A San Diego listener of Mexican descent says a scene in a Quentin Tarantino film has her wondering about the term Mexican standoff. Is it just a duel? A three-way duel, complete with guns? The end of a 1-1 doubleheader in baseball? Over time, it’s had all of these definitions. But the term appears to derive from a derogatory use of Mexican to describe something inferior or undesirable. This is part of a complete episode.
The colorful Spanish idiom planchar la oreja means “to sleep,” but translated literally, it means “to iron the...
The Spanish word for “sunroof,” that opening in the top of a car, is quemacocos, which has a picturesque origin. Coco is a...
In Spanish, you can have a siesta, or mid-day nap, but it’s also possible to take un coyotito, literally, “a little...
Quincy from Bozeman, Montana, wonders how burritos came to be named with a Spanish word that means “little donkey.” In Spanish...
The Spanish word candado, or “padlock,” comes from Latin catenatus, meaning “chained,” also the source of the...
Richard emails from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to share some favorite phrases from his beloved grandmother. We waited for you like one pig...
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