cuacholote

[Joanna M. Sanchez]

Yes, I think I must have heard it as a regional variant in Jalisco, near
Colima.  And it was normally used when something one did went badly or
sloppily.   Thanks very much.  I still wish to explore the Nahautl
etymology.  Joanna
----- Original Message -----
From: "Maria" <MBOLIVAR at SAN.RR.COM>
To: <NAHUAT-L at LISTS.UMN.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2004 3:49 PM
Subject: Re: cuacholote


It is cuachalote and it does not quite mean clumsy. It means untidy,
badly dressed, dirty. Cuachalote is often used to diminish someone who
conducts himself or herself in a carefree manner. Mira nomás qué
cuachalote is also used as the equivalent of fachoso or dejado...

If you can read Spanish, Germán Dehesa has a funny text of cuachalotes,
here: http://www.terra.com.mx/deportes/articulo/041740/

http://www.jergasdehablahispana.org/mexico.htm

I am referring, of course, to the modern use of cuachalote, the one I
heard growing up.

You can also check the jerga dictionary on line at
http://www.jergasdehablahispana.org/mexico.htm

cuachalote: (adj.) desaliñado, mal vestido. Ahí andaba Teresa por la
casa, toda cuachalota, cuando de repente llegó su futura suegra.

María Bolívar



"We don´t see things as they are,
We see things as we are."
Anais Nin

Dr. María D. Bolívar
MBOLIVAR at san.rr.com



-----Original Message-----
From: Nahua language and culture discussion
[mailto:NAHUAT-L at LISTS.UMN.EDU] On Behalf Of Juan Alvarez Cuauhtemoc
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2004 12:14 PM
To: NAHUAT-L at LISTS.UMN.EDU
Subject: Re: cuacholote

As a Chicano growing up in a bordertown I oftentimes heard the word
cua-cha-lote, not cua-cho-lote.  But the context and meaning was
different
than what Robert proposes.  Perhaps this has to do with regional
variations
as he said.  In any case, cua-cha-lote was a "bad" word.  For example,
the
word, "cua-cha" in cua-cha-lote meant "caca" (shit).  So, if someone
said
"no vales cuacha."  It was the equivalent of saying "you are not worth
shit."  So, if someone called another "cua-cha-lote" it was, depending
on
the context, either an insult or a cariñito.  Insult: "piece of shit."
Cariñito: "Este cago todo a su padre, mi cua-cha-lotito."  ("He
completely
took after his father, my little piece of shit.")  In the nahuatlized
mestizo background where I come from we inherited the use of inverted
speech.  We, for example, used "papacito" to refer to its opposite -a
little
boy.  Or hombre grande to refer to a small son.  When used with cariño
even
the word "caca" meant its opposite -beauty.  So, to call someone with
cariño -mi cua-cha-lotito was, in essence, to call him the opposite, a
handsome boy.


Juan Alvarez Cuauhtemoc


----- Original Message -----
From: "robert barkaloff" <robert at COATLI.COM>
To: <NAHUAT-L at LISTS.UMN.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2004 1:26 PM
Subject: Re: cuacholote


> Joanna M. Sanchez wrote:
>
> > I am analyzing the Mexican Spanish slang term /cuacholote/, which
> > refers to a clumsy or untalented person, for its Nahuatl root.
Would
> > it be /cuauh-xeloa/, or should /cua-xolotl/ be considered /?/
>
> Just a note:  I grew-up hearing this word at me -- thank's mom.   I do
> remember the pronounciation as "cua-cha-lote."  This may be a regional
> variation, though  I have never heard the word pronounced as
> "cua-cho-lote."   I also assumed it to be "cuah-xolotl," though I'm
not
> sure of it's derivation.  In the context which I understood the word,
it
> refers to someone who is sloppy or unkempt in appearance or in their
doings.
>
> Robert