Meaning of tofu dreg | Babel Free

Definitions

A poorly constructed building in China, or the shoddy material(s) used to construct it.

attributive, in-plural, often

Examples

“No one asks about the shoddy “tofu-dregs engineering”; instead, we blindly accuse “running teacher Fan.” Nationalism is only a fig leaf for the feeble-minded, a tricky maneuver that prevents everyone from seeing the complete picture.”

“In the 2008 Sichuan earthquake several thousand school buildings collapsed, killing thousands of children and bringing the world's attention to the shoddy “tofu-dregs” buildings and rampant corruption that had skimmed the public funds ...”

“Tan Zuoron, a writer who tried to document “shoddy tofu-dregs construction” that might have caused massive school-building collapses, was sentenced to prison.”

“[…] teachers, teaching assistants, and school nurses would have died in the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 had the buildings not been made of tofu dregs.”

“For example, the Kunming-Luquan highway in Kunming, Yunnan Province, had become a “tofu dreg project.””

“Individual Chinese citizens explicitly criticized the Ministry of Railway, describing it with such disparaging terms as ‘asshole’ and ‘bastard,’ and described the high-speed train project as one of the ‘tofu-dreg projects (豆腐渣工程 in Mandarin),’ which referred to projects with poor [quality].”

“Tofu dregs, which crumble at the slightest touch, have become the go-to image for referring to building and infrastructure projects that use substandard materials and shoddy design to cut costs during construction.”

“Between 2008 and 2009, he investigated student casualties due to the collapse of “tofu-dreg” (shoddy) school buildings in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. A list of 5,385 names was collected, for which he was severely beaten.”

“‘Tofu-dreg Projects’ during the Ming dynasty.”

“The poor condition of tofu dregs schoolhouses was used to explain the high casualty rate, but the statistic did not fly. The ratio of young to old among the dead—roughly one to ten—ought to have been less stark.”

“Corruption is not to be discussed, “tofu-dregs construction” [a metaphor for shoddy work, using flimsy materials] is off limits, unpleasant evidence is suppressed. In the name of “stability maintenance,” they threaten, detain, ...”

CEFR level