When words collide

Sometimes I reel at my own denseness when a twist of perspective opens my eyes to the obvious.

Tonight in the conbini, we were picking up some odds and ends to snack on and I saw a lovely can of chu-hi, - flavored soda with alcohol - with a beautiful style that evokes pre-war Japan. The color combination, typface and textured can drew my eye. And then I read the label:

Takara Shochu Highball Dry

Shochu Highball? Shochu Highball? Chu-hi?

Argh! I know that Japanese is full of portmanteau words. Why did the origins of this one never occur to me? Perhaps too much consumption and too little consideration.

Can of revelation. Tasty, too.

Posted by kuri at March 10, 2006 09:14 PM