Tambay Sa Tindahan... Sa Kanto      Newer Older       A common
site in a busy community wherein urban settlers hang around and
make “tambay”*. Foot traffic customers probably know your store
as "yung tindahan sa kanto", or "the store beside the gas
station" or corner street or even near a big lamp post/meralco
post.      Uhm…the Filipino slang “tambay” comes from “istambay”
which is derived from the English word standby or stand by
(could literally mean a person or thing readily available; or be
present without action – according to Encarta dictionary).
In the Filipino context, standby, istambay, or tambay is
referred to a person who has nothing to do, or who is jobless or
lazy – someone who does not make use of his/her time in sensible
ways or on sensible things or does not make use of his/her time
at all. In other words, a bystander.     A tambay could mean a
worthless person, although it could also refer to or be a joke
term (not really the bad joke joke) for someone who does not
come from the “upper c