Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

Ave de corral – chicken or fowl
Carne de gallina – goose pimples. Se me puso carne de gallina – I got goose bumps.
Cuerpo de gallina – a woman with a body like a hen because she doesn’t have hips (insult).
El útimo en llegar es culo de gallina – The equivalent of “last one there is a rotten egg.”
Estar como gallina con huevos – distrustful
Estar como gallina en corral ajeno – to feel out of place. We also say Se siente fuera de lugar (out of place) or como sapo en pozo ajeno
Gallina – a hen or a coward
Gallina ponedora – egg-laying hen
Gallinero – chicken coop or the top gallery/floor in a theater where the worst seats are.
Gallo – a he man or macho
Jugar a la gallina ciega – to play blind man’s bluff

Tiquismo (Costa Rican expressions)

Acostarse con las gallinas – to go to be early
Cuita – chicken or bird crap or a delicate person
Contar sus cuitas – to tell one’s troubles
Gallina vieja hace buen caldo – literally an old hen makes a good broth. In figurative terms, there is nothing like an older woman
Las gallinas de arriba ensucian a las de abajo – the underdog always suffers

Al pie de la letra – to the letter, literally
De su puño y letra – in your own handwriting
Despacito con buena letra – slowly, easy does it or gently
Filosofía y Letras – humanities
Letra – lyrics
La letra con sangre entra – spare the rod and spoil the child
Letra bastardilla, cursiva or itálica – italics
Letra de imprenta – printing
Letra mayúscula – caplital letters
Letra minúscula – small letters
Primeras letras – the three Rs (school subjects)
Tener buena letra – to have good handwriting
Unas letras or cuatro letras – a few lines. Te voy a escribir unas letras. I am going to write you a few lines.

Accidente – accident
Autopista or pista – highway
Brincarse un alto – to jump a stop sign
Cambiar de carril – to change lanes
Carril – lane
Carril de asenso – passing lane
Ceder el paso – yield the right of way
Chaleco – vest
Choque – a car crash
Choque frontal – a head on collision
Condución temeraria – reckless driving
Correr – to speed
Cruce or intersección – intersection
Derrumbe – land slide
Despacio -slow
Desviación or desvio – detour
Direccionales or señales de giro – turn signals
Emergencia – emergency
Gata – a car’s jack
Girar o doblar – to turn
Hombres trabjando – men working
Impugnar or aplelar – to appeal a ticket
Limite de velociad – speed limit
Luz amarilla – yellow light
Luz roja – red light
Luz verde – green light
Multa or parte – fine or ticket
No adelantar – no passing
No hay paso – road closed
No virar – don’t turn
No virar a la izquierda – no left turn
No virar a la derecha – no right turn
Pasar un señal de alto – to run a stop sign
Pasar un semáforo en rojo – to run a red light
Preferencia or paso or vía – right of way
Peaje – toll booth
Peaton – pedestrian
Peligro – danger
Placa or matrícula – license plate
Puente angosto – narrow bridge
Reducir la velocidad – slow down
Reductores de velocidad or policías durmientes – speed bumps
Semáforo – traffic light
Señal de alto or un alto – stop sign
Tráfico – automobile traffic or a traffic policeman
Tránsito entrando – merging traffic
Triángulos – emergency triangles
Un solo caril – one lane
Una vía – one way
Velocidad – speed limit
Zona escolar – school zone

Tiquismos of the week:

Chuzo – a car
Nave – a car
Picar – to drag race
Picón – a drag racer
Quemar hule – to burn rubber (tires)
Rayar – to pass another car. Adelantar, rebasar or pasar are also used.

The word calle (street) is used in a variety of useful Spanish expressions.

alborotar la calle – to disturb the neighborhood
calle arriba – up the street
calle abajo – down the street
calle de la amargura – a difficult situation (figurative)
calle de un sentido or calle de dirección única or una vía – one-way street
callejear – to wander around the streets
callejón – an alley
callejero – a street person or someone who spends a lot of time on the streets
dejar a uno en la calle – put put somebody out of a job
echar or poner en la calle – to throw someone out
echarse or tirarse a la calle – to hit the streets or to become a prostitute
quedarse en la calle – to be broke
salir a la calle – to go out in the street
un callejón sin salida – a dead end street or cul-de-sac (literally and figuratively). Las negociaciones están en un callejón sin salida. The negotiations are deadlocked.

Tiquismo or Costa Rican expression:

Candíl en la calle, oscuridad en la casa – you act one way on the street with people and another way with the family or people are great with strangers and neighbors and oftentimes monsters with their own families.
La Universidad de la Calle – You learn more in streets than in the regular university, figuratively speaking