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13 Chilean Expressions With “A” Posted by on Feb 28, 2015 in Spanish Culture, Spanish Vocabulary, Uncategorized

adir tomislav

Ivo, Adir and Adriana back in 1991!

 

Hello there!

I first started to learn Spanish in high school. I have a couple of friends from Chile who got me started. One of them passed away many years ago and whenever I run into some Chilean expressions it reminds me of how great that guy was.

So this post if for you, Ivo, wherever you are!

 

1. a calzón quitado – no holds barred, straight to the point. Sugiero que hablemos a calzón quitados. [I suggest we talk honestly and straight to the point.]

 

2. a concho – all out, all the way, completely. Él vive a concho y disfruta de todo. [He lives live to the fullest and enjoys everything.]

 

3. a la coche guagua – free loader. Este tipo siempre anda a la coche gagua. [This guy is such a freeloader.]

 

4. a la hora del pico – extremely late, really late. Él siempre llega a la hora del pico a todas partes. [He always arrives real late.]

 

5. a la hora que se me pare el culo/hoyo/poto (mildy vulgar) – whenever the hell I want. Lo voy a hacer a la hora que se me pare el culo. [I’m going to do it whenever the hell I want.]

 

6. a la pinta – something well done, that fits well. Esta camisa me quedó a la pinta. [This shirt fit me nicely.]

 

7. a la vuelta de la rueda – really slow. Había mucho tránsito y la micro se vino a la vuelta de la rueda. [There was a lot of traffic and the bus came really slowly.]

 

8. a medio filo – a little drunk, with a little buzz. No estaba totalmente borracho, sino a medio filo. [I wasn’t completely drunk, only a little buzzed.]

 

9. a patada con los piojos – broke, penniless. El año pasado la plata no me alcanzaba para nada. Andaba a la patada con los piojos. [My money just wasn’t enough last year. I was really really broke.]

 

10. a poto pelado (mildly vulgar) – naked; without preparation, winging it. Cuando éramos niños nuestros padres dejaban que anduviéramos en la casa a poto pelado. [When we were kids our parents let us walk around naked.] – No tengo todo el texto listo, pero voy a mandártelo a poto pelado y después lo arreglamos. [My text is not complete, but I’ll send it to you and we’ll fix it later.]

 

11. a poto suelto (mildly vulgar) – sound asleep. Estaba tan cansado que dormi a poto suelto. [I was so tired that I passed out.]

 

12. a toda raja – awesome, great. La fiesta anoche fue a toda raja. [The party was amazing last night.]

 

13. a todo chancho – at full blast, all out, all the way. Me encanta escuchar música a todo chancho. [I like to listen to music at full blast.]

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About the Author: Adir

English / Spanish teacher and translator for over 20 years. I have been blogging since 2007 and I am also a professional singer in my spare time.


Comments:

  1. Jann:

    Hello Adir, I am sorry to read that your friend passed away. I noticed that there is a minor spelling discrepancy in this sentence and wonder which spelling is correct:
    a la coche ‘guagua’ – free loader. Este tipo siempre anda a la coche ‘gagua’

    Thank-you, J