Pochoclo is the word used for popcorn in Argentina. It seems to be uniquely used here. In the rest of Latin America (as far as I know) the word for popcorn is palomitas.

A chancho is a pig. This seems to be a uniquely Latin American word. Another common word for pig is cerdo.

I saw the word furgón in relation to a train boxcar, but it can also be used to mean semi-truck trailer. An armored car is a furgón blindado.

A grill is called a parrilla. You can get grilled chicken which is called pollo a la parrilla.

Parrilla can be the grill to cook on or it can also be the grill of a car. One forum thread I read suggested that it can be used to refer to the luggage rack on top of the car too.

It is closely tied to the word quincho.

I thought I understood quincho based on a quick description from a friend. However, as I have lived in Argentina longer I have heard the word used to describe various structures. Some easy translations could be pavilion, shed or work room. However the actual construction is made it seems to have a connection to the grill that Argentina is famous for. Either as a place to store your grilling supplies, the room where the grill is located, or the area where the food is consumed that was cooked on the grill they can all be referred to as a quincho.

Apparently those from Paraguay and Uruguay use the word to, but it seems to conjure up a different meaning for them. Please feel free to add to the description of what quincho means to you.

When something is of low quality or a fake ripoff in Argentina they call it trucho. This can be used for something that is not what it seems; i.e., a pirate taxi company. Apparently this word is used in Uruguay in the same way. Does anyone know of other countries that use trucho like this? In Mexico we would say that something is a producto chino if it was cheap in price and quality.

In Mexico the word for pineapple was piña. Here in Argentina it is ananá. The words refer to the exact same fruit, but the Argentine word comes from the Latin scientific name of ananas comosus.

Resulta que un día un hombre decide ir a comprar una estufa. Llega al comercio y le pregunta al encargado:

“Disculpe, ¿cuánto cuesta esa estufa?”

“Esa estufa cuesta 1500 dólares.”

“¡1500 dólares!, pero, eso es una estafa!”

“No, no, es una estufa.”

It happened that one day a man decided to buy a new stove. Arriving at the store he asked the salesman:

“Excuse me. How much does that stove cost?”

“That stove costs $1500 dollars.”

“$1500 dollars! But that’s an estafa!”

“No. No. That’s a stove.”

Estafar is a verb that means to swindle or to defraud.

Thanks to www.buenos-chistes.com for the wording on the joke.

A couple of weeks ago we spent some time on the Atlantic coast of Argentina in Mar del Plata. Along the coastal highway I saw signs pointing out different balnearios. I could not figure out what the word exactly meant, but I gathered it had something to do with a private beach or resort area. The word means spa, but it can also be used to mean a bathing area or resort.

A placard is a place where you hang your clothes, a closet. It can also mean a cupboard. I have heard the words amario and closet most commonly used in Mexico, but here in Argentina placard seems to be the most common.