List of Puerto Rican Slang Words and Phrases - P

P

• Pa’ lante - Contraction of "Para adelante". Forward. "y a base de eso, vamos pa’ lante" (and based on that, we'll move forward)
• Pai - Old Spanish for Papa, Short for papi ("daddy"). Alos, a term of endearment for males.
• Pajaro, pajarito - Literally, "bird". Penis or little penis.
• Pana - friend, pal
• Paquete - Literally, "package." A lie. As in, "Que paquete mas grande!" (What a humongous lie!). "Paquetero" - Liar (mentiroso) "Esteban es un paquetero" (Esteban is a liar).
• Parkear - Anglicism for "to park". The correct term in Spanish is "estacionar".
• Patatús - Standard Spanish for "a fit"...a non-specific ailment that involves passing out, hot flashes, etc. that usually causes a commotion.
• Pato - Literally, "duck". Used to call a person "fag" or "lesbian", as in homosexual, or gay.
• Pa'tras como el cangrejo - to make no headway, or to refer to someone that will make no progress. Literally going backwards, like a crab.
• Pegandole cuernos - Literally translating as "giving him/her horns", it is used to describe someone who is being unfaithful or adulterous.
• Pelado - Literally, "peeled". Pennyless; broke (financially).
• Pendejeando or Pendejeria - from Pendejo, an insufferable fool, a jerk. "Clowning around" or "wasting time." Examples: Dejate de estar pendejeando. ("Stop wasting time." or "Stop jerking around."); Deja la pendejeria. ("Stop your clowning around.") Akin to matando tiempo ("killing time").
• Peldona 'sae - "Sorry, eh?!" Actually it's said: Perdona, sabes? in correct Spanish.
• Pendejo/pendeja -"jerk", "Dumb", "slow-witted", or "easily taken advantage of." Examples: Te cojieron de pendejo. ("They took you for a ride."); No seas pendejo. ("Don't be a dumbass."); Ella es tan pendeja que no entendio. (She so slow-minded that she didn't understand.)
• Peo - Contraction for "pedo", fart.
• Peseta - The currency of 25 cents, comes from the Spanish money used in Puerto Rico during its Spanish colonial times.
• Piragua - While Piragua is the Taino word for a canoe, it is also a treat made from shaved ice and colored/flavored syrup. They are traditionally served in a paper cone. It is literally an ice cone.
• Por el techo - A Standard Spanish idiom that literally means "Through the roof". Said of someone who is very mad.
• Por la maceta - As maceta means a mallet, it implies approval by mallet blow. Something that you approved of, like "great", or "good deal", or "awesome".
• Por un tubo y siete llaves - Literally, "Through a tube and seven faucets". Abundance. An oversupply of things, usually food. At Thanksgiving or Christmas the hostess could tell you to take food home because 'there's food here 'por un tubo y siete llaves'.
• Puñeta - Used like the curse word "Fuck!". "Hacerse la puñeta" (To masturbate oneself, specifically male masturbation). From "puño" (fist).