AdultLingoSpanish course › Section 4 › Unit 24
🛑 Sarcasm, Roasts & Shutting Down Creeps in Spanish
Defend your boundaries with wit and firmness. Shutting down unwanted advances, dismissing pushy people, spotting sleaze, sarcastic roasts.
“Malèna. Some attention is welcome. Some is not. Tonight in Madrid you learn to say no once, and mean it.” — Malèna, your host for this unit
Practise this unit free ➔Key Spanish words and phrases
| Spanish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| no me interesa | I'm not interested |
| estar bien solo | to be fine on your own |
| ahora no | not now |
| pasar | to pass; paso = I'll pass (Spain slang) |
| decir que no | to say no |
| pesado | tiresome, pushy (Spain) |
| insistir | to insist, keep pushing |
| agobiar | to crowd, smother |
| pirarse | to get lost, clear off (slang, Spain) |
| largarse | to clear off (blunt) |
| el baboso | creep, lech (lit. drooler) |
| no parar de… | to not stop (doing something) |
| el salido | horndog; horny (crude) |
| el pulpo | groper (slang, Spain; lit. octopus) |
| el plasta | pest, bore who won't leave (Spain) |
| cutre | tacky, cheap (Spain) |
| dar asco | to gross out, disgust |
| ¡qué original! | how original! (often sarcastic) |
| ni en tus sueños | in your dreams, not a chance |
| ya, claro | yeah, right (sarcastic) |
| me parto | I'm dying of laughter (often sarcastic, Spain) |
| ¡anda ya! | oh, come off it! (Spain) |
| ¡qué gracioso! | very funny (often sarcastic) |
| preguntar | to ask |
| ¿y a ti quién te ha preguntado? | who asked you? |
| me está molestando | he's / she's bothering me |
| saber | to know; to know how to |
Example sentences
I'm with my friends.
I said no.
Leave me alone, please.
Mate, she said no.
He won't stop staring at me.
That guy grosses me out
In your dreams.
You do know how to ask.
A conversation from this unit
Saturday afternoon, a terrace on the Plaza de Santa Ana. Catherine sits down next to Malèna and orders a vermut.
Catherine: Malèna, ¿sabes qué me ha dicho un tío en el metro?Malèna, do you know what a guy said to me on the metro?
Malèna: A ver… ¿«Estudias o trabajas»?Let me guess… "Do you study or work?"
Catherine: ¡Exacto! ¡Qué original!Exactly! How original!
Catherine: Y luego: «¿Me das tu número?»And then: "Can I have your number?"
Catherine: Le he dicho: «Ni en tus sueños.»I told him: "In your dreams."
Malèna: ¿Y él?And him?
Catherine: «¡Qué borde!» Y se ha bajado en Sol."How rude!" And he got off at Sol.
Malèna: Ya, claro. El borde es él.Yeah, right. He's the rude one.
Culture notes
A bar in Lavapiés, Madrid. A man Malèna has never met keeps calling her "guapa" and edging closer. Her answer: «Perdone, no me interesa.» Why does she suddenly call him usted?
To put distance between them: usted for someone who's getting too familiar is a polite wall.
In Spain, people of similar age use tú with each other almost everywhere, strangers in a bar included. That's exactly why switching to usted works: it says "we are not friends" without a single rude word. It's a classic way to cool down someone who's getting overfamiliar.
Say it like a local: Perdone, no me interesa. — Excuse me, I'm not interested.
A late-night bar in Madrid. A man keeps putting his hand on Anya's back, even after she has moved away twice. What's the most effective thing she can do?
Tell the bar staff: they are expected to step in, and they can make him leave.
Telling the staff is normal and expected in Spain, and they can throw out someone who is bothering other customers. That's what the sign you see in so many bars, «Reservado el derecho de admisión» (right of admission reserved), is for. If you ever feel in danger, call 112, the emergency number.
Say it like a local: Perdona, ese señor me está molestando. — Excuse me, that man is bothering me.
A big summer fiesta in Spain: music, crowds, food stalls. Malèna spots a purple tent with a sign that says «Punto Violeta». What is it?
A place where anyone who is harassed or attacked can get help and information.
Puntos violeta (purple points) are help points at fiestas, festivals and other big events across Spain, usually run by the town hall or the organisers. Anyone who is harassed or assaulted, or sees it happen, can go there for help and information. Purple is the colour of the feminist movement in Spain.
Say it like a local: Un tío no me deja en paz. — A guy won't leave me alone.
One in the morning. Malèna's friends walk her to a taxi. As the door closes, they all say the same thing. What are they asking her to do?
Send them a message when she gets home.
«Avísame cuando llegues» (let me know when you get home) is a ritual among friends in Spain, and it's meant seriously. The expected reply is a quick «Ya estoy en casa» (I'm home). Forget to send it, and expect your phone to ring.
Say it like a local: Avísame cuando llegues. — Let me know when you get home.
Malèna's friend Lucía, in Madrid, says her ex won't stop messaging her and keeps turning up at her work. She wants to talk to someone, in confidence. Which number can she call in Spain?
016: free, 24 hours a day, in many languages, and it doesn't show up on the phone bill.
016 is Spain's helpline for all forms of violence against women, harassment and stalking by an ex included. It's free, open 24 hours a day, works in many languages and doesn't appear on the phone bill (it's still wise to delete it from the call log). Friends and family can call it too, and it can also be reached by WhatsApp. In an emergency, call 112.
Say it like a local: ¿Estás bien? Aquí me tienes. — Are you okay? I'm here for you.
Learn it properly
In the app, Malèna takes you through this unit in short lessons: multiple choice, matching and building sentences from tiles, with audio, plus listening scenes, chats that react to your replies, read-the-room choices, culture cards and a drama episode. Words you learn come back in review right before you'd forget them. It's free and there's no account: progress stays in your browser.
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