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Bandera de México

/Sounds like "ee-tah-KAH-teh"/

The food someone packs up for you to take home after a party, family meal, or visit, wrapped in aluminum foil or tupperware. The word comes from Náhuatl "itacatl" (travel provisions), and in Mexico it is almost a ritual: when you leave grandma's house or any family gathering, you never leave empty-handed. The itacate is love in the form of leftovers.

Example

"Llévate itacate, sobró mucha comida. → Take some itacate home, there's a lot of food left over."

"Mi mamá siempre me manda itacate cuando la visito. → My mom always sends me home with leftovers when I visit."

Word family
Regional synonyms:

To impress or wow someone in Colombia, to leave them with their jaw on the floor in admiration. When something descresta you, it exceeded all your expectations and you can't stop talking about it.