) To inform on someone behind his or her back.
   • 2003 September 1, “pao toh”, in Talkingcock.com‎^[1], retrieved 2015-11-02:

     Eh butok lah! Which bastard paotoh to teacher that I carry handphone to school? Now kena confiscate!

   • 2011, Jonathan Heng, “Bao Toh, v.”, in Singslang.blogspot.sg‎^[2], retrieved 2015-11-02:

     I saw Gary looking at his textbook during the test. Wanna bao toh him?

   • 2014 July 3, David Lee, “Beng in Brazil: Not the Only Singaporean to Leave a Mark at the World Cup”, in Tnp.sg‎^[3], retrieved 2015-11-02:

     Don't pao toh (snitch on) me hor!

   • 2015 September 27, PeaNutButter Studios, “Everyday Singlish”, in Youtube.com‎^[4], retrieved 2015-11-02:

     Hey! Don’t bao toh me leh!

Usage notes

Most commonly used in uninflected form.