Kit's first word is in Spanish... what's it mean?

Excuse me all, but in the first book, the very first word Nita hears Kit say is: Cojones
I asked what this meant at school, and my colombian friend had no idea what it mean,tbut my other freind, (who speaks no Spanish) told me it was something else...that made me look like this. Yeah. So, if you could please, please, tell me what "Cojones" means, I would be eternally grateful.

Thank you! Dai,
Shadow

[skybluice]

[Birdhead]

Well, IIRC Kit had just stuffed something up/it wasn't working the way he wanted it to. So my immediate expectation would eb that it was a swearword of some description, yeah- maybe like we would use damn, but possibly stronger.
T

Tuibird in Aotearoa
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[PK]

Well, I'm not fluent in Spanish by any means, but I actually encountered that term originally in a rant over someone using it without, apparently, realizing its literal meaning.

I believe it's a casual/somewhat vulgar term for the testicles and, as far as I know, gets used in Spanish in approximately the same ways people use the corresponding ones in English. (I. e. literally, as an expression of annoyance as in the example, or pretty much equivalent to "guts" or "nerve" for courage.)

And I'm fairly certain the above doesn't violate the rules for language, though I'm not planning to engage in an extended discussion of anatomy either.

[db_pr]

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> What's this? </pre> Cojones is a vulgar word for "nerves" but it is also a swear word. So it is like "Goddamnit" on spanish. At least that it's what it means in Puerto Rico. It may have a different meaning in another country.

Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean I'm not being followed...
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"Wisemen talk because they have something to say, fools talk because they have to say something"

[Selden]

It turns out that the word is considered English these days. It's amazing how mutable the language is. It absorbs all sorts of things.

In other words, you can look it up in a good modern dictionary. One polite definition is "manly courage."

Selden

[bassethoundbeagle]

I am a non-spanish speaker, so, uh, DB_PR, how exactly do you pronounce that?

I have a cat named Bob.

[db_pr]

I don't know how to explain it but the "j" would be like an "h" and sometimes you pronounce the "o" like "oouuu" or something but with cojones is a plain "o". If you don't understand then I don't blame you because I don't really know how to explain it to well. Oh and the "e" isn't pronounced like when you pronounce it in "speakers" or "email" it is pronounce like in "Internet". Hope you understand.

Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean I'm not being followed...
You can tell THEM you're Homeward Bounder.
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"Wisemen talk because they have something to say, fools talk because they have to say something"

[skybluice]

[papercrane]

skybluice: I am going to pretend I understood that, k?
db: I think that's about the best you can do online...hmm. Well, the Spanish 'o' there is pronounced sort of like the 'o' in 'over' and the 'e' there is pronounced like the first 'e' in 'ever'. Kind of.

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http://pub15.ezboard.com/ftimeheartf...opicID=3.topic

[db_pr]

Yeah, Well another thing is the word that irritates Kit, El Ni&ntilde;o I think they mention at the book that he doesn't like it because it means "The Baby" Well it doesn't, saying el Niño is like saying The Kid. Another one is "El Brujo" People always say, El Mago because Bruja refers to a femenine wizard (witch)And El "mago" is wizard. But I think that Brujo is acceptable. Though nobody uses it.

Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean I'm not being followed...
You can tell THEM you're Homeward Bounder.
GO TO THE WAR TOPIC
"Wisemen talk because they have something to say, fools talk because they have to say something"

[edited to remove code tag and allow line wrapping. Also fixed enya. --kli]

[bassethoundbeagle]

Aha! More interesting things I never thought I would know, or find out from the Internet. Thanks db_pr!

I have a cat named Bob.