To make a decisive play under maximum pressure when everything depends on you. Clutching means proving you've got nerves of steel when it matters most.

A stomachache that can range from mild discomfort to wanting to die in the bathroom. Usually caused by eating something you shouldn't have, eating too much, or that street food you knew was risky but worth it.

A public callout on social media exposing someone for unacceptable behavior like harassment, fraud, or abuse. In Chile and Argentina, funas go viral and can destroy reputations overnight.

To completely forget something at the worst possible moment, right when you need to remember it most. It's that nightmare where your mind goes totally empty in the middle of an exam, a presentation, or a conversation.

To have basic common sense, the minimum intelligence required not to make obviously bad decisions. When someone lacks dos dedos de frente, they consistently do everything wrong.

An acrobatic football move where a player kicks the ball with their back to the goal, legs above their head in mid-air. It's pure athletic spectacle, and when it goes in, it's a work of art.

A top-tier expert who works like a precision machine and makes everything look effortless. In Argentina and Uruguay, a maquinista does not need instructions twice: you hand them the task and they just deliver, no drama, no fuss.

A blabbermouth or loudmouth who cannot keep their mouth shut about other people's business. A bocón is always the one who spills the secret, ruins the surprise, or shares exactly what they should have kept private.

To scam or rob someone by taking advantage of their trust, naivety, or good faith. It means tricking someone into giving up money by making them believe everything is legit when it's a total setup.

When someone who ghosted you keeps watching your stories and leaving digital traces of their presence without ever actually reaching out. Worse than being ghosted, because orbiting keeps the uncertainty alive and the door just barely cracked open.

To spend a lot of money on a celebration or event without any limitations. It's said when someone is being extravagant and spares no expense.

To mute someone on social media without unfollowing them. The classic soft move: you are not ready to block them, but you also cannot handle seeing their posts. Popular across Latin America and Spain, muting someone is the digital equivalent of avoiding a person at a party while pretending everything is fine.

To obsessively refresh and check the metrics of a post: likes, comments, reach, shares. Common in social media culture, usually referring to someone who can't stop watching the numbers roll in.

To sweet-talk someone into something, seduce with smooth words, or sell with a well-crafted pitch. In Argentina it's the art of using your tongue to charm, deceive, or talk your way out of any situation.

A polite, indirect way of saying someone is on their period, used across Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Spain. It appears wherever naming menstruation directly feels too blunt. Worth noting: using it to explain a woman's mood is a quick way to come across as dismissive.

Street smarts: hard-earned practical knowledge gained from real-life experience in tough or unconventional situations. "Tener calle" means you have lived enough to read people, spot danger, and navigate the world in ways no classroom ever teaches.

To choose a character or champion at the start of a match in a competitive game. Picking well can determine whether you win or lose before the game even starts.

Something is intense, shocking, or emotionally overwhelming. It's the go to reaction across Latin America and Spain when a situation, piece of news, or story hits you so hard you don't even know what to say about it.

An unpleasant person, a negative situation, or an attitude that ruins the mood. Mala onda is the opposite of buena onda and describes everything that brings you down.

To cause such intense secondhand embarrassment that you want to disappear from the face of the earth. When something gives you cringe, it's so awkward, so painful, or so out of place that it physically hurts to witness.

A metal grill structure where meat is cooked over direct fire, the heart of Argentine and Uruguayan asado. Also refers to a restaurant specializing in grilled meats that you can smell from three blocks away.

Really fast, in an instant, without unnecessary delays in Argentina and Uruguay. When something gets done en un toque, it's done with speed, efficiency, and zero beating around the bush.

To get out of something, dodge a commitment, or escape an awkward situation with cunning. It's the art of avoiding what you don't want to do without making it too obvious you're running from responsibility.

The fall-winter season when people look for a partner just to not be alone during the cold months and holiday season. Seasonal relationships that last as long as winter and melt away with spring.

An upper-class snob who looks down on anyone they consider socially inferior. In Chile and Peru, the pituco lives in a different world and wouldn't lower themselves to mix with ordinary people under any circumstance.

To feel intense secondhand embarrassment from seeing or hearing something painfully awkward. An anglicism from 'cringe' that was quickly adopted across Spanish-speaking social media.

Someone with sticky fingers who takes other people's things when nobody is looking, quietly and skillfully. They have a habit of walking away with what is not theirs, always exploiting a moment of inattention. Used across Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.

A metal kettle with a long spout used for heating water in Argentina and Uruguay, especially sacred for brewing mate. No home in the region is complete without one sitting on the stove.

Clothes or clothing in several Spanish-speaking countries. A colloquial way to refer to garments, especially when talking about your wardrobe with either pride or shame.

To drop out or walk away from a situation you no longer want to be part of. From the card game metaphor: when you fold, you are out and nobody can make you play a hand you do not want. Used in Argentina to mean quitting a conversation, group, or commitment.