Rainy crappy weather in Madrid so I didn’t make it out of the house until past 6 p.m. and then only to a bar up the road for a quick caña.
There were a couple of policemen in there, one drinking non-alcohol beer, the other a clara con limon: shandy. Not sure British cops would drink shandy, even on duty.
I kept my ears peeled for some fine Spanish vulgarities from the local constabulary, but was disappointed. They just ate their bocadillos and stared blankly at the chat show on TV.
Never mind, the portero made up for them as I walked through our lobby on my way home.
How are you I asked?
“As they say on that Police program on TV,” he said, “hasta los santos cojones” – Pissed off to my holy balls.
previously.bitten
4 Mar 09 at 12:22 am
reading the subject line in my rrs reader i was wondering if your post would live up to such and interesting title – and really, it did it in the only way it could have.
Graham
4 Mar 09 at 1:46 am
Same in Valencia today and everyone up to the same balls, los mismisimos cojones!!
bill (Legazpi)
5 Mar 09 at 1:02 pm
I think “blessed balls” sounds like a better translation
Isabel
6 Mar 09 at 4:21 am
Why don’t the British like shandy? I like clara con limón but if we’re talking about diluted drinks, I’d prefer a kalimotxo.
That phrase is definitely going into my notebook. I get the feeling I’ll be saying that a lot more these coming days…
Mark
6 Mar 09 at 9:22 pm
@ Isabel
British people do drink shandy but less so these days by my observations. It is considered better by many to order a standard alcoholic drink or a soft drink. Many men consider it a bit “lightweight” and unmasculine to dilute beer and would rather order a fruit juice or a coke. To dilute good beer is considered sacrilege but personally, with a generic beer, I see no problem with it on a hot day!
gary
7 Mar 09 at 5:54 pm
I wouldnt dream of ordering a shandy, not for any other reason than the taste… mixing sweet lemonade with British bitter doesn’t do it for me.
Suppose ‘clara’ as drunk in Spain would be more of whats known as a lager shandy in the UK, but again too sweet for my personal taste.
Tinto de verano on the other hand…..:-)
ValenciaSon
7 Mar 09 at 9:00 pm
Never heard of a shandy but the idea of mixing lemonade with a decent beer gags this American.
WildJunket
9 Mar 09 at 10:23 am
Hasta los cojones! Si, eso es. I used to live in Madrid too, and boy did I love the palobrotas they used. One of them includes ‘me cago en todo lo que se menea!’ (I shit on anything that moves!)
Bella
10 Mar 09 at 1:09 am
I don’t like beer very much, but I find it ok when it’s a clara! That’s mostly what I drink now when I go out and everyone else drinks cañas, I never know what else to order!