“Che Boludo” a.k.a “Local Literary Gems

Last night I had en English friend and an Argentine friend over for dinner and a DVD, and while gossiping mercilessly about people my Argentine friend and I went to school with, she told me that a guy we knew “cagó” his girlfriend, to which my English friend, who is almost fluent in Spanish, raised her eyebrows and asked what that word meant. We quickly explained that it meant the guy had cheated on her, and when she asked what the infinitive form of the verb was, my other friend said “cagar”. Here I quickly jumped in and added that “cagar” literally means “to shit”, but that it was a common expression here to use in the sense of cheating on or betraying someone, and I suppose that it makes sense in a metaphorical way, since it would be fair to say that if you cheat on your girlfriend you are “shitting on your relationship”. I decided therefore to make a list of frequently used slang phrases and their literal translations and English counterparts.

·      “La concha de la lora”: Literally ‘the female parrot’s vagina’. Used to express feelings of profound rage and irritation at something (note: in Spain “concha” means ‘sea-shell’, so this phrase loses all effectiveness in the Iberian Peninsula). Example: Homer Simpson would say it if he ran out of beer. English equivalent: ‘fuck!’

·      “La puta madre que lo/la parió’’: Literally ‘the mother, who is a whore, who gave birth to it’. Similar to ‘La concha de la lora’ but ‘it’ can be an object, situation or person. Example: What most English people thought of Maradona in 1978. English equivalent: ‘motherfucker!’

·      Malparida/o: Literally ‘badly given birth to’. Used to refer to someone evil or with evil intent, presumably because of complications during birth. Example: Sarah Palin. English equivalent: ‘sick bitch/bastard’

·      “Es un caño”: Literally ‘he is a pipe’. Used exclusively for the male sex, denotes physical attractiveness. Example: Eric from True Blood. English equivalent: ‘hot as hell’

·      “Es una yegua”: Literally ‘she is a mare’. Used exclusively for the female sex, denotes physical attractiveness, but can also imply of a malevolent nature or a woman of loose morals. Example: Angelina Jolie. English equivalent: ‘hot but kind of slutty’

·      “La/lo parto en cuatro”: Literally ‘I would break him/her into four pieces”. Refers to a deep attraction for another person, the force of which would shatter said person into four pieces (note: the number of pieces may vary according to how deep the arousal is). Example: What I feel about Eric from True Blood, only I would add a couple of digits to the number. English equivalent: ‘hot as fuck’ 

·      “Hijo/a de puta”: Literally ‘son/daughter of a whore’. Someone or something annoying, frustrating or of malicious nature. Example: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. English equivalent: ‘son of a bitch!’

·      “Tragasables”: Literally ‘sword-swallower’. Pejorative term for homosexual mean, synonym to “bala” (‘bullet’), “maraca” (‘maraca’), “mariposón” (‘big butterfly’) “trolo” and “puto” (‘fag’) (note: “puta” and “trola” do not mean ‘dyke’, they mean ‘whore’). Example: … I can’t think of any evil gays who would deserve the word, but maybe Andrew from Desperate Housewives in the earlier seasons. English equivalent: ‘fag’

·      “Ella es torta”: Literally ‘she is a cake”. An informal, and depending on the context, sometimes offensive synonym to ‘lesbian’. Example: Everyone on The L Word. English equivalent: I have no idea

·      “Apretar”: Literally ‘press together’, but also used to mean passionate kissing with use of tongue and saliva exchange, also called “transar” and “chapar”. Example: Do you really need one? English equivalent: ‘make out’

·      “Le quiero comer la boca”: Literally ‘I want to eat/his her mouth’. Indicates a fervent desire to partake in the activity described above with a certain person to the point of devouring said person’s mouth. Exampe: … Please don’t use this term, it is crass and vulgar and most people avoid it. English equivalent: ‘I really want to make out with him/her.

·      “Es un/a pendejo/a”: Literally ‘he/she is a pubic hair’. Can refer to someone annoying, immature or simply younger in terms of age. Example: Children. English equivalent: ‘little shits’

·      “Paja”: Literally ‘hay’, but has another colloquial definition which is ‘semen’, and several variations spring forth from this definition, such as ‘hacer una paja’ (‘give a hand-job’), “hacerse una paja” (‘masturbate’), “pajero” (‘lazy bum’), “que paja” (‘bummer’) and “me da paja” (‘I can’t be bothered’). Examples: I am a “pajero”, sitting for exams are a “paja”, and I take a cab when taking the bus “me da paja”. English equivalents: All of the above plus more.

·      “Boludo/a”: Literally ‘person with big testicles’, though oddly the word does not signify brave, but rather stupid or dim-witted, and can be used to refer to something very easy, a “boludez”, and can be applied to women as well as men. “Boludo/a” is also employed by Argentine youth as a playful and affectionate term to a friend, as in “dale, boludo…”,  meaning ‘come on, person I hold dear to my heart but I mock by calling dummy’. Example: Sarah Palin. English equivalent: ‘dumb’

·      “Che”: Literally ‘hey’, probably the best-known of all local slang, this informal way of calling someone’s attention has permeated through the whole of Argentine society and become acceptable and friendly, as in ‘hey’, but can also be used to express annoyance at someone as in “che!” (‘hey!). Not to be used to refer to people of authority like policemen, judges or presidents though. English equivalent: Already said it, but can also be compared to the British ‘oi’ 
El Pendejo Porteño