A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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Entry from March 07, 2006
“I will bring you down to Chinatown!”
"I will bring you down to Chinatown!" is what actor Robert De Niro said to Ben Stiller in the film comedy Meet the Parents (2000). De Niro meant that he would rough Stiller up (maybe with martial arts) -- not give him a nice Chinese meal in Chinatown.

"Come on down to Chinatown and step around with me" is the chorus in the song "Shanghai Shuffle" (1924). "He took her down to Chinatown/ And he showed her how to kick the gong around" -- that is, to smoke opium -- is a verse in the song "Minnie the Moocher" (1931). "Take You Down To Chinatown" (2018) is a song on YouTube.

"Take you down to Chinatown Also an antiquated reference to giving you a very bad beating administered by anyone, upon anyone, but once particularly common in reference to domestic violence" was posted on the Urban Dictionary on November 19, 2009. However, there are almost no "I will bring/take you down to Chinatown!" printed citations before Meet the Parents (2000).


IMDb (The Internet Movie Database)
Meet the Parents (2000)
Quotes

Jack Byrnes: I will be watching you and if I find that you are trying to corrupt my first born child, I will bring you down, baby. I will bring you down to Chinatown.

YouTube
Meet The Parents - Bring you down to Chinatown
Nov 6, 2018
The Power Moves

OCLC WorldCat record
Shanghai shuffle
Author: Gene Rodemich; Larry Conley
Publisher: New York : Gene Rodemich Music Pub. Corp., 1924.
Edition/Format: Musical score : English
Notes:
Caption title.
First line verse: There's a dinky little chinky Oriental place that I know.
First line chorus: Come on down to Chinatown and step around with me.

Wikipedia: Minnie the Moocher
"Minnie the Moocher" is a jazz song first recorded in 1931 by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, selling over a million copies.[1] "Minnie the Moocher" is most famous for its nonsensical ad libbed ("scat") lyrics (for example, "Hi De Hi De Hi De Ho").
(Lyrics, in part. -- ed.)
She messed around with a bloke named Smokey
She loved him though he was kokey
He took her down to Chinatown
And he showed her how to kick the gong around

Urban Dictionary
Take you down to Chinatown
Also an antiquated reference to giving you a very bad beating administered by anyone, upon anyone, but once particularly common in reference to domestic violence.
In addition to being one of many sexual references in The 30's classic Minnie the Moocher, this is also a reference to a bad beating.
"I ever catch you here again, I'm going to take you down to Chinatown."

by Sanquinarius November 19, 2009

YouTube
Take You Down To Chinatown (feat. Masta Bong)
Feb 15, 2018
jayefunk TV
Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityNames/Phrases • Tuesday, March 07, 2006 • Permalink


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