R

rajar [vi] and more usually rajarse [ps-ref] to leave, esp. hastily; to flee, to escape esp. when a complicated problem is approaching; [derog] to leave abandoning someone, to escape like a rat.

rata [f] lit. ‘rat’. 1 Same meaning as chupina [becoming rare], skipping school, the hookie; used with the definite article in the fixed phrase hacerse la rata. Derivative: ratearse [ps-ref vi]. 2 (a person) mean, cheap (see amarrete); one who takes advantage of others and/or escapes responsibility: ¡Tu amigo es una rata, se fue sin poner guita! ‘Your friend is a ~, he took off without paying his share!’. In this sense it’s possible to use the word in either grammatical gender (un rata). Male variant: ratón.

ratones [m, pl] sexual thoughts, the natural flow of thoughts related to sexual desire; u. mostly in the fixed phrase hacerse los ratones ‘to let sexual thoughts flow’, equivalent to derivative ratonearse [ps-ref vi].

rascarse [ps-ref v] [rude] lit. to scratch oneself; to do nothing useful, to be lazy, to lie around wasting time. A stronger form of this uses the expression rascarse los huevos ‘to scratch one’s eggs’ (i. e. testicles).

raspando [adv] lit. scratching (a surface); barely, by one hair’s breadth, just enough.

raviol [m] lit. a case of pasta (as in Italian ravioli), but unlike in English, the word is countable in Spanish, regular pl. ravioles); a small packet containing a measure of cocaine.

rebotar [v] lit. to bounce, to bounce off; 1 [t] to reject, to return, to give back for review (for example, Me rebotaron el pedido de crédito ‘They rejected my credit application’); [i] to bounce, to be rejected, to be returned (El cheque rebotó ‘The check was bounced’); 2 [i] to be rejected by somebody one has sexually advanced on.

recatarse [ps-ref vi] to control oneself; to be careful. Often used regarding consumption of alcoholic beverages (hacerse el recatado ‘to pretend to be in control of oneself’). From recato ‘modesty, carefulness’, or (less likely) from rescatar ‘to rescue, to save’ with loss of syllable-final -s.

reverendo [adj] used as an emphatic mark esp. in insults, as in reverendo hijo de…, more or less ‘you big fat son of a…’. Probably because it sounds like a title, it lends importance to the rest of the phrase.

rolinga [adj, m/f] in its basic sense, a fan of the Rolling Stones, characterized by a certain features of hairdo, clothing and gestures. The term has a lot of sociocultural baggage. Rolingas have been described as “boys and girls donning torn jeans, T-shirt, denim coat, canvas fabric tennis shoes, worn-down kerchief around the neck, and in most cases the classic hairdo with a fringe” [that's "bangs" for you North Americans!]. A tongue-in-cheek blog entry describes the “classic rolinga” as follows: “Bangs, shoulder-length hair, preferrably fan of Racing or San Lorenzo. Obviously likes the Stones, and tends more towards listening to Led Zeppelin, Creedence, The Doors… Passtimes: playing the guitar, asking for coins in the street, smoking marijuana.”

romper [vi] lit. ‘to break’ (which is supposed to be transitive); used as intransitive, it means ‘to annoy, to bother’, as an euphemism to the complete expressions romper las pelotas or romper las bolas ‘to break (someone’s) balls’ (= testicles). Used by women, too!

ruso/a [m, f, adj] Jewish; a Jew; someone with a common Jewish surname or presumed Jewish descent; lit. Russian (most Jewish immigrants came from Russia).