F

face [f] a person’s looks (pronounced approximately as in English), becoming more common than its older equivalent facha. Unlike facha, it always has positive connotation. Fixed phrase: hacer face ‘to display one’s looks, to pose for everybody to see, to show one’s presence’.

facha [f] the looks of someone, esp. good looks (synonyms: pinta, face). This word is found in European Spanish but mostly in the plural, and it has a negative connotation; in Argentina it can be either positive or negative, with a tendency towards the former (but it all depends on the tone of the speaker). Note that in Peninsular Spanish facha is slang for ‘fascist’ or ‘right-winger’; this meaning is completely unknown in Argentina, though some people say fachista instead of fascista.

falopa [f] 1 drug (of any kind); 2 drug dealing, esp. in a small scale. Derivatives: falopearse [ps-ref v] ‘to consume drugs, to administer drugs to oneself’; falopero/a [m, f] ‘drug addict’.

fashion [adj, invariable] (clothes, customs, ornaments, etc.) in fashion, en vogue; [mildly derog] (of a person) too worried about fashion and looks, careta. Pronounced ['fASOn] (approximate English simulated pronunciation FAH-shawn, with pure, unreduced vowels).

faso [m] cigarette.

feca [m] [uneducated, old-fashioned] a cup of coffee. Syllable inversion of café ‘coffee’.

fiambre [m] [colloquial, a bit rude] (lit. meat served cold, usually plus cheese) the dead body of a person, a corpse, a stiff (with an obvious reference to coldness and consistence).

fierro [m] 1 nonstandard spelling of hierro ‘iron’, used to refer to the material itself and as a countable noun to refer to solid objects (poles, rods) made of said metal (see fierros below for a specific meaning); 2 an impressive piece of machinery, usually a vehicle or an electronics device; can be extended figuratively to any device with above-average features: Este celular es un fierro; se me cayó por la escalera y anda perfecto ‘This cellphone is impressive; I dropped it down the stairs and it still works just fine’. A person who likes tuned cars, big bikes, etc. and is possibly good at vehicle tuning, is a fierrero.

fierros [m, pl] gym gear (see fierro); by extension, the action and habit of anaerobic working out with weights and machines: Antes del verano me meto a hacer fierros ‘I’m going to start working out before the summer’.

fija [f] a sure thing, a prediction which will come true (from the point of view of the speaker). See posta. Used a lot in horse races.

finiquitar [v] in its usual sense, [t] to finish off a matter, to close an issue (properly) (Ya finiquité el asunto de la cuenta del banco ‘I already finished off the issue of the bank account’). Figurative extensions: [t] to kill, to take care of (someone), to put an end to (something); [i] to die, to end, to be through.

flor [f] 1 a group of three cards of the same suit in the game of truco; 2 flor de [fixed phrase, colloquial] (used to emphasize, much as English ‘big fat…’): Me caí y me pegué un flor de palo en la cabeza ‘I fell over and took a major hit to my head’, Flor de hijo de puta resultaste ser ‘Some son of a bitch you turned out to be’.

forrado/a [adj] lit. coated, encased, wrapped (from forrar); rich, wealthy, full of money and possessions (from the hyperbolical idea of someone that is wrapped in money).

forrear [vt] to treat someone badly in a consistent way; to despise with rude words or manners, esp. in public; basurear.

forro 1 [m] lit. protective cover, esp. as in a book; a condom; 2 forro/a [m, f, adj] (most probably from meaning 1) a bad person, esp. one who has evilly deceived a friend or another loved one, or disappointed them with evil actions, or betrayed their trust.

fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuiste, fueron [conjugated forms of the irregular verb ir 'to go' or maybe ser 'to be'] to be done, to be through, to be finished. Examples: Eso ya fue ‘That’s finished already’ (a sentimental affair, a feeling between two parties); Fuiste lit. ‘You went / You’re gone’, meaning ‘You’re dead’ (fig.); Ya fuimos ‘We’re through’ (a couple breaking up). Also used as transitive meaning ‘to fire, to dismiss’: Me fueron lit. *’They went me’ (‘They fired me’). According to John Cowan, Cicero once announced the execution of certain persons to the Senate by saying “Fuerunt”, the stem fu- corresponding to the Latin verb esse ‘to be’ (not ire ‘to go’). In Spanish this stem came to be used to conjugate both verbs in the tense known as pretérito indefinido (i. e. fui means both ‘I went’ and ‘I was’).

fuerte [adj] lit. ’strong’; (of a person) in good shape, with a nice attractive body, physically well-formed (not necessarily ‘muscular’). Used with estar, not ser. Example: ¡Qué fuerte que está tu prima! ‘Your cousin’s so hot!’.

fulero/a [adj] [from English 'foul', pronounced 'full'?] of bad or substandard quality; looking as if tampered with; (sometimes applied to people) ugly; suspiciously looking.

full [fixed phrase] a full at full power; as much as possible; completely (into) for the time being: Estoy a full con el estudio ‘I’m absolutely focused in study’. See also al palo.