Much has been said and discussed about lunfardo: its origins, the way it has been introduced in some of the most popular tango songs sang by porteños in Buenos Aires…This has led many people to think that lunfardo is a dialect that is not currently used when this is actually not the case. There are many popular expressions used in everyday conversations whose origin can be found in this dialect.

Below are some of these expressions and their meanings. Next time you visit Buenos Aires, you can also use them as you meet porteños:

“No le llega el agua al tanque”

This lunfardo expression is very much used to describe somebody who cannot think clearly or who has some problems understanding even simple concepts. It’s a polite way of calling somebody a fool or stupid.

“Arrastrar el ala”

This is an expression that describes a situation in which somebody, generally a man, is in love with a woman and does everything he can to call her attention and seduce her so that she sets her eyes on him and decides to date him. This expression is taken from the natural world, as male birds drag their wings on the floor when they are interested in mating with a female bird.

“Lo atamos con alambre”

This is probably one of the most popular lunfardo expressions used nowadays in Buenos Aires. It is used to describe those difficult situations that are solved in a careless way, just to get rid of the problem without investing the appropriate time, money and resources to give a right and definite solution to the problem. It is understood that the provided solution will only last for a limited period of time.

“Bajar un cambio”

This lunfardo expression is told to somebody who needs to slow down a bit either because he’s extremely enthusiastic about something or because he is overly nervous. This metaphoric expression comes from the automotive world as it is also applied to drivers when they need to slow down.

“Le faltan algunos jugadores”

This is a metaphoric expression used to describe somebody who seems to be insane either because he says or does things that are strange to normal people. It is a subtle way of calling somebody crazy.

“Hablar hasta por los codos”

This is a funny expression used popularly to depict somebody who loves speaking and who’s always saying something. She speaks so much that words seem to come out not only out of her mouth but out of her elbows as well.

“Hacerse la mosquita muerta”

This expression is used to describe somebody who has done something wrong and acts like the most innocent person in the planet.

What about the expressions below? Would you guess what they mean?

• ¡Ni a palos!
• Mala leche
• Me pica el bagre
• Tirar los galgos
• Tomalo con soda
• Hacerse la rata
• Estoy seco
• Pegar un tubazo

Argentina is a country which has been influenced by the castilla language of the first Spanish colonialists and the indigenous languages spoken by the native Indians – a mixture of Quichua, Guaraní and Mapuche, depending on the region of the country you might happen to be referring to.

The rich mixture of violently opposed heritages, combined with the development of lunfardo in Buenos Aires during the late 19th century, has gradually over time turned Argentine Spanish (or Castellano, as Argentines dub it) into a very particular form of Spanish with an incredible range of words and phrases such as “cancha” and “canchero.”

Cancha

While in most Spanish-speaking countries “cancha” is used to refer to a football pitch or other kind of delineated area marked out for the purposes of a sports match, it can also be used in a number of other contexts.

Cancha

In Argentina, the term “cancha” comes from a combination of the Quichua and Spanish languages and it was first referred to the idea of a football pitch or sporting arena thanks to a popular sport that the native Indians in Argentina used to play – a sport very similar in style to the team game, Chueca, that Spanish colonialists in the country were fond of playing.

The “cancha” for this game was rectangular in shape and either lined by a series of rocks or simply delineated by creating markings on the ground. Each team player was armed with a long stick, similar in style to that of a hockey stick, and the object of the game was to try and knock the ball out of the delineated area.

Chueca game

However, “cancha” can also be used in Argentina to refer to someone who has lots of experience or lots of freedom in which to do something. Someone who has lots of “cancha” in an area, is very experienced in that area.

Canchero

Whereas the word “cancha” is used in other Spanish-speaking countries, “Canchero” is a word particular to Argentina and developed during the late 19th century as part of Buenos Aires’ lunfardo.

The word “canchero” is used to refer to someone who needs to stand out in front of the crowd by using words or vocabulary and by performing actions which will cause attention and make people take notice. For example, instead of asking if you want to go for a coffee (café in Spanish), a “canchero” might ask you to join him for a “feca” – which is the lunfardo play on words for café.

Everything that the “canchero” does is to seem important in the eyes of others and to draw attention to his words and actions from others. He is pedantic and rather condescending at times too.

“Canchero” originated from the Quichua-Spanish word “cancha,” referring to someone who “has cancha” or a person who is “canchero” and who, if we turn it into its verb form, likes to “cancherear,” which describes the actions of a person who tries to show-off or make a display in order to be able to control and dominate the situation at hand.