Jaloncito de orejas

[Glen]

Does darle a alguien un jaloncito de orejas mean
1) to scold someone, or
2) to "put a bug in someone's ear" (meaning to give someone a friendly suggestion)?

They're very different meanings of course, and I seem to have heard both.

Not to be a stickler for grammar, but either way, shouldn't it be a la oreja since the ears themselves aren't the ones doing the pulling?

[chileno]

Escrito originalmente por Glen

Does darle a alguien un jaloncito de orejas mean
1) to scold someone, or
2) to "put a bug in someone's ear" (meaning to give someone a friendly suggestion)?

They're very different meanings of course, and I seem to have heard both.

Not to be a stickler for grammar, but either way, shouldn't it be a la oreja since the ears themselves aren't the ones doing the pulling?

When a person uses the diminutive, invariably will be "friendly".

Now, the term means both of your suggestions including the actual pull of someone's ears.

I'd say that in English is used pretty much in the same way.

And no, no "a" in there, it would change the meaning of the phrase. Can you tell us why?

[Elaina]

Escrito originalmente por chileno

When a person uses the diminutive, invariably will be "friendly".

Now, the term means both of your suggestions including the actual pull of someone's ears.

I'd say that in English is used pretty much in the same way.

And no, no "a" in there, it would change the meaning of the phrase. Can you tell us how?

Creo que le acabas de dar un "jaloncito de orejas" a Glen....

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

For a Mexican it means to scold someone, to make them see they did something wrong or to announce some sort of punishment for what they did; I never heard it to make friendly suggestions.

In former times, this was an actual physical punishment. Parents would pull your ears for being disrespectful, the priest would pull your ears for not listening to his sermon, the teacher would pull your ears for doing wrong your homework...
Now it's mostly used figuratively though.

- Tuve que darle un jalón de orejas a mi hijo: le dije que es la última vez que llega tarde, o le voy a quitar el coche.

- El jefe me dio un jalón de orejas por no presentar cifras de ventas actualizadas en la junta; me dijo que es la última vez que me equivoco o voy a perder el empleo.

- A esos jóvenes que pintan las paredes hay que darles un buen jalón de orejas o van a acabar muy mal.

- No te enojes porque tu papá te regañó por no ir a la escuela; es un jaloncito de orejas a ver si reaccionas y cumples con tus obligaciones.


[Oh and a little note on the use of diminutives: Mexicans can use them to avoid making sound harsh something, but intending it to actually be harsher, so don't take for granted that there's always a friendly intention behind a diminutive. ]

[chileno]

To be harsh with love...

@Elaina:

Not according to me, I just explained.

[Glen]

Escrito originalmente por chileno

And no, no "a" in there, it would change the meaning of the phrase. Can you tell us how?

Thanks for throwing out the challenge, but after racking my brains I still can't figure out why no "a" in there. I give up. Help!

[chileno]

No grammar here...

With an "a" in there, it would be the equivalent of telling you:

I am going to pull one of your ears.

Would that be the same as saying "I am going to pull your ears"?

Does that make sense?

[Glen]

Well, I must have got hung up on the preposition "de" maybe meaning that the ears themselves were doing the pulling. Makes sense now. So it's not a mere friendly suggestion like putting a bug in someone's ear. That clears it up. Thanks!

[carlosvilas]

This expression has its equivalent in Spain: "Dar un tirón de orejas" or "Dar un tironcito de orejas".

Try not to use the word "jaloncito" when you speak with someone from Spain, cause they won't understand you

[chileno]

Correct. In Chile we also use tirón o tironcito...