A beat-up old car that's falling apart but somehow still running — the kind of vehicle held together by duct tape and prayer. In Mexico and Guatemala, carcacha is said with a mix of affection and mild embarrassment. It gets you there, but barely.

Naked, in the buff, with nothing on — or practically nothing. In Mexico, if someone shows up encuerado, they're wearing their birthday suit. It can also describe someone caught in a very awkward state of undress at the wrong moment.

A human smuggler who charges migrants — often thousands of dollars — to cross the US-Mexico border illegally. Coyotes operate dangerous routes through the desert, and while often portrayed as ruthless criminals, they remain a desperate lifeline for those with no other option. The term is known worldwide.

An informal arrangement where someone gets a job or benefit not through merit, but through personal connections. In Latin American work culture, an acomodo is the open secret everyone knows about but nobody talks about officially.