Monday, September 28, 2009

Cuates los aguacates, tompiates, tenates

This is expression has a very narrow use but it cannot be beaten because of its imagery. Cuates los aguates (QUA-tess loss-a-gooa-KAH-tess) literally means "buddies, the avocados." It's usually followed by y no se hablan (ee-no-seh-AH-blan), lit. "and they do not talk to each other."

It is used in the follwoing context. Suppose that after a friend does something uncool to you and you react accordingly he or she tells you "but I thought we were buddies." Here you reply with "buddies, the avocados and they do not talk to each other."

The aguacates can be exchanged by tompiates or tenates. The three terms are allusions to the testicles, which inspite being so close and twins (cuates), they do not speak to each other.

Adalberto: Ya olvida lo que pasó entre Camila y yo. Acuérdate que sobre todas las cosas, somos cuates.
Hernán: Cuates los tenates, y no se hablan. Tu en cuestión de viejas no tienes amigos.

Adalberto: Forget what happened between Camila and me. Remember that, above all, we are buddies.
Hernan: Buddies the testicles, and they do not speak to each other. You have no friends when it comes to hitting on women.



4 comments:

  1. Other colorful expressions for testicles:

    * Huevos (goo-ay-bus, lit. eggs)
    * Gumaros (goo-marus)

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  2. According to me it's "tanates" not "tenates"

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  3. yeah, what he said...

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  4. Translating it into English as, "Buddies the testicles, and they do not speak to each other." sounds a little strange. Is a better translation, "Testicles are buddies and they don't speak to each other?"

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