Mexicanismos 2 Flashcards
to be flabbergasted
quedarse con el ojo cuadradoCuando me duplicaron el sueldo, me quedé con el ojo cuadrado.Con su habilidad, dejó a todos con el ojo cuadrado.Cuando ví cómo lo hacía, me quedé con el ojo cuadrado.
on the edge of my seat
parado de pestañaTenemos mucho que platicar; me tienes parado de pestaña.
concentrate
traer entre ceja y cejaTraigo entre ceja y ceja comprar un nuevo coche. I have been mulling over buying a new car. 2 Ese Ramón me trae entre ceja y ceja. That Ramón has a grudge against me. ¿Por qué tiene Estados Unidos entre ceja y ceja a Huawei? Why is the US fixated on Huawei?
an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure
Hay que ponerse el huarache antes de espinarse.
bite off more than you can chew
No te pongas con Sansón a las patadas.Ahora sí el Metrobús se puso con Sansón a las patadas. This time the Metrobus picked on someone too big for him.
come to blows
agarrarse del chongoLos diputados en tribuna se agarraron del chongo por un micrófono. The congressmen in session came to blows over a microphone.
sweet talk, toadyish flatterysweet talker
hacer la barbabarberoNo me hagas la barba. De todas formas no te voy a prestar nada. Don’t try to butter me up. Either way, I am not loaning you anything at all.
to eat
mover el bigoteVamos, muchachos. Es hora de mover el bigote.
to get on one’s nerves
sacar canas verdesMi hijo no me hace caso; me está sacando canas verdes. Translation: My son doesn’t listen to me and he’s really getting on my nerves.
trick, cover up
dar atole con el dedo¡No más mentiras y atole con el dedo! Stop lying and pulling the wool over our eyes!
how about them apples
Échate esa trompa a la uñaImagine the skill required to get that top in sweet gyration, perfectly balanced on your fingernail—a true feat! Out of that childhood game came the in-your-face saying Échate esa trompa a la uña, literally, throw that top on your fingernail. Choose this saying when you want to rub your achievements in your opponent’s face. It’s the equivalent of: Look who’s laughing now!
bump
chipoteFROM the Nahuatl xixipóchtic, a chipote is the lump that forms when you get hit on the head. By extension, you might see:¿Cómo puede reparar los chipotes en sus llantas? Dos semanas después de la fiesta, vimos un chipote en la curva del virus.
convalesce, homeopathic doctor
chochear, chocheroEVER visited a homeopathic doctor? In many countries they dispense medicine in the form of little white balls, known here as chochos. This has given rise to the verb chochear, to convalesce, and to the noun chochero, the homeopathic doctor himself. Ya tiene 90 años. Se la pasa chocheando. He’s already 90 years old. He just spends his time taking pills.
body aches
cuerpo cortado
flu
la gripa (elsewhere gripe)¿Tiene la gripa? Vete con el chochero.
congested
mormado, aALTHOUGH glanders, or muermo in Spanish, is a disease that principally affects horses and other animals, one of its symptoms, states the Merck Veterinary Manual, is “high fever… and a thick, nasal discharge.” It is easy to imagine how some jokester began to apply the term to humans. If you have the flu, you might describe your symptoms as: Doctor, tengo un fiebre alto y estoy mormado.
shower
la regaderaNEED a shower? If so, you won’t take a ducha, as in many Latin countries, but rather head to the regadera, the shower. One man tweeted: 1 Ya estoy enfadado de bañarme en mi regadera y no en la playa. I am sick of bathing in my shower and not at the beach.Me voy a dar un regaderazo.
calf muscle
chamorroMEET the local word for the calf, that fleshy back part of your leg below the knee. This differs from the standard Spanish pantorilla. Once again the word started with animals and migrated to humans. Sound familiar? Híjole, me duele el chamorro después de tanto ejercicio.
to be worried sick
andar con el jesus en la bocaHijo, ¿dónde estuviste? Desde hace horas, ¡he andado con el Jesús en la boca!
toothless
chimueloAquí el más chimuelo masca fierro. Here even the most toothless of men chews iron. [Even our weaklings are tough.]
totally (with respect to a person)
hasta por debajo de la lenguaGanaron 10–0. Les dieron hasta por debajo de la lengua. They won 10–0. They obliterated them. 2 En el aeropuerto lo revisaron hasta por debajo de la lengua. At the airport they inspected every inch of his body.
gross
¡Fúchila!
blonde, buddy
guero, aRoberto está noviando con la güerita de al lado. Roberto is dating the blonde girl next door. 2 Pásele, güerito, ¿qué le ofrecemos? Como on in, buddy, what are you looking for?
to get goosebumps
enchinarse la pielRather, during the Spanish conquest, the invaders imposed a racial caste system. The descendants of a black and Spaniard would be considered mulatos. If a mulato married a Spanish woman and had children, these offspring were considered moriscos. If a morisco paired with a Spaniard, their child would be chino. This gene pool frequently produced wavy hair; hence, to this day in Mexico pelo chino is wavy hair. It would appear that those same waves transferred to the skin in this idiom. Cuando la escuché cantar, se me enchinó la piel. When I heard her sing, it gave me goosebumps.
piggyback
a capuchi/papuchiFOR some, one of the fondest childhood memories is that of your father or mother carrying you piggyback. In Northwestern Mexico use this option, sometimes written a capuchi. In standard Spanish it is de caballito. This term varies greatly by region, so ask around for the local equivalent. Papí, llévame a papuchi hasta el mar.
put yourself in harm’s way
ponerse de pechitoCreo en darles segundas oportunidades a la personas.Pero no hay por qué ponerse de pechito. I believe in giving people second chances. But there is no reason to put yourself in harm’s way. 2 Si sabes que la pandemia es seria, ¿porque te pones de pechito? If you know how serious the pandemic is, why are you risking it?
so good at something you can do it with your eyes closed
con la mano en la cinturaA: ¿Crees que Roberto pueda diseñar una app para nosotros? B: ¡Con la mano en la cintura!
fat roll
lonjaEspero que la sauna me ayude a bajar esa lonja.
urinal
mingitorioRecuerda que el celular cuenta con 30 veces más microbios que el mingitorio.
sounds good
andale, puesA: Nos vemos a las cuatro.B: ¡Ándale, pues!
that’s right
¡École! CONSIDER this Italian import as another way to say: Así es, or That’s right. A: ¿Estos limones están en oferta? B: ¡École! Están a mitad de precio.
Let’s do it! Go for it!
IN northern Mexico and especially in Sonora, you will hear this phrase regularly. The fierro, or iron, refers to a firearm, but as a unit it indicates agreement and wholehearted support. Its meaning ranges from Right on! to Let’s do it! or Go for it!. A: ¿Vamos a la fiesta mañana? B: ¡Fierro, pariente! A: Are we going to the party tomorrow? B: Let’s do it, bro. Other variants include: ¡Fierro, machuca! and ¡Fierro a las 300!—all with similar meanings.
okay
saleSINCE salir in Spanish means to leave, you might think at first that the speaker is suggesting that you hit the road, but all to the contrary. He’s merely asking you for the green light. If you are in accord, respond with another Sale. If you are really in accord, or just want to rhyme, opt for Sale vale. A: Te pago mañana a las 8. ¿Sale? B: Sale vale.A: I’ll pay you tomorrow at 8. OK? B: Okie dokey.
are we there yet
ya meritoExhausted of unending COVID-19 isolation precautions, one woman posted: Me siento como el burro de Shrek preguntando, ¿Ya merito?. I feel like Shrek’s donkey always asking: Are we there yet?.
to the maximum
a todo darMi bici ya está bien viejita, pero me ha dejado rodar a todo dar.My bike is really old, but it has allowed me to have a beautiful ride. 2 Mi hermana debe tener locos a los vecinos cantando a todo dar. My sister must be driving the neighbors nuts singing at the top of her lungs. 3 ¡Que se lo pases a todo dar! Have a great time!
pretty
chulo, aEMBRACE this popular synonym for bonito—pretty or beautiful. Ever visit San Diego, California? Then perhaps you’ve heard of the suburb known as Chula Vista. This literally means Beautiful View. The noun form is chulada, popular in the exclamation: ¡Qué chulada! 1 ¡Qué chula la playera! What a beautiful T-shirt! 2 ¡Qué chulada de mujer! What a beautiful woman!
cool
chidoESPECIALLY popular around Mexico City, chido also describes the beautiful and the cool. ¡Qué chido el coche nuevo de tu abuela! Your grandma’s new car is really cool! In northern Mexico, change the d for an l. ¡Qué chilo!IN Mexico’s far northwest corner sits the city of Tijuana, on the border with Southern California. This is their regional equivalent of ¡Qué chido! above. One man posted this: ¡Qué curado estaría escaparnos e irnos a la playa! How great it would be to get away and go to the beach!Conversely, in Monterrey and Guadalajara, it takes on the sense of comical. ¡Qué curada esa película! What a funny movie!Also, padre. This also explains why in other parts of the country the synonym ¡Qué curada! is popular. Cura is merely another term for priest. 1 ¡Qué padre que regresen los autocinemas!
casual chatting
cotorrearEl confinamiento me tiene tan aburrido que ayer me marcó un extorsionador y acabamos cotorreando.No te precoupes. Solo te estaba cotorreando. Don’t worry. I was just kidding.
joke around
echar carrillaToda la tarde se la pasaron echando carrilla. They spent the whole afternoon joking around. Lo bueno es que sé aguantar la carrilla, aunque en ocasiones duele. It’s good that I can handle all the teasing, even though sometimes it hurts.
hug / show affection
apapacharVoy a comprarle a mi mamá su comida favorita para apapacharla. I am going to buy Mom her favorite food to treat her. 2 Esposa a esposo: Hoy necesito que me apapaches. Wife to husband: Today I need some TLC.
flattery
echar floresNo te estoy echando flores. De verdad cantas muy bonito. I am not trying to flatter you. You really do sing beautifully.
do your best
echarle ganasA: Estoy muy enfermo. B: Pos, échate ganas y te vas a recuperar. A: I am very sick. B: Well, do all you can to get better.
hurry up, get to it, okay
orale¡Órale, te estás tardando! Hurry up! You’re taking too long!Vete a hacer tus tareas. ¡Órale! Go do your homework. Get to it! 3 ¡Órale! Te presto el dinero. OK, I’ll loan you the money.
take advantage of a situation
hacer leña del árbol caídoNo es que quiera hacer leña del árbol caído, pero como Edgar ya se fue, ¿podría yo ocupar su oficina? It’s not that I am trying to take advantage of the situation, but since Edgar left, could I move in to his office?
long weekeng
un puente¡Qué padre! ¡Este fin de semana hay puente! Awesome! This is a long weekend!
made it, got away with it
librarloPensé que iba a reprobar la matemática, pero lo libré. I thought I was going to flunk math, but somehow I made it. 2 El policía me iba a multar, pero al final lo libré. The policeman was going to fine me, but in the end I got away with it.
