must have killed a chinaman

English - English

Definition of must have killed a chinaman in English English dictionary

Figurative explanation for bad luck one is suffering

The left hand side of my body has really been hammered the last six months; I must have killed a Chinaman in a previous life or something, I don't know, mused Vogels.

Hyphenation

must have killed a Chi·na·man

Etymology

() Historically, as the Chinese have had a presence in Australia since colonial days, there was once great folk superstition attached to them. A sure sign of fortune was attributed to encountering a Chinese person as one engaged in a bet, and it was supposed that killing such an individual would lead to a disastrous run of bad luck.