Friday's Five - Another 5 Latin-American Expressions I've Mastered at Work

Hello! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or join me on Facebook to be regularly updated. Thanks for visiting!

I usually don't talk a lot about my job in my blog. Really. However, in last few months I've been given an increasing amount of responsibility and, now that the deadline is near - I'm even dreaming of work (and that's when you know you've got a problem). Fortunately, I don't usually have nightmares related to work (except for one on which I drove to a meeting and feel down a bridge right into the lake and got trapped in sea weed *shudder*). 

Anyway, give that I couldn't fit all of my newly adopted vocabulary in on my last Friday's Five, consider today's post a completion of my literate expansion at work. 

1. Hinchar. Literally: to inflate. It is commonly used when something or someone is getting on your nerves, like the continuous actualizations you are asked to install every morning when you turn on your computer. Well, that's actually not that bad - as I take that time to prepare my morning coffee. The same is used when you're concentrated on work, trying to meet a short deadline and someone is loudly chatting just next to you. 
2. Dar Bola / Dar Pelota. To take someone seriously or pay attention to someone. As in "No le des bola" (meaning something like "Don't give a shit") - Someone telling me not to give shit about someone else's comments or arguments. 
3. Pajero. Besides for being a Mitsubishi car model, pajero also means wanker (which explains why Mitsubishi changed its name for spanish-speaking countries). However, nowadays it's used as a light insult to someone lazy. As per this definition and working in a fast paced industry, you can get a picture of how many pajeros I have to deal with every day.
4. Forro. If someone is a forro, he's a betrayer. Someone who won't help you if you ask for it, a person you can't trust. I'm happy to say that I haven't encountered many of these yet, but colleagues did. If I ever cross paths with one, I'll know what he is!
5. Quilombo. A big mess. Used when there is a large number of people copied in an e-mail chain that seems to have no beginning and no end. Also, when someone sends a revised document without using Word's mark up option but doing it all manually, or when there have been so many changes that it's impossible to follow a line of action anymore. Yes, this is the word one I use more frequently (together with pelotudo). 

Have you heard of any of these before? 

Friday's Five - 5 Latin-American Expressions I've Mastered at Work

Hello! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or join me on Facebook to be regularly updated. Thanks for visiting!

When weighting a job, I give a lot of importance to the work atmosphere. And that, precisely, was something that really caught me when I was interviewed by my present employer - Many of my colleagues were spanish speakers (mostly argentinians and chileans)! This made it easier for me to decide to settle down in a country where I did not speak the language. They have helped me out, cheered me up and have made me feel a tiny little bit closer to home. 

I've realized that, during this year and a half, I have not only learned about the business itself and its technicalities, but I've also been exposed to a whole new range of regional vocabulary that has slowly grown into my day to day expressions. I guess that's one of the advantages of an international work environment - We unconsciously learn a new language (or in my case, a new slang!). 

The following words are now part of my daily vocabulary:

1. Cachafaz. Someone cheeky, shameless and impertinent. Often used to refer to the counterparty, when it comes up with an unacceptable condition or price in an ongoing negotiation. 
2. Pelotudo. A dumbass. Used to describe yourself when you realize that you've left to lunch break without your wallet or that you forgot an important appointment. 
3. Che. Che is used to call a friend. It's almost a habit to start every question with a "Che" now. If I don't, the sentence feels empty!
4. Poronga. Now this one is tricky, and shouldn't be used too liberally as it has a double meaning. Let's just say, I use it as a derogatory comment - to high-hat something, such as the excel model that I had been working on for hours and suddenly turns the expected result into one fat error. 
5. Boludo. If you are a boludo, you are not very bright, pretty dumb or just plain clueless. However, it's also used among friends, without being offensive. Mainly used... well, all the time. 

What about you? Have you acquired some "foreign" words into your daily vocabulary?