Shenshou Dang / shēnshǒu dǎng / 伸手党 n. someone who, instead of looking things up for themselves, insists on bothering others by asking them for information (and is never grateful when helped).
A. What does ‘nomenclature’ mean?
B. Come on, it takes three seconds to look it up in a dictionary. It’s kind of hard to explain.
A. You look it up and tell me.
B. You are such a shenshou dang.
There is a reason behind the popularity of the passive-aggressive website lmgtfy.com, or ‘let me Google that for you.’ Because we all have that friend who constantly asks for perfectly Google-able information as if you are his or her robot slave.
They ask you for movie screening times when they could easily look them up. They ask you for restaurant addresses when they have Dianping at their fingertips. They ask you for the opening hours at the post office, knowing that you’ll do exactly the same thing they would – look it up online.
Literally meaning ‘those who have their hands extended,’ shenshou dang are those who ask for hand-outs instead of working for something themselves. And they often feign weaknesses to get their way. “Oh I don't know how to do it,” they say, “and you are so tech-savvy.” And, “oh I'll only get it wrong,” they say, “but you'll definitely get the right information.”
Shenshou dang also lie about having tried it themselves. “I looked all day and I just can't find it anywhere on the Internet,” is the mantra of a shenshou dang.
When you give in and look something up for them, they are never thankful. “What took you so long?” they say, “Pingping sent it to me hours ago.” Or, "do you have a better version of this? The resolution is too low.”
So are shenshou dang lazy or technically impaired? Are they so arrogant to believe your time is worth less than theirs? Or so manipulative that they get you to do their work for them? No matter the reason, you fall for it. You think: “I'm a helpful person and it doesn’t take long anyway.”
You become an enabler. The most conservative estimates suggest that there are at least 12 enablers behind every shenshou dang. These are the people who convince them that their strategy is sustainable.
The highest level of shenshou dang not only refuse to use the Internet, but also their brains. They ask: “How can I learn to speak English?” Then, when you recommend some textbooks and give a few tips, they come back and tell you: “I've been reading those books for a while now but I still can’t speak.” And as you contain your anger over their accusatory tone, they say: “I think you must be wrong.” Ugh.
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