COSTA RICA CONFIDENTIAL – Pussy, beaver, moo-moo, lady garden: the English language has many euphemisms for the word “vagina,” most of them frankly a bit ridiculous. (Think of as many as you can in thirty seconds. Go! I’ll wait.) But Americans don’t have the monopoly on charming slang terms for a cisgender lady’s intimate parts.
Languages around the world have developed their own shorthand to avoid actually naming vaginas directly, whether from religious or cultural squeamishness, a wish to play it cute, or just a kind of metaphorical accuracy (why, yes, it does look a bit like a clam or a mussel).
Some languages, on the surface at least, pretty much call a spade a spade: a pussy’s a pussy in Arabic (kus), Italian (figa) and Cantonese (hai, a term banned on television which literally means “a hole in the bottom of the body”). Is this directness better? Maybe for clarity — but going without these euphemisms would certainly deprive us of a lot of laughs.
We focus on Latin America. This list is just the tip of the iceberg — every region seems to have its own particular phrases, and it likely differs from town to town — but if you want to join in a wink-wink nudge-nudge conversation in a language other than English, this is going to be your guide.
So without further ado…
Alcancía
Origin: Venezuela.
Definition: Piggy bank.
Araña
Origin: Panama.
Definition: Spider. (I have no idea why.)
Arepa
Origin: Colombia.
Definition: A local maize-based flatbread filled with delicious meat.
Argolla
Origin: Argentina.
Definition: Ring.
Bicho
Origin: Nicaragua.
Definition: Bug, brat or pest.
Bizcocho
Origin: Colombia
Definition: A wide range of pastries, cakes or cookies
Concha
Origin: Mexico.
Definition: A sea-shell usually associated with pilgrims, or shell-shaped bread known as concha blanca.
Gallo
Origin: Colombia.
Definition: Rooster.
Papaya
Origin: Cuba.
Definition: They call papaya “fruta bomba.” Several varieties of Spanish use papayas or similar fruits as euphemisms for vaginas, which once famously got Mitt Romney (and his love for papaya) in trouble.
Pepita
Origin: Mexico.
Definition: Seed or nugget.
Pupusa
Origin: El Salvador.
Definition: A Salvadorian culinary specialty, a tortilla filled with cheese.
Sapo
Origin: Chile.
Definition: Toad.
The following used in one or more Latin countries, we could find no definition:
Bollo
Used in: Cuba
Mico
Used in: Nicaragua, El Salvador
Panocho
Used in: Costa Rica
Pepa
Used in: Panama
