A treacherous backstabber who acts friendly to your face but is ready to hurt you the moment you turn around. In Colombia and Venezuela the culebra is the false friend who smiles while holding the knife behind their back.

Gossip, a rumor or a story that turns into a much bigger problem than it should have been. In Colombia a tamale is that tale that travels from mouth to mouth, growing bigger with each telling until nobody knows what was true.

A tiny, cramped, and messy place where barely one person fits. In Colombia, a cuchitrajo is that miserable space someone calls a room but is really just a closet with a mattress squeezed inside.

The boss, the big shot — the leader of a group, neighborhood, or operation that everyone respects and answers to. In Peru and Colombia the bichote has real power and everyone knows it.