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Cuco
/Sounds like "KOO" (as in "cool") + "koh" (as in "coat")/
A shrewd, calculating person who always knows the right move before anyone else does. In Cuba and the Dominican Republic, the cuco does not need to be loud or flashy: everything is already worked out by the time others see it coming. Quiet, clever, and always one step ahead.
“Ese abogado es bien cuco, siempre encuentra la vuelta legal.”
“That lawyer is sharp, he always finds the legal angle nobody else spotted.”
“Parece tranquilo pero es más cuco de lo que aparenta.”
“He seems laid back but he is a lot more cunning than he lets on.”
Your word isn't here yet
Join Hablaaa and add the expression no one else has documented.
Cuco
/Sounds like "KOO" (as in "cool") + "koh" (as in "coat")/
A shrewd, calculating person who always knows the right move before anyone else does. In Cuba and the Dominican Republic, the cuco does not need to be loud or flashy: everything is already worked out by the time others see it coming. Quiet, clever, and always one step ahead.
“Ese abogado es bien cuco, siempre encuentra la vuelta legal.”
“That lawyer is sharp, he always finds the legal angle nobody else spotted.”
“Parece tranquilo pero es más cuco de lo que aparenta.”
“He seems laid back but he is a lot more cunning than he lets on.”
Botellita de jerez
A classic childhood comeback phrase, said in full: "botellita de jerez, todo lo que digas será al revés" (little bottle of sherry, everything you say will be reversed). It is the ultimate verbal shield kids use in Mexican elementary schools to bounce back any insult. Think of it as the Spanish equivalent of "I am rubber, you are glue." Adults sometimes use it ironically to be funny or nostalgic.