Hondu lingo

So on the whole, standard Honduran Spanish is fairly clear and easy to understand. There is no Spanish lisp, no Argentine “sh,” no Paraguayan/Andean mixture between Spanish and an indigenous language. That said, here are a few interesting, confusing and/or hilarious phrases I’ve picked up thus far from Honduran lexicon:

Qué pedo? Literally “what fart,” used as a form of “what’s up.” This is interchanged with “Qué pepsi?”

Exagerado- “exaggerated,” an amazing word used to describe a large quantity of anything. For instance, the line of people at the bank? Exagerado. How much we worked today? Exagerado. How well those two get along? Exagerado!!!!

Vaya pues- “go then,” way of saying “ok, sounds good.” The first time I heard this I got offended, thinking the woman wanted me to go away.

Sí hombre or No hombre: “yeah man” or “no man” used very liberally among guys and girls to put emphasis on a yes or no question. For instance, “Are you sure you have the right address?” “Siiii hombre!!”

Cheque: “check,” used as an affirmation or positive description of a situation, like the word cool. How’s it going? Cheque. Let’s meet tomorrow. Cheque. Some even go so far as to use “Cheque leque” or “cheque leque panqueque,” though I don’t think I’ll ever be caught dead saying that. But hey, who knows what two years will bring…

So…. What fart?