Sunday, November 28, 2010

Burguer

Burguer is a mexicanization of burger. The term has nothing to do with beef patties. It is used in lieu of verga, perhaps to be less likely to offend a listener. Burguer substitutes verga in many expressions.

Examples:

Está de la burguer = Está de la verga = This is aweful
Su fue a la burguer = Se fue a la verga = He left for good, he went bananas

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Triste, mugre

Literally, triste means "sad" and mugre means "dirt." These two words are used by little children (and perhaps nuns) to refer to something deplorable, lowdown or just unimportant. They actually have nothing to do with sadness or lack of cleanliness. We advice not to use these words unless you wanna sound tough in the playground--and you are a kindergartener. If you wanna sound as a run-of-the-mill Chilango, use pinche instead.

Example:

Manuelito: ¡Triste Pepito! ¡El mugre GameBoy que me cambiaste por mi sandwich no sirve!
Pepito: No estés chingando.

Manuelito: Bad Pepito! The stupid GameBoy you gave me in exchange for my sandwich doesn't work!
Pepito: Get the fuck outta here.

Obviously, Pepito is way out of his league when it comes to verbal skills.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Marro, amarrado

Amarrado literally means "tied". It is a figure of speech indicating that somebody does not let himself or herself go and spend freely. Amarrado means cheap, excessively frugal, not generous at all. Marro (which literally means "hammer") is often times used in lieu of amarrado as a shorter, even more colloquial version.

Example:

Elba: No seas amarrada y háblale al mecánico. Hay uno súper baras aquí en corto.
Esther: Nel. Sale bien cariñoso. Además nomás es un cambio de llanta que está de volada.

Elba: Don't be so cheap and call a mechanic. There's an inexpensive one very close.
Esther: No way. It's pricey. On top of that it's just a tire change that I can take care of quickly.


Monday, November 1, 2010

Salir por patas

Salir por patas literally means "to exit by foot". In Mexican slang it is used to refer to escaping from a potentially dangerous situation, to run away at maximum speed without looking back.

A similar expression is patas pa' que las quiero, which literally means "feet, what do I want them for!?". In this case the person saying patas pa' que las quiero, is announcing that he or she is just about to salir por patas.

Example 1:

Carlos: Pensé que la tira venía por mí y dije ¡patas pa'qué las quiero!
Ernesto: No venían por tí, pero al darse tinta de que saliste por patas comenzaron a sospechar, ya revisaron tu expediente y ahora sí te andan buscando.

Carlos: I thought the cops were coming for me and said ¡let's put these feet to a good use!
Ernesto: They were not here for you, but after noticing you left in a hurry they became suspicious, went over your files and now they are looking for you.


Cautionary note: Salir por patas also means to go out to get feet. Here is an example of how it can be confusing.

Evaristo: ¿No está su marido?
Hortensia: No, salió por patas.
Evaristo: ¿Y por qué la prisa?
Hortensia: No, fue por patas de puerco porque vamos a comer tostadas.

Evaristo: Is your husband there?
Hortensia: No, he exited by foot.
Evaristo: Why the hurry?
Hortensia: No, he went to buy pork feet 'cuz we're gonna eat tostadas.

Patas de puerco (pork feet) are found in any decent grocery store in Mexico.