Mexico, Processes - understand-culture

Waiting for the Line

Tirar línea, soltar línea, recibir línea: to throw the line, to release the line, to receive the line. The Diccionario del español de México of El Colegio de México defines the popular expressions as telling someone how to behave or which guidelines to follow, or listening to such guidelines and obeying them.

The dictionary gives two examples. “El director general nos tiró línea sobre qué hacer en caso de huelga” (The director general gave us the line on what to do in case of a strike). “Estaban ahí nomás, esperando recibir línea del diputado” (They were just standing there, waiting to receive the line from the deputy).

The Vocabulary of Soon

Al rato, “in a while,” and with the diminutive al ratito. The Diccionario del español de México of El Colegio de México defines it as “dentro de poco tiempo o al poco tiempo” (in a short time, or a short time later). Its example: “Al rato vamos a comer” (In a while we will eat).

Ya mero, or ya merito, “almost already,” means nearly or almost: “Ya merito se acaban los nopales” (The nopales are almost gone). A la mera hora, “at the very hour,” from mero, precise: “A la mera hora, se arrepintió” (At the last moment, he changed his mind). ¡A buenas horas!, “at good hours,” is said when something comes too late.

Paper Talks

Papelito habla, “a little paper talks.” A 2025 lesson for the second year of secondary school, in the Nueva Escuela Mexicana materials of the Ministry of Public Education, takes the saying as its title.

Among its examples are spoken promises such as “¡Te doy mi palabra!” (I give you my word!). It explains that the value of such words has moved to the documents of everyday life, such as receipts and contracts.

Skipping the Boss

In January 2014, the marketing magazine Merca2.0 gave advice on dealing with a difficult boss. Under the heading “Dale su lugar” (Give him his place), it warned: “Saltarte a tu jefe, evidenciar su incapacidad en una reunión o burlarte de él puede ser muy contraproducente” (Going over the boss’s head, exposing his incompetence in a meeting or mocking him can be very counterproductive).

The same month, the accounting news site Noticiero Contable put the advice in a single sentence: “No te saltes la jerarquía, perderás de un plumazo lo que te ha costado años ganar” (Do not skip the hierarchy. At one stroke, you will lose what took years to earn).

Obeyed and Not Complied With

Spanish colonial law gave officials a way to stop a royal order for a time. A royal declaration of 1509 says such orders “primero deben ser obedecidas y no cumplidas, y después consultadas” (must first be obeyed and not complied with, and then consulted on). The Recopilación of 1567 uses a similar formula: “que la tal carta sea obedecida y no cumplida.”

Between 1571 and 1574, the authorities of Mexico City, doctors included, applied the formula obedézcase pero no se cumpla, “let it be obeyed but not carried out,” in a dispute over medical practice. A study of the case sums it up: “obedecieron pero no cumplieron” (they obeyed but did not comply).

They Did Not Count on My Cunning

In Roberto Gómez Bolaños’s television comedy El Chapulín Colorado, one of the hero’s catchphrases is “¡No contaban con mi astucia!” (They did not count on my cunning!). His weapon is the chipote chillón, a squeaky toy mallet.

The show ran from 1973 to 1979. The character kept appearing in sketches until 1992.

Little Now

Ahora means “now.” Mexicans add the diminutive and say ahorita, “little now.” The word can mean right now, in a moment, or later. A study in the linguistics journal of El Colegio de México found that in Mexico City ahorita is used in contexts where it cannot be read as an exact moment.

For real urgency, speakers double the diminutive: ahoritita.