Fregar Los Tepalcates

I like to get my dork on down here with words from Nahuatl and other indigenous languages. Many are place names, like Huejotitán, Tlaquepaque, and Ixtlahuacán. Aren't those just delicious words? Say it: Ixtlahuacán. Yummy. (Or, as Hernan would say, "Jummy".)

Other good examples are tlacuache (opossum), mapache (raccoon), zempasúchitl (marigold), chapopote (tar), and molcajete (mortar - as used in the kitchen to make delicious salsas). Many words are now a part of not only Mexican Spanish but also of English and of many other languages in the world. Consider tomato, chili, jicama, tequila, avocado, guacamole, chocolate, and chipotle. Not all borrowed words are about food, (e.g. coyote), but I'm hungry right now, so those are the ones that first come to mind.

This morning my mother-in-law said she was going to fregar los tepalcates, which means "wash the dishes". I'd heard neither fregar nor tepalcates before. Fregar is not from Nahuatl, but apparently tepalcates is. Besides "dishes", it also means, she explained to me, "broken shards of clay", as from a clay jar. She said when she was a girl she was always told to fregar los tepalcates. Now she usually says lavar los trastes..

Nearby in San Juan is an orphanage, she said that sometimes some girls come down from there to buy items from her shop. Some speak a "dialect of Spanish", which is how people around here refer to the indigenous languages. She said she'd mention to them the next time they come that I'd love to learn their language. If the opportunity presents itself I'd be happy as a lime wedge in a gin and tonic to dork out on a regular basis.