A borderline racial slur about making things look good without substance behind the appearance: e.g.: “riced-up Honda civic”
I’m sure op didn’t mean it as a racial slur. The word might have a history but it means something entirely different today, at least in this context.
Think of the movie Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. It’s used to describe unnecessary modifications to a street racer (led lights, decals, etc…) that was mockingly called “ricing” because it was prevalent in the asian street racing communities. (rice eaters…har har har…)
I thought I was the only one who cringed whenever I heard that word. But this thread is making me realize I’m not crazy.
It’s “rice” because it’s asian; it’s a derogatory term used towards people and their cars. When I was younger, this term was used against asian drivers and their asian cars - and it was not a compliment.
Looking at Urban Dictionary I see no mention of this anti-asian side of it, but it was there when I was growing up. Maybe others can chime in with their experience, I imagine it wasn’t the same everywhere.
Not implying the people using it here are being racist, I don’t think they are aware of what I’m recalling here.
The Wikipedia article says it’s derived from the term “rice burner” and talks about the history of the term.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_burner
I can say I first heard the term about 20 years ago about cars with unnecessary decals and accessories, and it definitely had a racist connotation then.
I certainly wouldn’t use the term myself and I cringe when people use it here.
![[Hyprland] My first rice!(infosec.pub)](https://infosec.pub/pictrs/image/45ee8606-8797-4c2a-a854-30ddd0762d8d.jpeg){kind=link}