tofu dreg

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tofu dreg

Where it comes from

Calque of Chinese 豆腐渣 (dòufuzhā, “tofu dreg; okara”), dòufuzhā as in 豆腐渣工程 (dòufuzhā gōngchéng) and similar phrases. Coined by Tan Zuoren in 2008.

noun tofu dregs

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

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MLA

"tofu dreg." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tofu%20dreg. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tofu dreg. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tofu%20dreg

Chicago

"tofu dreg." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tofu%20dreg.

BibTeX

@misc{tofu_dreg_2026,
  title = {tofu dreg},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tofu%20dreg},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}