Go down to the godown

[STSH]

No, it's not a clue to a cryptic crossword.

For some time, I've been puzzled at the use of the word "godown". I've seen it used in the subtitles of a number of HK movies, including Red To Kill and A Man Called Tiger.

It seemed to be some sort of strange HK made up word (like such weird classics as "jealousing").
Just to be sure, I looked it up in the Concise Oxford Dictionary.

Blow me down ! It really is an English word, defined as "warehouse", and of Malay origin.

Does anyone know why HK movie subtitlers use this very odd word so often, instead of warehouse ?

[Brian Thibodeau]

That's great! I remember looking it up too the first time I saw it in subtitles. Kinda figured it had something to do with dockyards or shipyards since in this particular film, it was used in reference to the place where the climax of the movie took place, which was in, on and about those gigantic shipping containers.

My dictionary never mentioned the Malay origin, so I just assumed it might have been British in origin, along the lines of "go down to the docks" or some place where warehouses would be prominent. Guess I know better now.

Plus, it makes for an easy bit of critical laziness to describe an action-packed climax as a "showdown in the godown," which I've actually done at least twice (but hopefully no more so as to avoid becoming a cliche factory).

[MrBooth]

I always thought it was a type of boat

[STSH]

Here's a related link I found while searching

http://www.tdctrade.com/hksar/195.htm
Hong Kong Godown Association Limited

[odresel]

Godown means warehouse or any other type of commercial storage/wharf/industrial building. It is a corruption of the Malay godon, meaning warehouse. It's used all over Asia, especially in places where the Brits had colonies.

In Hong Kong, one of the most popular bars for expats from the 1960s onward was The Godown. In its last incarnation it was a huge joint in the basement of Jardine House (that's the "swiss cheese" building on the harbor you see in many HK films.) It moved in the mid-90s to the bank building across from the Peak Tram station, then went out of business around 1999

It was one of the few places to hear live jazz in Hong Kong. The cavernous old location now has a branch of Grappa, an up-market Italian chain. Still has some jazz from time to time, but nowadays it's more like jazz-rock. Too many footy fanatics for my taste are attracted by the giant screen, so I rarely go anymore.

I think in the late 60s and 70s there was a Tsimshatsui branch of The Godown, off of Chatham Road, where the draw was the fact that the waitresses were off-work European secretaries in sexy outfits