chin-chin

[Tellmee]

Does anyone out there know the origin of the expression "Cin-Chin" as a toast? I think the Italians use a similarly pronounced "cin-cin". Thanks in advance.

[Quizmonster]

It comes from the Chinese phrase, ts'ing ts'ing which was a form of greeting. It has been used as a sort of toast since the 1700s in English.

[Tellmee]

Many thanks Quizmonster. Most grateful.

[Bert]

With regard to the Italian "cin-cin", I thought it was (perhaps) from an Italian advertising campaign for Cinzano, the tagline being "Cin-cin - Cinzano".
But Quizmonster is probably correct, and the advertisers were playing on the already-used expression "cin-cin", from the Chinese.