HACER AGUA VS HACER AGUAS

 I have the bad habit of watching the news on TV while I breakfast. Aside from the apocalyptic information dished out so early in the morning, I must endure the appalling handling of the Spanish language. This morning, as it happens, I heard that "Podemos hace aguas y se agarra al salvavidas de Rufián." (Tele5, programa AR, March 20, 2026.) This means that Podemos (a communist party in Spain) is urinating and holding on to Rufián, a two-bit left-wing politician, for dear life." Urinating? Yes, "hacer aguas" means just that. The correct expression is "hacer agua", meaning to founder and sink. Of course, Spanish politicians are not what they used to be, and their overall cultural baggage today leaves a lot to be desired. Please remember: to fail, to sink, to founder, is "hacer agua (singular)." To urinate is "hacer aguas (plural)."