On May 6, 2016, CNN published a special editorial online which correlates directly with its original documentary series titled "United Shades of America." In it, the special focus of the diversity and multiculturalism theme were the Latino presence, particularly those living on the West Coast.
Despite the majority of visible Latinos proving fluent in the national lingua franca (English), it is virtually impossible to divorce them from their ethnic language, Spanish. Hence, it is not surprising to hear Latino phrases in the neighborhoods of Los Angeles, just like these quirky ones:
No hay pedo. In natural conversation, this phrase means "no problem." As funny as it sounds, it literally, it means "no fart."
Bajale de huevos. This Latino slang means "calm down" in casual chatter, but in actual word-per-word English translation, this phrase means "lower them from eggs."
Echa la hueva todo el dia. Casually, this expression could be translated as "I did nothing all day," which pretty much talks about laziness or idleness. But in literal Spanish language it means "I threw the spawn all day long."
Esta caňon. This one literally translates as "the cannon" or "the gun." Casually, it could describe as "a very capable person" or "a very serious problem."
Sepa la bola. In formal Spanish language, this phrase means "the ball knows." In casual conversation, it's either "heck if I know" or "who knows?'"
No te hagas pato. "Don't make yourself duck," the literal Spansh translation says. If one ought to tell the English-Spanish translator to "stop being a d*ck," he or she is right to do so.
Soy/se cree el/la muy muy. Literally, this translates as "he/she thinks himself/herself very very." As funny as the grammatical jumble sounds, it actually means "he/she is conceited."
Echale mucha crema a sus tacos. Speaking of the conceited, it is also unavoidable to describe how they behave. How can a Latino know if someone is conceited? They'll simply say he or she "puts so much cream on their tacos."
Ya lo cargo el payaso. Literally, this means "the clown carried him." What it actually means in casual chatter is 'he's in big trouble.'
Comerse la torta antes del recreo. "Eat sandwich before play time" - seems like an innocent phrase? Wrong! This is a coded language describing the activity of a "pregnant teenager" or "a cheating spouse."
