A List of Slang and Colloquial Expressions of Mexico City

Abstract

U NDOUBTEDLY all language teachers at one time or another have had students ask them the meaning of certain slang or colloquial expressions either in their own language or in the particular foreign language they are studying. Frequently, in reading Mexican literature, the student runs across terms and expressions which are peculiar to the country and even to a certain region or locality. Sometimes these expressions may be classified as colloquial and others they may be classed as slang or even cal6 or germania. The visitor in Mexico constantly hears expressions that are not part of his college or high school Spanish. With this in mind, I decided to compile the following list. In gathering material for it I came across a similar compilation for the southwestern part of the United States.' The similarity is amazing at first, but when we think of the influx of Mexicans into that section of the country, it is understandable. However, many changes in the meaning of a word or expression can be pointed out. A great many expressions which may seem contemporary to modern Mexicans are already found in Fernandez de Lizardi, Guillermo Prieto, Cuellar, etc. The slang and colloquial terms presented here are the product of my high school and college days in Mexico City and my familiarity with the language during subsequent visits as well as a study of vocabulary used by contemporary Mexican novelists. No attempt has been made at compiling a definitive Vocabulario de mexicanismos, but merely an introductory glossary is here presented. Many vulgar terms are included which should be used in public only under expert guidance to avoid embarrassment. The list includes expressions which have been used in or around Mexico City in the past twenty or twenty-five years; though, of course, many of these terms have come directly from Spain and have thrived for centuries in Mexico. Some have suffered Aztec influence; others retained their old Spanish flavor and meaning. We leave it up to more expert linguistic students to make a scientific study of these and similar terms. Our task is limited to the presentation of these words and the clarification of their