老司机

What does 老司机 mean?

On the road, 司机 is a driver, but online the word left the road years ago. An 老司机 is someone with mileage: the forum user who has seen every thread, the player who clears the level you are stuck on, the acquaintance whose folders are said to contain everything. The classic invitation 老司机带带我, veteran driver, take me along, turns a plea for help into a joke about hitching a ride. A sly second meaning lets people call someone 老司机 when he shares slightly risqué material, but the word covers innocuous expertise just as often, from makeup tricks to tax filing. Its natural counterparts online are the 菜鸟 who is just starting out and the 大神 who has mastered everything.

Where does 老司机 come from?

The phrase owes its melody to a Yunnan folk-style song, 《老司机带带我》, whose chorus begs a veteran driver for a ride. The song had circulated in rural VCDs and MP3 collections for years before netizens rediscovered it in the mid-2010s; from 2015 the line was quoted in forums and Tieba whenever someone asked for guidance, and the three characters 老司机 broke loose from the song to label any seasoned guide. Sharing culture did the rest: by 2016 essays were cataloguing 老司机 as one of the standard labels of grown-up humor online.

How to use 老司机

• 报税季到了，办公室里只有李姐懂抵扣，大家排队喊：老司机带带我。
  Bàoshuì jì dào le, bàngōngshì lǐ zhǐyǒu Lǐ jiě dǒng dǐkòu, dàjiā páiduì hǎn: lǎo sī jī dài dài wǒ.
  Tax season: Li is the only one in the office who understands deductions, and everyone lines up shouting, veteran driver, take me with you!
• 游戏更新后他两小时就出了全成就攻略，评论区一片“老司机”。
  Yóuxì gēngxīn hòu tā liǎng xiǎoshí jiù chū le quán chéngjiù gōnglüè, pínglùnqū yī piàn “lǎo sī jī”.
  Two hours after the game update he posted a full-achievements guide; the comment section flooded with 老司机.