Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Geekitude

Warning: of interest only to students of Spanish (major geekdom ahead!)

obedecer: to obey, to stem from
la carencia : lack, deficiency
carecer de: to lack, to be deficient in
vigilar la finca : to mind the ranch
los años de vacas flacas : lean years (literally, "years of the thin cows")
poner cruz y raya a : to wash one's hands of, to have nothing more to do with
el runrún : buzz (also in the figurative sense of rumor, or gossip)
mellar : to blunt, to diminish (e.g. the force of an argument)
la (in)certidumbre : (un)certainty
la muchedumbre : crowd
plasmar : to form
la tregua : treaty
estrepitoso : deafening
la charanga : brass band (figuratively: the charade, sideshow)
anunciador(a) : announcing, prefiguring, threatening
el presupuesto: budget, estimate (from presuponer or, less commonly, presupuestar)
la tamborrada:
uproar, furor (figurative, derived from tambor, a drum)
el parado : unemployed person (literally, "the stopped one", from parar)
el paro : (rate of) unemployment
"El liderazgo, estúpido" : "It's about leadership, stupid!"

Can you tell I've been reading the editorial page? All of the above from a single editorial, alas. So many words, so little time...

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