Espanish 101: ¿Where did we get the word PENDEJO?


You heard it, you said it, you know it.

PENDEJO. USE IT IN A SENTENCE. ERES UN PENDEJO.

There’s the Orange Pendejo, first of all, and that pendejo down the block who parks his ranfla like a baboso. Let’s not forget that pendeja on the train with the cheap perfume and those pendejos at the construction site who cat-call every time a mujer walks on by.

But what does PENDEJO mean, exactly? If you’ve ever looked it up, the dictionary says it means “pubic hair,” but how did that turn into “asshat” or “jerkface” or “_______?”

Let’s follow along with University of Texas Río Grande Valley Profe David Bowles:

Mas…Espanish 101: ¿Where did we get the word PENDEJO?

Chicano? Mexican? Cuban? Boricuan? Latino? Hispanic? What are you?


NBCLatino asked POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz whether he’s a Chicano or Latino or Mexican or Hispanic.

Lalo was commenting on the Pew Hispanic Center survey everybody is talking about:

Nearly four decades after the United States government mandated the use of the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” to categorize Americans who trace their roots to Spanish-speaking countries, a new nationwide survey of Hispanic adults finds that these terms still haven’t been fully embraced by Hispanics themselves. A majority (51%) say they most often identify themselves by their family’s country of origin; just 24% say they prefer a pan-ethnic label.

Mas…Chicano? Mexican? Cuban? Boricuan? Latino? Hispanic? What are you?