“Ponte Trucha.” That’s Mexican slang for “get ready,” “be on your toes,” or “be alert.” I’ve mostly heard this in popular songs, though elsewhere too. And until I looked it up I always wondered why they were singing about trout.
I’m not sure how trout became the “fish of readiness,” and I frankly find it kind of hysterical. Don’t sharks seem somehow more prepared for the unexpected? Maybe flying fish? But trout somehow snapped up this particular linguistic prize. Given that it’s slang, you’re likely to never hear “Pongase trucha” or “ponganse trucha,” either for that matter.
But we’ve got funny expressions about seafood in English too. Why are clams so happy? Most of the clams I know have been sautéed in garlic, white wine, and lemon juice and are mingling with linguini just before I scarf them down. In Spanish they say “Feliz como una lombriz.” Given that most people don’t eat worms, I think they’ve got a much better chance at happiness than clams anyway. I know that the worms in my compost bin seem to be pretty happy with their diet of table scraps.
And one of these days, I’m going to “ponerme trucha para estar feliz como una lombriz” when I make my next trip to DF. Until then, saludos.
John Calypso said:
There actually are a few explanations for “Happy as a clam”. “Why would clams be happy? It has been suggested that open clams give the appearance of smiling. The derivation is more likely to come from the fuller version of the phrase, now rarely heard – ‘as happy as a clam at high water’. [High] tide is when clams are free from the attentions of predators; surely the happiest of times in the bivalve [mollusk] world. The phrase originated in the north-eastern states of the USA in the early 19th century. The earliest citation found is from a frontier memoir The Harpe’s Head – A Legend of Kentucky, 1833:”
There you have it 😉
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Kim G said:
Thank you! That’s a very interesting explanation. Because it never seemed that the path to happiness would run through garlic sauce, LOL…
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Dana Jennings said:
Hey this trout slang was a new one 4 me. More please My MexSlang is picked up from the guys @our metalshop, so it’s a different kettle of fish. And why a kettle?! A word only used in names of crappy faux english comfort food restaurants.
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Kim G said:
I guess the kettle thing is a burning question. Somewhere at least.
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garydenness said:
I am currently having issues with occasional comments from long standing readers being flagged as spam. It’s both weird and annoying. I think this may be a WordPress issue that needs their attention.
Akismet used to be excellent at filtering spam, and I used to allow all comments to be published straight away. But about a year ago, far too much spam started getting through. So I set comments from new commentators to need approval first. It’s the way to go, methinks.
And these comments do of course answer your question left on my blog….yes, I’m still reading! Gringo Suelto is duly showing up in my Feedly account every time you publish. 🙂
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Kim G said:
Thanks. Given that I have at best probably a handful of readers so far, I’m not letting all comments through automatically. But I can check the site a couple times a day too, so there’s not too much lag between comment and approval.
BTW, your and Steve’s comments on the columns have let me to try out “Chateau” theme. I like it, but just need to figure out how to get the blogroll back.
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garydenness said:
My comment failed to appear. It could be a glitch and my comment is lost for ever. Or, possibly, you are still moderating every comment! I’ll find out when I press enter…
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Kim G said:
Hola Gary,
Somehow both your comments got flagged as spam. I’m still trying to figure out how to approve comments from trusted sources. I’m still in “shake-down” mode and still learning the dashboard.
I did a quick check, and had already checked the “approved once, approved subsequently” button, so I don’t know why your comments went to spam. Maybe the link?
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garydenness said:
I’m sure Mexicans would be just as confused if I asked one for a salmon and trout, or warned him that a load of rainbow trouts were on their way. 🙂
Sharks are pathetic. http://www.lewstringer.com/USERIMAGES/sharks.jpg
Gary, UK
Where we Brits are most perplexed at why Mexicans would name a chicken fast food joint ‘Happy Chicken’ when they are all, very clearly, dead
And where we do intend to bring the internationally famous Kim G tagline full circle, so to speak
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Kim G said:
LOL…I like the idea of bringing the taglines full circle.
As for sharks, I went to Provincetown weekend before last, and upon paying for parking at a public beach, was handed a flyer warning me of shark danger…LOL… the water was VERY shallow.
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