Discover Spanish With Us » Idiomatic

Burro de Arranque

David — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 02:17:40 +0000

A previous entry at DSWU I talked about a marcha as being the word they use in Mexico as the starter motor for a car. In Argentina the same English word is represented by burro de arranque. However, I have also heard people just call it burro.

Seems that the lowly donkey has many uses in the Spanish language. It comes up in many idiomatic expressions as well as being used to describe other nouns.

Acudir

David — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:22:15 +0000

Acudir is a word that I heard in a song. Trying to figure out the meaning of the word through the song did not prove helpful. After looking up acudir on the web, I understand why. Acudir has many meanings based on the words around it. Most of its usage is idomatic in nature; it is a very flexible word depending on how it is used.

Acudir can mean to go, or to come. To help, or to turn to someone for help. To arrive or to return. Now you can see why I was confused.

Leaning heavily on what I learned at WordReference.com (one of my favorite references and highly recommended) here are a few explanations.

When talking about appointments or places, acudir can mean to go to, to come, to arrive or to return. Acudió a la cita: he arrived at the appoinment. Or, he came to the appointment. Or, he went to the appointment. Los recuerdos acuden a mi mente: the memories returned to my mind.

When talking about helping or receiving help it can be used in the following ways. Acudió a su hermano: he turned to his brother (with the idea of ‘for help’). ?Ella está dispuesto de acudir ayuda a cualquier persona: she is willing to give help to anyone.

Maña

David — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:11:01 +0000

Maña is a word with many definitions, but in the context I heard it in it meant bad habits. In that context it could also be quirky, cranky, odd or eccentric. When used this way it is usually referring to an older person who is set in his ways.

The positive meaning of maña is a skill or a knack. Tener maña is to have a particular ability to do or manage something.

Idiomatic expression with maña: Más vale maña que fuerza. Brain is better than brawn.

Pibe

David — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:21:16 +0000

A new friend of mine asked me how old I was (he is 86). When I told him that I was 40 he replied with “¡Eres un pibe todavía!” Or, “You are still just a kid.”

Pibe seems to be quite Argentine in its use according to a forum thread. It can mean a child or young person. It seems to have a friendly connotation like we might use the word lad or lass in English.

Chistes Verdes

David — Mon, 17 May 2010 20:48:02 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I heard someone talking about chistes verdes. I did not know what that expression meant, but I gathered from the way it was said it meant off-color jokes, or dirty jokes.

What little research I did on this phrase (I have to admit I really did not want to find out too much information) it seems to be a universal idiomatic expression. Are there other words that express the same thing? Does every Spanish speaking country use this expression?

Pochoclo / Palomitas

David — Fri, 07 May 2010 02:07:26 +0000

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.

Trucho

David — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:31:28 +0000

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.

Marcha

David — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:45:36 +0000

The word marcha has many meanings, most of which have to do with either marching or motion. The one meaning I learned this week, which is not in the dictionary I most often consult, is for a car starter motor. The word I most often seen written is arranque to mean a starter, but locally the mechanics all call it a marcha.

The only reason this comes up is that I had problems with my starter this week. Each place I consulted about parts or repair referred to it as a marcha, though they knew what I meant when I called it an arranque.

Fuga de agua

Stephanie — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:38:37 +0000

We had a pipe break in the street in front of our house recently. While trying to figure out who to callÂ we found the phrase fuga de agua. Literally it means a flight of water but is used to refer to water escaping accidently.

Colloquial Spanish

David — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:07:59 +0000

Instead of a word today, I wanted to share another resource that I found on the net. At Colloquial Spanish the author teaches meanings for idiomatic expressions. I spent quite a bit of time reading there today and look forward to reading the site in the future. When you come to Discover Spanish With Us, take just a couple more minutes and jump over to read Colloquial Spanish.