When British singer Adele announced her 2016 concert tour, more than 10 million fans swarmed the Ticketmaster.com website to buy tickets to see the megastar performer. Many of those 10 million ticket buyers were "scalpers," or "黄牛党 (huángniúdǎng)." "黄牛党 (huángniúdǎng) ticket scalpers" are people who...Read more
Let's break down "黄牛党 (huángniúdǎng) ticket scalpers":
黄牛 (huángniú): noun. means "ox/cattle"
党 (dǎng): noun. means "party" or can describe a group of people in China
黄牛党 (huángniúdǎng): noun. means "scalper/ticket monger"
So, why the reference to "cattle" if the scalper is selling "tickets?" There is a history to that:
"黄牛 (huángniú)" is the kind of cattle that are rich in fur, and they will shed twice a year. In China, gross profit can also be called "毛利 (máolì)." "毛 (máo)" literally means hair and "利 (lì)" means profit. Therefore, earning gross profit is earning "毛利 (máolì)," just as this kind of cattle are rich in fur, then they are also good at earning a gross profit, just as touts and scalpers are good at earning a gross profit by reselling tickets that are in demand.
Example of "黄牛党 (huángniúdǎng)" in a sentence:
Huángniúdǎng zhèngzài fēngkuáng dǎomài Adele de yǎnchànghuì ménpiào.
黄牛党 正在 疯狂 倒卖 Adele 的 演唱会 门票。
Ticket mongers are reselling tickets for Adele's concert.
