Having just returned from the UK, in the mid-madness break between Christmas and New Year, I was delighted to overhear the following conversation in our local Supermarket, between two ordinary, middle-aged Spanish women:
- “¿Qué tal Nochebuena?”
- “Un coñazo, un coñazo que te cagas…”
Which roughly translates as:
- How was Christmas Eve? (traditional huge family dinner)
- A nightmare, a total *!#*·$-ing nightmare
They then proceeded to lament, in even more colourful language, the fact that all the New Year meals haven’t even started yet!
Which just goes to show, even the average Spaniard finds Christmas in Spain too much sometimes. Oh, and that the average Spaniard swears like a trooper, but we already knew that 
Stuart
29 Dec 07 at 2:54 pm
Thank you for giving me what is possibly the funniest quote ever… and so totally spanish.
TÃo Rubo
29 Dec 07 at 3:24 pm
Haha, yeah, we swear a lot. No need to argue. It’s just f***ing true.
Jon Hundt
29 Dec 07 at 6:04 pm
Good to hear about the Spanish and their curses. Here in Holland NOBODY ever swears.
I’m from California, and my dad was a Pacific-front WWII vet. He taught me somethin’ about cussin’. He could go on for 10 minutes without repeating. Lots of USA working guys have very colorful vocabularies.
I have worked with lots of UK and Aussies – also capable of a good string of flowery language.
When my kid was about 5, I told my friends they had to speak a little nicer around him. I put a glass jar on the table and said “every time you use a cuss-word it’s 25 cents in the jar.” I collected some money that first night from Derek (Scotland) and Ron (Australia). Next time Derek came over, he walked straight to the jar, stuffed a 5-dollar bill in and said “OK, can I talk f***in’ normal now?”
My first after I moved to Holland was in a building crew. Something annoyed me so I let out a string of Dad’s favorites. Everyone in the room froze, and looked away. One guy said “take it easy, man, don’t get so crazy…”
Since then I have noticed that Dutch men just plain don’t know how to get it on with cussin’. They’re embarassed to hear it, and don’t even know how to begin on their own.
Too bad for them…
Ben
30 Dec 07 at 7:44 pm
@Stuart – it made my day too when I heard it!
@Jon – “Here in Holland NOBODY ever swears.” – Wow, must be the only place on earth!
Stuart
30 Dec 07 at 9:56 pm
There are Peruvians who finish every sentence not with a full stop, but with a “carajo”. Liberating.
Edith
31 Dec 07 at 12:38 pm
@ Jon
But they use lots of other words which are unfit to put in print here, and which are usually related to sex!
@ Ben
I like the way the Spanish use words like ‘coño’ etc. Like you say, it’s colorful, it doesn’t really sound mean or nasty.
Elle
5 Jan 08 at 2:08 pm
We returned to the UK in Xmas 2007, to see friends and family… but remained in lanzarote for Christmas this year. We loved how understated it was. Mind you – we’re off to see Las tres reyes this afternoon (if I can persuade hubby) and I think that might be quite hectic with all the excited children.
Elle xx