I’m petrified that a few months back in London and I’ll forget all this. The UK is in recession. I’m pretty sure it will be tough going back. No time to reflect on it all.
I’ve also become convinced that the language I’ve learning is not so much Spanish as it is Honduran. So working on this hunch, I decided to make a vocabulary list of all the peculiar sayings I’ve encountered here. If only to have a record to test against when I finally make it to Spain again.
A
A como está..? ¿How much..?
A mil: Really fast
A pata: Walking
A todo mecate: Really fast
A vuelta de rueda: Really slow
Acabado: Without cash
Agarrado: Stingy..
Agüevado: Embarrassed
Ahi nos vidrios: See you soon
Andar a pincel: to walk somewhere
Andar aguja: to go carefully
Andar buzo: to go looking for something
Andar con filo: to be hungry
Andar hule: to go without cash
Andar piano: to go carefully
Animala: a thing
Apuntarse: do the same as others
Arrastrado: a sycophant
Avanzar: to suprise someone
B
Babosada: nonsense
Bajar: to steal
Barajarla más despacio: explain in more detail
Barba: Barba amarilla – poisonous snake.
Bembón: Big lips (!)
Bolo: a drunk
Bolulo: White bread (La Ceiba)
Bote: prison
Búfalo: 50 cents (North Coast)
Burra: Working class lunch:
tortilla with beans and egg.
C
Caite: Sandal
Cachar: to trap
Cachimbear: to punch
Cachimbo: a large amount
Cachureco: National Party activist
Cagarse: be really shocked (like sh*t yourself)
Campechano: friendly
Canecho: Crab
Canilla: leg
Casabe: food made from Yuca.
Catracho: Hondureño
Catrín: Well dressed.
Chabacán: a joker.
Chacalín: Rever shrimp.
Chafarote: Police/soldier
Chainear: to clean
Chamba: a job
Chambear: to work
Chambón: a badly done job.
Champa: type of house with leaf roof
Chance: an opportunity
Charamusca: frozen soft drink in a bag
Chascada: free portion of food
Chepa: Police
Chepear: to cheat.
Cheto: pretty or provocative woman
Chibola: a ball or balloon
Chichí: a baby
Chigüín: a small child
Chimar: to rub
Chimba: homemade gun
Chimbo: gas canister for cooking
Chingar: to bother or bore
Chingo: shorts
Chiripón: good luck
Choco: something ugly
Chola: house
Choya: laziness
Chotear: to catch someone out
Chuña: barefoot
Chupar: to drink alcohol
Chutear: to kick
Cinquito: five cents
Cipote: a child
Coco: intelligent
Codo: stingy/tight
Coger: to f*ck
Con las antenas paradas: eavesdrop
Conchudo: expolited
Costra: grime
Cuchumbo: Homosexual
Cuero: a fit woman
Cumbo: water bucket
Cutear: to vomit
D
Daime: 20 cents
Dar el palo: to break up with someone
Dárselas de.. to show off
De cajón: obvious!
De seguro: surely
Deschambado: unemployed
Desmangado: very fast
Despupusado: very fast
Dos cuetazos: very fast
Dundo: dazed
E
Elote: corn on the cob
Encaramar: to climb
Encachimbado: angry
Enculado: in love
Ensuciar: to sh*t
Estar hasta los queques: to have no time
F
Ficha: something of little value
Filo: hunger
Finca: a farm
Fondearse: to sleep
Fregado: guy
Fregar: to wash up
Fresco: bottled fizzy drink
G
Gallo: ace!
Grueso: a large quantity
Guachimán: night watchman
Guarizama: Machete
Guaro: hard liquor
Guevón: a slob
Güicho: with few teeth
Guineo: a savoury banana (North Coast)
Güir: Contraction of “I will go”
Güirro: little kid
H
Hacer chanchullo: to cheat
Hacerse bolas: to confuse
Hacerse el loco: to presume ignorance
Hasta el copete: jaded
Hecho porra: tired/demotivated
Hijo de papi y mami: rich kid
Hule: broke (no money)
I
Ir hecho un cuete: very quickly
Irse a la chingada: go away
J
Jalón: a ride (hitchhiking)
Juma: a female drunk
Jura: army
L
La Compañía: on the North Coast, usually a reference to the Tela Railroad Co. (Chiquita) or Standard Fruit Co. (Dole).
La mera riata: the highest authority
La riata: inept
Llanta: rolls of fat round the midriff
Lempira: Honduran currency
Los Campos: Banana fields (North Coast)
M
Macaneo: scandal
Macanudo: a really cool person
Maje: silly
Mamo: prison
Mara: a gang
Marimbazo: a punch
Maritates: your belongings
Marranada: a useless thing
Mandadito: docile
Mate: a threat
Mayugado: something crushed
Meter la pata: to make an error
Mínimo: Banana
Minuta: basically a slush puppy
N
Nacha or Natacha: a cleaner
Novelear: to be distracted or out of sorts
O
Obrar: to sh*t
P
Paila: back of a pick-up truck
Pajas: jokes
Pajearse: to do nothing
Pandear: to fold
Papada: a thing/a matter
Papo: an idiot
Pasada: an anecdote
Patón: a big foot
Pedo: a matter or a problem
Pelarse la tusa: to go
Perra: and exaggeration
Pico: a kiss
Pijinear: to go out to enjoy yourself
Pincelear: to walk (alot)
Pingüino: (lit. penguin) Cold.
Pintoso: well dressed
Pisto: money
Pistudo, o de pisto: wealthy
Ponerse coyote: to be alert
Porrazo: a punch
Potra: a game of football in the street
¡Pucha!: an interjection of suprise
Pulpería: the small shop
Q
¡Qué leche! !What luck!
Qué pinta! ¡How gorgeous!or ¡How cool!
Quedarse quedito: to stay quiet
R
Rapidito: fast buses in San Pedro Sula
Reventar cuetes: Playing with fireworks
S
Salado: that’s bad luck
Semejante: BIG
Semita: egg yolk bread (lovely!)
Sendo: BIG
Ser lechero: to have good luck
T
Tapado: A typical soup with meat, plantain, yucca and coconut milk.
Tapas: mouth
Tegus: Tegucigalpa
Tener leche: to have good luck
Tener llantas: to be fat (lit. to have tyres)
Topoyiyo: frozen juice in a bag (North Coast)
Torcido: to have bad luck (lit. crooked)
Tostón: 50 cents
Tostones: fried plantain chips (North Coast)
Tránsito: traffic wardens
Treintero: Taxi – they used to cost 30 cents
Trepar: climb
Trincar: to snog!
Trucha: small grocery store
Tufo: a bad smell
Tunante: a womaniser
Tunco: to have one leg or walk badly
Turunca: a large stone
Tusas: Leaves that surround the ear of corn
Y
Yílet: razor blade
Yuca: dificult
Z
Zampar: to put/place