Meanings
plural Chinese landings
- slanggovernmentThe landing of an aircraft with one wing lower than the other.
Undershootings, overshootings, skewshootings and Chinese landings (with one wing low) were a constant worry to Station Commanders, and inability, by reason of shot and shell, to lower or lock landing wheels took a heavy toll.
1971, Alastair Revie, The Lost Command, page 69
Origin
From the phrase "one wing low", thought to sound like a Chinese name. Compare Chinese ace.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Chinese landing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chinese%20landing
“Chinese landing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chinese%20landing. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Chinese landing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chinese%20landing.
Source: Chinese landing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.