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"Piocha" - "A todo mecate"

 

An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not readily apparent based on the individual words in the expression. This forum is dedicated to discussing idioms and other sayings.


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Old October 16, 2011, 11:37 AM
Ahuizote Ahuizote is offline
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Talking "Piocha" - "A todo mecate"

Hello, everyone.

Let me recall some old expressions already forgotten:

"Piocha"------the grandpas used this phrase while clenching one fist under the chin, like caressing an imaginary beard.
They meant cool, great, wonderful.

"A todo mecate"....the old people used this as a non very rude way to say "A toda madre"( f----cking awesome ).
They also used "A todo meter".

Nowadays, the "fresas" (yuppies) use the expression "pocamadre".
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Old October 16, 2011, 12:15 PM
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I never heard them in Spain. Neither "fresas" for "yuppies" .

Let me guess, Mexican?
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Old October 16, 2011, 02:00 PM
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Mexicano "fresa" es similar al peninsular "pijo/a" (y en tal sentido, sólo ampliamente entendidas en sus respectivas regiones idiomáticas). Son tan extrañas a buena parte de los hablantes como el vocablo pampeano "cheto", de igual significado y uso.
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Old October 16, 2011, 11:23 PM
Ahuizote Ahuizote is offline
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You,ve got it Don José

"Fresa" is something like a "yuppie" or a rich junior.
Actually before fresa,was "cherry" because of smooth,fine and delicate.
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Old October 17, 2011, 10:49 AM
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Exclamation Rude expression alert.

Please note that "poca madre" and "a toda madre" are not only very colloquial expressions, but they're considered bad words and they're not approppriate for all contexts.

Some equivalent expressions without profanity that may also be a bit archaic these days can be:
·A todas margaritas
·A toda máquina
·A todo dar

Common ways to say something is cool or awsome can be:
·Padre / muy padre / padrísimo (still Mexican colloquial)
·Increíble / genial / súper (more neutral, and also understood in other countries)



"Piocha" is a colloquial word for chin or beard.

Saying just "piocha", as Ahuizote said, means that you agree with something or you find it alright.

"Por piocha" means "each person", like in "son veinte pesos por piocha" (also, one can hear "son veinte pesos por cabeza"), which would mean "each person must pay twenty pesos".
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Old October 17, 2011, 09:08 PM
Ahuizote Ahuizote is offline
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Cool what it means, and what it's used for

Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar View Post
Please note that "poca madre" and "a toda madre" are not only very colloquial expressions, but they're considered bad words and they're not approppriate for all contexts.

Some equivalent expressions without profanity that may also be a bit archaic these days can be:
·A todas margaritas
·A toda máquina
·A todo dar

Common ways to say something is cool or awsome can be:
·Padre / muy padre / padrísimo (still Mexican colloquial)
·Increíble / genial / súper (more neutral, and also understood in other countries)



"Piocha" is a colloquial word for chin or beard.

Saying just "piocha", as Ahuizote said, means that you agree with something or you find it alright.

"Por piocha" means "each person", like in "son veinte pesos por piocha" (also, one can hear "son veinte pesos por cabeza"), which would mean "each person must pay twenty pesos".
Thanks ,Angélica, but "piocha", besides being a beard, is a word that the very old people used when they wanted to say "cool", "great", "a todo mecate","al puro gis","está suave".
For example: "ese carro está bien piocha".
The phrase "20 pesos por piocha" is letting us know that many years ago, many people had beards, so, even when "20 pesos por cabeza" works for the same meaning, the root is not the same(it is very interesting to analyze the sociology through the times and the why of the uses in a society).
Even that gesture clenching the fist under the chin, prevailed to our times,for example when we say "está bien padre" it's very common to do that old gesture.
For being agreed with something there were some words of our regular slang that were incorporated for the same purposes.We can count typical words like: "suave","suavena", "chiro" or "chido".
Regarding "la madre", in many cultures, including ours, the meaning of the mother is something superior.
It could sounds rude, but it's not needed the setting of the " ! " alert.....nowadays, even in the syndicated t.v. ,all the people can hear such expressions.
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Old October 18, 2011, 02:55 AM
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The alert is because this is a learning forum, and people can think to say "a toda madre" it's normal.

Ejemplo de mal aprendizaje
Quote:
El central francés ha indicado que "yo quería saludar al árbitro tras el partido, él no quiso, pero no entiendo porque me sacó una tarjeta amarilla. Decir 'puta madre' es normal en español, pero mi intención no era mala.
http://www.marca.com/2011/10/17/futb...b&t=1318928076
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Old October 18, 2011, 07:42 AM
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@Sosia: Exactly.

@Ahuizote: The fact that profanities can be heard everywhere all the time, does not mean they are appropriate language. Spanish learners must always be aware of what they are learning.
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Old October 18, 2011, 11:00 AM
Ahuizote Ahuizote is offline
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Cool

Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar View Post
@Sosia: Exactly.

@Ahuizote: The fact that profanities can be heard everywhere all the time, does not mean they are appropriate language. Spanish learners must always be aware of what they are learning.
Angelical Angélica, believe me I'm one of the very few guys that get mad for the unnecassary use of the bad words in the media, because already I'm sick to hear them (and use them) in the streets everyday.
But either we like it or not, such words and the always updating slang are part of the vocabulary that the people should know.
Would you like to have tourists being fooled by brats,jokers and liars who use the double sense?
In Spain you hear often "c...ño" and "cojones" ,wich sound even worse than the "mother" issues.
In my country,it turns out that some correct words became bad. We have that "mendigo" was changed to "méndigo", and suddenly became a bad word.
It turns out that the male goat "cabrón" suddenly came to be a bad word.
It turns out that "güey" wich is the incorrect pronuciation of "buey" became another rude word.

Either we like it or not, we have to be aware that the slang is a part of the culture of every country. THERE ARE BOOKS WRITTEN FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE SLANG AND THE RUDE EXPRESSIONS.
The Spanish that the foreigners learn here, could not be 100% applied for speaking equal in Mexico,Chile,Venezuela or Argentina.

We have the right to learn what is actually spoken in every country.

Saludos.
Coincido contigo en relajar la violencia lingüística, pero la realidad del idioma es algo que se debe saber.
Una flor para tí.

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