TENTACIONES » Why do the Spanish “shit in the sea”? New book explores the origins of puzzling Spanish idioms that sound shocking to outsiders ¿Por qué “mojamos el churro”?
One of David Sánchez's illustrations for 'Con dos huevos.' r Spaniards use them on a daily basis, but often don’t know the first thing about their origins.They get angry and exclaim “ me cago en la mar ” (I shit in the sea), they do something clumsy and exclaim “ llevo una torrija encima ” (I’m walking around with a fried slice of milk-soaked bread on my head.) I was fascinated by those phrases, which, taken out of their original context, or to the ears of a foreigner, sound so very outlandish” They even say things like “ pollas en vinagre ,” which is particularly difficult to explain to a foreigner, as it could be translated as pickled dicks. The average Spanish speaker from the Iberian peninsula may not stop to reflect on some of the expressions that come out of his or her mouth, but to other people, some of these idioms can be truly shocking. This is precisely what happened 10 years ago to Héloïse Guerrier, who graduated in Hispanic studies in Paris, moved to Spain, and