If you are living in Malaysia and has a lot of Malay friends, there’s chances that you may encountered these kind of conversation/dialog

A : kau ni memang terror la.
B : Eh aku mana terror bab-bab ni, kau tanya Lim tu

C: mamat tu buat wheelie time korner maut, terror betul !

D: Kena terror jugak nak jawab soalan-soalan ni

In a webster terror means :
terror
n 1: an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety [syn: panic]
2: a person who inspires fear or dread; “he was the terror of
the neighborhood” [syn: scourge, threat]
3: a very troublesome child [syn: brat, little terror, holy
terror]

I guess some of you may already know what this ‘terror’ means in the context of conversation. Usually in colloqual Malay, terror means clever,skillful or an expert. I’ve heard this kind of use since before I enter primary school.

The thing is, I can’t help but wonder how this word has come to use widely in malaysian community to describe somebody who are clever, skillful or with expertise. Could it be misinterpretation from an older generation?

What would you call somebody who is an expert in (let’s say) farming ? a terrorist farmer?

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