calefare

C3A1L1E1F4A1R1E1
Singapore/ˈkɛlɛfɛː/Singapore/ˈkɛləfɛː/

noun

An extra (actor playing a minor role)

Originyue-HK 茄哩啡 ← English carefree →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

noun
  1. SingaporeslangAn extra (actor playing a minor role)

    Yes, I was a calefare in some TV dramas as well as stage plays.

    2019, Lim Leng San, quotee, edited by Justina Teo, Befriending Conversations: 20 Seniors, 20 Occupations, 20 Stories, Candid Creation Publishing LLP, →ISBN, page 65
    2 more examples

    I took on all kinds of odd jobs like sales promoter, counter staff, calefare, anything that pays.

    2017, Caroline Lim Seow Ling, quoting No. 011, Beyond firm-customer interactions to better customer experience, Singapore Management University, page 185

    This makes the doll sound like some kind of traffic controller, a calefare add-on to the main show that is the dragon or the lion.

    2023, Pauline Loh, Lion and Dragon Dance in Singapore, Singapore: World Scientific, pages 139–140

Origin

  1. Englishcarefree
  2. yue-HK茄哩啡“extra; background actor”
  3. Englishcalefare

Originally from Hong Kong Cantonese 茄哩啡 (ke¹ le¹ fe¹, “extra; background actor”), a loanword from English carefree. Popularized by the 2008 comedy series of the same name.

More words from yue-HK, English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

calefare. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/calefare

MLA

“calefare.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/calefare. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “calefare,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/calefare.

Source: calefare on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.