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Vaya morro

 

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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  #1  
Old July 19, 2010, 10:42 AM
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Vaya morro

I think it means : What nerve! but I'm not sure. I am assuming that this
phrase is not used outside of Spain. Am I correct?
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  #2  
Old July 19, 2010, 10:45 AM
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For me the word means Vaya chamaco.

Morro is a expression vulgar on my country.
What do you think?
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Old July 19, 2010, 11:28 AM
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@Poli: I think you're right. "Morro" in Spain (I don't know where else, but certainly not in Mexico), is used as a synonym of "descaro" or "desfachatez".


The way Crotalito is quoting the word is as it's used in the north of Mexico, where "morro(a)" is used as a synonym of "chico(a)". Not a vulgar word, but colloquial.
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Old July 19, 2010, 11:42 AM
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That's interesting it was the vaya that led me to believe it was a Spanish-specific phrase. No Latins I know use vaya in that way. I hear que instead.
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Old July 19, 2010, 11:57 AM
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"¡Vaya!" is an expression to emphasize some characteristic, in the sense that something or someone is "such a (noun)" ... like "what a ...!"
Sometimes, depending on the tone of voice and the context, the expression can hold a a positive or a negative meaning.
...And it's used, I think, everywhere.

¡Vaya calamidad!
What a calamity!

¡Vaya historia!
What a story!

¡Vaya amigo!
What a friend!

¡Vaya descaro!
What a nerve!
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Old July 20, 2010, 12:38 AM
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¡Vaya morro! = ¡Qué cara más dura! = What a cheek!

http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltCons...S=3&LEMA=morro

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Old July 23, 2010, 07:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by irmamar View Post
¡Vaya morro! = ¡Qué cara más dura! = What a cheek!

http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltCons...S=3&LEMA=morro

Where you got the word Cara dura?
Really what does it mean?
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Old July 24, 2010, 04:56 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo View Post
Where you got the word Cara dura?
Really what does it mean?
DRAE gives you the definition,
caradura. 1. adj. Sinvergüenza, descarado.

Oxford Superlex gives you equivalents in English,
caradura adj (fam) sassy (AmE colloq), cheeky (BrE colloq)
Also,
(frescura, descaro) nerve (colloq), cheek (BrE colloq);
¡qué cara (más dura) tienes = you have some nerve!, you’ve got a nerve o cheek!;
se lo llevó por la cara = he just took it quite openly;
entraron en la fiesta por la cara = they gatecrashed the party;
lo dijo con toda la cara del mundo = he said it as cool as you like;
tiene más cara que espalda = he has such a nerve!
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  #9  
Old July 26, 2010, 06:37 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar View Post
"¡Vaya!" is an expression to emphasize some characteristic, in the sense that something or someone is "such a (noun)" ... like "what a ...!"
Sometimes, depending on the tone of voice and the context, the expression can hold a a positive or a negative meaning.
...And it's used, I think, everywhere.

¡Vaya calamidad!
What a calamity!

¡Vaya historia!
What a story!

¡Vaya amigo!
What a friend!

¡Vaya descaro!
What a nerve!
It's not much used in the Caribbean countries where the term que is used. I haven't heard it, but asked others and got puzzled looks. I used to think that vaya was only used in Spain, and it's good to know that it's used in Mexico too.
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Old July 20, 2010, 02:32 AM
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That's right. Not covered in the DRAE, but in Moliner Diccionario de Uso,
Tener alguien un morro que se lo pisa (informal). Frase hiperbólica equivalente a «tener morro».
Tener morro (informal). Tener descaro o desvergüenza. Tener cara.
(In Spain these two expressions are very common, "el pan nuestro de cada día...")
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