Spanish slang turns 'eggs' into 'balls'
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By Jamie Annel
Asking a man if he has balls is a provocative question, but for instructor Pat Cole it was just a mistake caused by her less than perfect grasp of Spanish.
On a shopping trip to a Guatemalan store this summer, Cole innocently asked the shopkeeper, "Tu tienes huevos?" which in textbook-correct Spanish means "Do you have eggs?"
Guatemalan slang, however, is like American slang; textbook-perfect phrases are sometimes loaded with innuendo in casual conversation.
The shopkeeper and a male customer in the store reacted with surprise and then exploded in gales of laughter.
Still smiling, the shopkeeper said, "Si," before explaining the mistake.
Cole said she learned to rely on her bodyguard to translate for her.