“There’s one twist that the Trump administration, in all its usual meticulous due diligence, failed to anticipate. As I drew attention to in Saturday’s Just for Skeets and Giggles, the number 250 in Mandarin (pronounced èr bǎi wǔ) is a common insult. It connotes “idiot.” The slang dates back to the Qing Dynasty and remains in vigorous use today. In Chinese culture, the number is considered so inauspicious that prices are rarely set at 250 for anything, and an item costing 250 is simply not given as a gift.”

Via https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/250-sad-trombones