Mo lei tau () is a type of slapstick humour associated with Hong Kong popular culture that developed during the late 20th century. It is a phenomenon which has grown largely from its presentation in modern film media. Its humour arises from the placement of surprising and incongruous elements, and the complex interplay of cultural subtleties. Typical constituents of this humour include nonsensical parodies, juxtaposition of contrasts, sudden surprises in spoken dialogue and action and improbable and deliberate anachronisms. During an interview with Stephen Chow for his 2006 season of Asian Invasion, BBC film critic Jonathan Ross referred to the genre as "Silly Talk", a label that Chow was happy to accept. Semantics Mo lei tau (Jyutping: mou4 lei4 tau4) is a Cantonese term which may be loosely translated as "with no source", but is generally used to mean "makes no sense". The original phrase was mo lei tau gau (冇厘頭尻) which literally means "cannot differentiate between head and tail". However, in Cantonese the word "尻" (Jyutping: haau1, commonly mispronounced as "gau1"), which means the end of the spine, is often mispronounced as the vulgar word "𨳊" for penis. To avoid saying the word gau, the phrase is cut to mou lei tau. Related catchphrases Another phrase in Cantonese that is used similarly is (Jyutping: gau2 m4 daap3 baat3). This literally translates as "nine doesn't follow eight". Gau m daap baat is something that is considered completely nonsensical, but in a somewhat comical manner. History Mo lei tau humour is a recent phenomenon in the culture of Hong Kong. 1970s and 1980s As a film form the earliest proponents of this form of humour can be seen to be the Hui brothers (Michael Hui, Samuel Hui and Ricky Hui) working in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although their comedy was never specifically labelled as mo lei tau. Jackie Chan's Fantasy Mission Force (1982) could conceivably be seen as another early example of the genre. 1990s and contributions by Stephen Chow Immediately following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and the subsequent tensions, the escapist nature of mo lei tau led to a surge in its popularity and it has since become synonymous with the comedy of Stephen Chow. One of his classic mo lei tau movies was the 1990 hit All for the Winner. As typified by Chow's 1990s Hong Kong movies, mo lei tau developed into an 'anything