Cola

[DailyWord]

This is a discussion thread for the Daily Spanish Word for March 4, 2009

cola - feminine noun (la) - tail, line. Look up cola in the dictionary

Muchos animales tienen cola.
Many animals have a tail.

[Jessica]

I believe it has NOTHING to do with Coca Cola.


What would line be referred to? What kind of line?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@jchen: "line" like in "standing in line"

"Hice una cola de 7 horas para comprar un iPhone" = "I stood in line 7 hours to buy an iPhone"

"Coca-cola" comes from an ingredient called "cola nut".

[laepelba]

I love my iPhone, but not so much that I'd wait in line for that long.

Seriously ... Jessica, I found "cola" once when I was looking up "queue". Do you ever use "queue" to talk about a line, like waiting in line for the roller coaster at an amusement park....

Another question ... previously, in another thread awhile back, when I was complaining about not being able to say my "r's" in Spanish (I still can't ... arrrgh!), someone gave me a trabalenguas that went something like this: "El Perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Ramirez se lo ha cortado." So, in this saying, isn't "rabo" a synonym with "cola" when used like in the sample sentence? Are there any subtle differences?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Lou Ann: "rabo" is the tail of four legged animals... "cola" is a more general term.
-> All "rabos" are "colas", but not all "colas" are "rabos".

[laepelba]

Ooooh ... I'm going to have to contemplate that one........... Hmm.... Can you use "cola" in a sentence where it would mean "tail" but could NOT be replaced with "rabo"?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

"Las lagartijas desprenden la cola cuando están en peligro" = "Lizards detach their tails when they're in danger"

[poli]

Listen to both words and the sound of the cola is finer than rabo.
An ox has a rabo but a monkey has a cola.
Also cola is a vernacular but not very vulgar way of saying butt.
Rabo is a very vulgar way of saying penis.

[Tomisimo]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Seriously ... Jessica, I found "cola" once when I was looking up "queue". Do you ever use "queue" to talk about a line, like waiting in line for the roller coaster at an amusement park....

I think "queue" is the British way of saying "line" that you wait in.

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

I think "queue" is the British way of saying "line" that you wait in.

You know, though, I have found that I hear "queue" more and more often here in the US over the past few years. Like I have a "queue" of books I want to read - I'll say that such-and-such a book is "in the queue"....

[Bolboreta]

Originally Posted by poli

Listen to both words and the sound of the cola is finer than rabo.
An ox has a rabo but a monkey has a cola.
Also cola is a vernacular but not very vulgar way of saying butt.
Rabo is a very vulgar way of saying penis.

I only add a detail: Rabo is a VERY-VERY vulgar way of saying penis. At least in Spain, it's better that you don't use it if you don't want to show yourself as an absolutely unpolite person

Cola is used as a synonim of penis, too. But it's not vulgar. Specially in diminutivo "colita", is a usual way to speak with babies or little children about their penis. If you are bathing your little boy you may say: Ven, que vamos a lavar la colita.

(I edit my message while remembering new meanings). I think that in Latin American Spanish they don't use cola as a synonim of penis, and do use it as bottom. There is a famous song, "a mover la colita", that obviously mean "move your bottom" and not "move your penis" ^_^ .

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Bolboreta

I'll only add a detail: Rabo is a VERY-VERY vulgar way of saying penis. At least in Spain, it's better that you don't use it if you don't want to show yourself as an absolutely unpolite person

Cola is used as a synonym of penis, too. But it's not vulgar. Especially in diminutivo "colita", it's the usual way to speak with babies or little children about their penis. If you are bathing your little boy you may say: Ven, que vamos a lavar la colita.

(I edit my message while remembering new meanings). I think that in Latin American Spanish they don't use cola as a synonym of penis, but do use it as bottom. There is a famous song, "a mover la colita", which obviously means "move your bottom" and not "move your penis" ^_^ .

Some small corrections.

[poli]

This is a perfect example of what a mine field Spanish can be when dealing with vulgar works. The "no-no" words vary greatly from one country to another. Sometimes it can provoke fights, but most of the
time laughs. Anyone who has dealt with various Spanish-speaking nationalities has funny stories to tell about these misunderstandings.

[CrOtALiTo]

This is a said very old between the people.

Tienes cola que te piese.


I don't know if you have heard this before. But believe this a way to say that you have secrets.

[laepelba]

I have to say that I am more than slightly embarrassed at the direction of parts of this conversation that I suppose I started without realization..........

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

I have to say that I am more than slightly embarrassed at the direction of parts of this conversation that I suppose I started without realization..........

I was going to say....

[poli]

¿How do you say sonrojo in Spanish?

[chileno]

Originally Posted by poli

¿How do you say sonrojo in Spanish?

o ponerse rojo/colorado (como tomate)

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by poli

¿How do you say sonrojo in Spanish?

I'm not sure if you wanna say this.

Estoy sonrojado con mi novia

I'm embarrassment with my girlfriend.

[poli]

Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo

I'm not sure if you wanna say this.

Estoy sonrojado con mi novia

I'm embarrassment with my girlfriend.

Es un chiste. Pregunté cómo se dice algo en español con la misma palabra. Tambien puedo preguntar: Como se dice blush en inglés? Yo mismo la contesté.A veces trato de agudizar mi ingenio pero con
éxito variado