Evidence: Colombian cultural ambassador

For this evidence, you need to choose eight (8) Colombian idiomatic
expressions and describe what they mean is such a way that a foreigner
can understand them.

By Fredis Amaya

1. ¡Nanay cucas!

Can be translated as “No way!”

It’s a resounding negative about an action. If some guy or gal invites you to dinner and you
really don’t want to go, AND you want to be a little rude, you can perfectly answer,

Example: ¡Nanay cucas! No tengo hambre ni quiero salir.”

“No way! I ‘m not hungry and don’t want to go out either.”
2. ¡Pa’ las que sean, papá!

If you do a favor to one of your friends and he thanks you, you can answer, ¡pa’ las que
sean! The expression means that you —or the person that say it— will be there in any
circumstance, no matter what.

For example: “Jorge, ¡gracias por hacerme el dos con el trabajo!”

“Jorge, thanks for doing me the favor with the job!”

3.Se lo(a) rumbiaron

Rumba, in many Latin countries, means party. In Colombia, it means the same as well.
Rumbear or rumbear means, “to go party”, but in Bogotá means to kiss also. But in this
context, when someone is rumbeado or rumbiado, it means “took advantage of him or
her.”

The word can mean that the person had sex, or was used for his money. For example, if
someone say:

Example: “se rumbiaron a la hija de ese man”

It means that the daughter of that man had sex with somebody or took advantage of her by
taking her money.
 4.Hacer el dos

Literally, the translation would be “make the two”, but its meaning is very simple: doing a
favor.

Example:“María, ¿me puede hacer el dos con la computadora?”

“María, can you do me a favor?”

5.Lo que le diga es mentira

“What I (could) tell you is a lie.”  That’s the meaning of lo que le diga es mentira. This
expression can be used in all conversational contexts. Generally, it is used to answer a
question that we do not know.  If one of your buddies asks you,

Example: “Where is the nearest train station?” and you don’t know where it is, can
answer,

“lo que le diga es mentira.”

6. Caerle a una chico/chica.  It translates as “to fall at a boy/girl” and means roughly to
woo somebody, to shower them with gifts and compliments, to take them out on dates with
romantic ends in mind.

7. Echar los perros.  The real meaning behind this one is not so clear as caerle a alguien;
translating to “to throw dogs” at somebody, in Colombian street-talk, it means to flirt with
them.

8. Me importa un comino.  This is what Rhett Butler would say to shoot down Scarlett
O’Hara if he was Colombian: “I don’t give a damn.”  It translates as, “It matters a speck of
cumin to me,” meaning, of course, that the subject under discussion is infinitesimally small.

9.  Me gustan los cuentos claros y el chocolate espeso.  “I like clear stories and thick
chocolate.”  This refers to Colombians’ preference for being honest and straightforward—if
you have something to say, say it their face.