NHK has a regular travel series called "Quiz de Go," which sends TV personalities to far-flung corners of Japan and then asks them questions about the area's local qualities. Several weeks ago, three celebrities were exploring Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture, and were turned on to a local delicacy called Curry-yaki. They sampled the treat in front of an 80-year-old woman who has been selling it for decades. She asked their opinion, and they answered excitedly with various takes on the word oishī (delicious).
"Of course, I knew you were going to say that," the old lady remarked.
Except for sugoi (wow!), does any Japanese word have less meaning from overuse than oishī? Every nuance has been exhausted due to the ubiquity of travel and food shows, and unless the morsel in question was prepared by some comedian or idol ripe for ridicule, reactions to food are invariably and effusively positive.
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