Talk:Chop Chop
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[edit]I think that Chop Chop, meaning "to get a move on", comes from the Chinese seal. (The Japanese have something similar traditionally made of ivory). It is carried as identification and used for "signing" documents. A language depending on thousands of stylised images would be difficult to use to create a reliable signature, while authentication by a hand carved stamp would be difficult to fake.
A chop house is also a slang term for a customs office, a place famous world wide for delaying international trade.
I think it is most probable that "chop Chop" was used by frustrated foreign traders, trying to catch the tide etc.
Chambers dictionary (1998 edition) seems to agree with me.