• Originating from Cantonese, “乌龙”is commonly used with the verb “摆”. In Cantonese, “摆乌龙” means to “make an unexpected mistake” or someone who is “muddle-headed”.
• One belief is that this term originated from a folk tale. In the tale, people prayed for a Green Dragon to bring rain and life back to the earth after a long period of drought. However, a Black Dragon (乌龙) appeared instead and brought disaster to the people.
• The term is also used to describe unexpected mistakes on the football field. The English term “own goal”, where a player inadvertently strikes or deflects a ball into his own goal, has a similar pronunciation to the Cantonese term “乌龙”. Hence, from the 1960s to 1970s, Hong Kong people came to transliterate the English term “own goal” as “乌龙”.
• The Cantonese term “摆乌龙” has the meaning of “being muddle-headed” or “to make a mistake”. Whether its origins lie in folk lore or a football reference, the meaning of the term is unchanged.
• The Mandarin term appeared in Singapore newspapers as early as 1961, in a sports article published in the Nanyang Siang Pau. The article described a football player who had made an unexpected mistake and kicked the ball into his own goal. Currently, the term is still commonly used in Singapore newspapers.

When faced with such unexpected mistakes, Lu Yu Xuan would usually feel both angry and amused. In time, she learnt to remain calm every time she heard an elderly person in the group mention that they had lost an item. She would then check their bags and belongings, and even search every corner of the guest room to ensure that guests were not muddle-headed, and had kept their items elsewhere. (Lianhe Wanbao, 28/2/2019)