Every country in the world has its own sayings and expressions. I am biased, but I believe that Costa Rica’s are among the most colorful, numerous and hilarious – and I think it is safe to say that Costa Ricans are much more conscious of, and proud to share, their sayings than many other peoples in the world. It will probably be a source of lifelong frustration to me that when I use them in conversation with people who don’t know me well, I will always be met with surprised laughter. I said in a meeting recently that I was “detrás del palo” (behind the tree/branch, which in the United States we would translate as being out of the loop) and triggered a flurry of amused chuckles.
I have learned most of my favorite phrases from my husband and friends, although I am indebted to Carlos Arauz’s “Dichos y refranes costarricenses – Frases y expresiones de nuestra habla popular” (2010), which I bought from the author at a book fair a few years back and found to be fascinating.
Some of the phrases I’ll present here are not specific to Costa Rica, though I hope to include here plenty of words and phrases from Costa Rican pachuco (slang of a complexity I think is comparable to rhyming Cockney), as well as popular expressions. Since Costa Rica is the only Spanish-speaking country in which I’ve ever lived for an extended period of time, I do not always know the difference, so I apologize for the hodgepodge. I also offer my apologies for any misinterpretations or errors I might make as a non-native speaker presenting, explaining and translating these expressions. After all, aunque el mono se vista de seda, mono se queda: even a monkey dressed in silk is still a monkey, and a gringa a gringa now matter how many chicharrones she’s eaten. (A lot, by the way.)
katherine stanley obando 
HELLO MADAME ,HOW’VE YOU BEEN ? HERE’S ANOTHER PHRASE FOR YOU : ” AGARRESE DE ESE ESTROBO” IS PUNTARENAS SLANG ,MEANS :HOLD ON TO THAT ROPE . MEANING : IF YOU HAVE GOT SOMETHING GOOD AND SECURE JUST DON’T LET IT GO ! YOU MIGHT WANT TO RESEARCH IT EVEN FURTHER.
GREETINGS . FELIX.
LikeLike
Thank you Felix! Love it! I would love to hear more Puntarenas slang if you think of anything further. Happy Holidays!
LikeLike
HOWDY KATHERINE, HOW ARE YOU TODAY? I JUST REMEMBERED ANOTHER ONE WHICH GOES : ” ESTOY COMIENDO CABLE” LITTERALLY TRANSLATES AS : ” I AM EATING CABLE” MEANING : I’M DOWN AND OUT . IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS : HEY COMO TE VA FELIX ? ESTOY COMIENDO CABLE MAJE …PORQUE ME QUEDE SIN BRETE. ! SALADO CHAVALO, BUSQUE BRETE !
NOW REGARDING THE WORD “MAJE” THAT’S THE ORIGINAL WORD IT SPELLS WITH “J” IT SORT OF MORPHED INTO “MAE” OVER THE YEARS . COSTA RICAN YOUNGSTERS PRONOUNCE IT “MAE” PROBABLY DUE TO LAZINESS BUT PEOPLE THAT ARE OVER 40 OR 50 YEARS OF AGE LIKE MYSELF STILL SAY IT “MAJE” .
JUEEEEEPUTA QUE GRINGA MAS GRANDE! HAPPY HOLIDAYS ! KATHERINE.
FELIX.
LikeLike
Ha ha, thank you Felix! That one is new to me. As soon as my husband gets home and asks me how I’m doing, that’s what I’m going to say! Love it…
LikeLike
What about “cual bolsa?” I heard it everywhere when I lived in Costa Rica in the sixties. Now both the phrase and what it meant seem to have disappeared.
LikeLike
Hey, thanks Jack! What does that one mean? It’s new to me. I would love to do a column on phrases that have gone out of fashion (if that is indeed the case) or in danger of extinction…
LikeLike
A bunch of us were in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica in the early sixties. Some of us spoke Spanish better than others, but we were all perplexed about “cual bolsa.” It was always a rejoinder- I’d say something about a bag or pocket, and somebody would ask “?Cual bolsa?” This was always said with a wink and a nod, and I assumed it had sexual innuendo, but I wasn’t sure.
Nobody seems to remember the origin of the phrase or its meaning. It was used exclusively in Costa Rica (I had some buddies in El Salvador who never heard it), and has been attributed to former president Urlich, perhaps in response to something about the stock market. But that doesn’t fit the naughty laughter that always accompanied the question. I think it has something to do with “pocket,” and may be referring to a woman’s anatomy, but who knows? I’ve asked many Ticos, most of whom have never heard the phrase, or say it is “vulgar” or “street talk” and want to change the subject. In any case, it died out by the end of the decade. Could it have been a running joke on a radio show? A comedian’s catch phrase? Quine sabe?
LikeLike
Jack, I am on the case.
LikeLike
Hi…I used that phrase since I was born on 1962. It used to be popular. It´s meaning is hard to explain. It´s not sexual and doesn´t have to do with bags. Its a response to anyone who tells you something and you are reluctant or don´t believe what he is saying, but in a rather challenging way. Like: “you were the one who took the money”….you reply “¿cuál bolsa? It´s also used as “don´t fool me”.
LikeLike
Thank you very much.
LikeLike
“cual bolsa.” in our Peace Corps days is today, “whatever.” One teacher told me it was like, “Lo que sea.”
LikeLike
“CUAL BOLSA” USED TO BE USED AS A FORM OF VERBAL SELF DEFENSE FOR WHEN SOMEBODY ACCUSED YOU OF HAVING DONE SOMETHING THAT YOU DIDN’T DO THAT WAS THE PHRASE THAT YOU REPLIED TO THE ACCUSER FOR EXAMPLE : JACK YOU ATE ALL OF THE ICE CREAM THAT WAS IN THE REFRIGERATOR ! AND YOU WOULD REPLY : CUAL BOLSA ,I HAVEN’T BEEN HOME ALL DAY SOMEBODY ELSE DID IT !
LikeLike
Thanks. That has been driving my fellow ex-pats and me crazy.
LikeLike
SOMETHING ELSE,MR. SHAKELY. “CUAL BOLSA” MEANS “WHICH BAG”! AND OFTEN TIMES SOMEBODY WOULD ANSWER “LA DEL CANGURO” “THAT OF THE CANGAROO”. [ IN REFERENCE TO A POUCH THAT CANGAROOS HAVE ] ,JUST TO BE FUNNY ,.AND THIS PHRASE HAS NO SEXUAL INNUENDO WHATSOEVER . SO THAT’S THE WORD SIR.
LikeLike
A weird question for you – was recently in San Jose and was taught the word, “burrio’n,” for a wooden hummingbird I had hanging by the window.
I just checked to find the spelling, and can’t find the danged word! Was somebody having fun at my expense?
LikeLike
Sorry I didn’t reply earlier – I don’t know, but I will ask around!
LikeLike
Qué hijuepuchas! Expresa exclamación de incredulidad. In places, qué hijo de putas!
LikeLike
I remember Cual bolsa from 1970 when I came on a student exchange program. I always thought it was like “big deal” said to deflect the value of a statement. Ayhow, I used it a lot in that sense and nobody corrected me.
There was “está pal tigre” meaning something like it’s worthless so leave it be as in leave it for the tiger to take care of
Also “me picó la machaca” because there was a rumor that if you were bitten by the machaca bug, you had to have sex within 24 hours or you would die.
Also, “tumbá la vara” like “back off” or “leave me alone” (this one is a little hazy to me, so I may be a ways off).
Cops were all “tombos”
I also remember “mae” being “maje” and I don’t think women used it as readily as men back then, but I was a kid and my host families didn’t exactly let me hang out with anyone other than sterling characters.
LikeLike
I lived in Costa Rica as a teen-ager, from 1937 to 1940, and never heard any of the words discussed here, though I remember a lot of teen-age slang, and that foreigners were not called gringos but “macho” or “macha.” Fair-haired Costa Ricans were called that as a nick-name, too. Are you still the editor of the Tico Times? Would you like an article on what life was like in that era? No cars, for instance?
LikeLike
Is the expression “que corronga la chacalina” still used? It meant “what a cute little girl” in the 1940´s.
LikeLike