llamar pa’ atras
v.— «The phone rings inconveniently and, with an English idiom, you promise to call back. “Back” in English is not just the opposite of front, it also connotes an opposite reaction in a way that makes words like “backlash” work. The Spanish word for back, atras, doesn’t have that secondary meeting. If you translate it directly in a usage like “call back,” the result is Spanish gibberish. But it happens. And when Spanglish speakers issue a baffling promise to llamar pa’ atras (“to call in the back”), they move Spanish words to an exclusive Spanglish understanding.» —“Is this our creole?” by Rick Stone Sun-Sentinel (Florida) Dec. 26, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when people disagreed over the best word to use when answering the phone. Alexander Graham Bell suggested answering with ahoy! but Thomas Edison was partial to hello! A fascinating new book about...