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/Sounds like "PAH" (as in "park") + "toh" (as in "toll") + "MAH" (as in "mark") + "loh" (as in "loan")/

Meaning

In Chile, a delinquent, troublemaker, or someone mixed up in shady business. Pato malo is the casual label for the neighborhood criminal without having to say the word outright.

Examples

That corner is full of patos malos, better go around.

They caught him stealing, turned out he was a known pato malo in the neighborhood.

Regional synonyms

To post content strategically so that platform recommendation algorithms push it to more people. A delicate dance with an invisible machine that determines who sees your work and who never does.