(one) must have killed a Chinaman

(one) must have killed a Chinaman

dated, offensive slang Said when one experiences particularly bad luck. From the superstition that killing someone from China would literally bring one bad luck. Primarily heard in Australia. A: "Someone in the company must have killed a Chinaman, because our sales have been in the toilet for months." B: "Al, that's a really racist thing to say."
See also: Chinaman, have, killed, must
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • Chinaman
  • killed
  • cess
  • bad cess to
  • bad cess to (one)
  • as bad as all that
  • have a bad opinion of (someone or something)
  • have a good, bad, high, low, etc. opinion of somebody/something
  • bad trot
  • bad iron