Ray, a teacher at a bilingual elementary school near Dallas, Texas, shares the Spanish term his family uses for gossiping after a party: saca garra. Spanish garra means “claw” or “talon,” and sacar la garra is used on either side of the Texas-Mexico...
Richard emails from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to share some favorite phrases from his beloved grandmother. We waited for you like one pig for another means “We got tired of waiting for you at the table and went ahead and started eating.” A similar...
Theories about how Latin Americans came to use the term gringo as a disparaging word for foreigners. We can easily rule out the one about the song “Green Grow the Lilacs,” but what about the rest? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
huacha n.— Note: “Huacha” seems to be a Mexican Spanish borrowing of the English word “washer,” referring to a small, flat ring of metal. «For more than 40 years, Garcia, 66, of Las Cruces, has practiced the skill and art of huachas, also called...
wila n. a surreptitious note (sent by or between prisoners); a kite. Editorial Note: Pronounced “WHEE-lah.” Etymological Note: This is an Anglicized or Spanglish spelling of the Mexican Spanish güila or huila, that, according to this 1998 Varilex...
chones n.pl. underwear, especially undershorts or panties. Also chonies, choners. Editorial Note: Despite its proximity to a mention of lingerie, chonies in the 1928 citation is probably a typographical error for chorines. Etymological Note:...
