SPANISH "N" WORD

 Now that there is some sort of a linguistic witch-hunting against the "N" word in the US, we should perhaps take a soul-searching glimpse at the Spanish "N" word.  We all know that in every country dogs bite, and Castillian is no exception. I suppose we should go through the classics and expurgate the "N" word and replace it with a more acceptable one. But should we?

"Tener la negra" means to have bad luck, just as "pasarlas negras" means to have a hard time. And when someone is angry "está negro." And hard-working people "trabajan como negros." And when someone finds something hard or difficult to do "se las ve negras." And when a situation is at sixes and sevens, bedlam, we have in Spanish "una merienda de negros." And the black sheep of the family becomes the "oveja negra o garbanzo negro de la familia." 

Luckily Spanish has the saying: "dame pan y (llámame) dime tonto" which is very realistic and true. 

(This entry is dedicated to my granddaughter Alexia Nelson.)