Relaja

[Glen]

Can a person be described as un/una relaja meaning he or she is prone to griping/complaining, as in cascarrabias for example? I heard it used that way and wondered if it's unique to Mexico.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

We say about someone "es un relajo" (always in masculine), but it usually means that he/she is a lot of fun and has a nutty behavior.
Probably someone can talk about someone as being "un relajo" when they complicate things too, although it's not the most common meaning.

A "relajo" in Mexican slang means either a mess or a good time.

[Glen]

Wow, I had that wrong. So does the slang term mean a mess or a good time? I'd hate to offend anyone by using it wrongly

[aleCcowaN]

In Argentina "es un relajo" only means "it's a mess" (the kind of mess you get when everybody behaves in an anti-social, indecent or self-serving manner) with "relajo" meaning the expected rules have been dropped.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Glen: I don't think you'd offend anyone, but it obviously depends on the context.


Relajo (mess, tangle, disorder, chaos):

- El plomero me dejó un relajo en la tubería.
The plumber left the pipes all messed up.

- Niño, limpia tu cuarto; mira qué relajo tienes.
Hey kid, clean your room; look at it, it's such a mess.

- Hicimos una fiesta y la casa quedó hecha un relajo.
We had a party and now our home is a total mess.

- No me hables de trabajo, que ahorita tengo un relajo en la oficina.
Don't talk to me about job, right now, everything in the office is messed up.



Echar relajo (to have a good time, to be noisy, not to take things seriously):

- Ese niño echa mucho relajo en clase; distrae a todos los demás.
That boy is always playing in class; he distracts all the others. -> The child is obviously having a good time, but that isn't really positive for the teacher or the other kids.

- Deja de echar relajo y ponte serio.
Stop messing around and be serious.

- Me divertí mucho en la fiesta. Estuvimos echando mucho relajo.
I had a lot of fun at the party. We were dancing and joking and feeling good.



"Algo ser un relajo" (something is a mess, complicated...):
- No me gusta poner árbol de navidad; es un relajo: primero tienes que ponerlo y luego hay que quitarlo.
I don't like to have a Christmas tree; it's so complicated: first you have to set it up and then it has to be taken down.

- Traté de organizar una junta ayer y fue un relajo; nadie podía asistir a la misma hora.
I tried to organize a meeting yesterday and it was so difficult; nobody could attend at the same hour.

- Quiero invitar al tío Eduardo a la cena de Navidad, pero ya ves que es un relajo; nada le parece. -> As I said, it's not the most common idea about a person, but it may be used if the context is clear enough.
I want to invite uncle Eduardo to our Christmas dinner, but you know how harsh he is; he doesn't like anything.



"Alguien ser un relajo" (to be fun, to be someone who doesn't take things seriously, to be someone who jokes around):

- Me encanta ir a las fiestas con Elena, es un relajo.
I love going to parties with Elena, she's so much fun.

- No queremos trabajar con Hugo; es un relajo y no avanzamos nada.
We don't want to work with Hugo; he's always joking around and we don't get anything done.

-- Manuel me estuvo haciendo bromas todo el día.
-- Sí, ese cuate es un relajo.
Manuel was acting silly with me all day long.
Yes, that's a crazy guy.

[Glen]

What a fine collection of examples of usage. Thanks!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I'm glad you found them useful.

[poli]

As far as I can tell, relajo in Caribbean Spanish is always negative. Besides a mess it may mean a weakness, stupidity or a frivolous waste.
An example recently went something like this: En mi opinión un mosuleo para un perro es un relajo. It's less than a delito, but carries a negative feel to it.

[Glen]

- Quiero invitar al tío Eduardo a la cena de Navidad, pero ya ves que es un relajo; nada le parece. -> As I said, it's not the most common idea about a person, but it may be used if the context is clear enough.
I want to invite uncle Eduardo to our Christmas dinner, but you know how harsh he is; he doesn't like anything.

That's the very sense I heard it used in, by someone from the state of Jalisco no less!