We recently made a big trip through Mexico. Along the way we saw many interesting signs that could be confusing and are nice to know about before you have to know what is going on.
One sign was elija su carril. Elija is the imperative form for elegir which means to choose. Su carril is your […]

Tonight we are going to hear a guitarist. It is a special occasion and therefore I will wear a suit (traje). The suit coat is called a saco. It can also be a sports coat.
Saco has some meanings outside of a fancy piece of clothing which does not seem to fit with a suit coat. […]

Cofre is a chest or trunk, as in luggage for traveling. It can also be a coffer.
In Mexico it has a unique meaning that is apparently not used in other countries. It is the hood of a car. My dictionary tells me this is specific to Mexico. It also says that capó is what other […]

A couple of days ago the word was matriz which is the parent company or home office of a business. The branch offices are called sucursales. It can also be translated as agency or subsidiary.

Let’s discuss heavy equipment. Not something I run into in every day conversation but good things to know when I am about town.
Here we have many trucks with signs saying doble remolque. That is to let you know they have a double trailer. Good thing to know when trying to pass.
A grúa is a crane.
Andamios […]

Matriz means womb or uterus. It is also the word matrix in English. But the oddest use of the word that I have seen is when it refers to a company, or main office. When referring to a company it would be the parent company, or more specifically the mother company of a business.

Today I took my son to a class at one of the local sports complexes. It is a class that we have to pay a fee for. They have a computer system that they keep their records in. But, typically, the lady working the computer only knows how to do the six steps that has […]

Some words one can just look at and guess approximately what it is, not with these.
Escoba is a broom. Barrer is what you do with a broom, to sweep.

Spanish cartoons have helped my children learn most of their Spanish. Me too.
One such cartoon introduces a little girl and says she is graciosa.
Graciosa or gracioso can mean what it looks like gracious or graceful but it also means funny. And this is how it is used in reference to the girl.

Promedio is the average or middle of something. While there is nothing too exciting about the noun promedio, I thought it was interesting to find there was a verb, promediar. It means to divide in two or to mediate.