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Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

¡Si un destornillador !, ¿que pasa pisha? Es un destornillador.

English translation:

Of course it is! What? Have you never seen a screwdriver before? Dick… (or "Retard")

Added to glossary by James A. Walsh
Mar 14, 2012 22:39
12 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Spanish term

¡Si un destornillador !, ¿que pasa pisha? Es un destornillador.

Spanish to English Other Slang
Hello all,
I was hoping that someone could help me to understand the exact sense of the following phrase taken from a dialogue i am translating: ¡Si un destornillador !, ¿que pasa pisha? Es un destornillador.

Context: A young man approaches another who is sitting at a table fixing a broken radio.
He asks: ¿Eso que es un destornillador? to which the other replies: ¡Si un destornillador !, ¿que pasa pisha? Es un destornillador.
The first man then changes the subject and asks how his sister is doing.

I'm a bit confused about the sense. Is the second man saying "of course it's a screwdriver you dumbass (Is he annoyed at the first man for stating the obvious) or is he saying "Yeah, it's a screwdriver. So what?". I would appreciate your opinions on this one. Thanks very much to whoever responds
Proposed translations (English)
4 +2 Of course it is! What? Have you never seen a screwdriver before? Dick… (or "Retard")
References
pisher
Change log

Mar 21, 2012 14:26: James A. Walsh Created KOG entry

Discussion

Julie Thurston Mar 16, 2012:
yes it is used frequently here, I myself have used it when talking about my ex.
Matt Horsman Mar 16, 2012:
More variations... My wife's uncle also uses some other variations of it actually, including "pisheli" and "pichita"...all endearing and not in any way insulting of course! It's a man thing hehehe ;-P
Matt Horsman Mar 16, 2012:
To clarify origin of word "pisha" I live in Malaga (and my "familia política" are all from Malaga) and pisha is a derivative of the word picha, it is basically the Andalusian accent "habit" of changing the ch t an sh.

As somebody previously mentioned before, "picha" literally means dick (as in penis), however men use both pisha and picha when addressing each other to mean mate.
translation1201 (asker) Mar 15, 2012:
Julie, just rechecked. It is in fact pisha. I found your explanation on urban slang. Is pisha an english word too or a loan word from spanish?
Julie Thurston Mar 15, 2012:
Was it picha or pisha, picha is much stronger, but I think he is just irritated by his friends silly comment while he's trying to fix the radio
1. pisha
1) a term used to point out that a fallacy is in fact false with no actual evidence to support this claim

2)an expression of annoyance with someone who's views are different from yours
Charles Davis Mar 15, 2012:
I think I'll remove my answer, there's not much point in leaving it. Good luck!
Charles Davis Mar 15, 2012:
I think the context knocks my idea on the head, and even if it had been right "begorrah" is probably not a viable way of capturing it; I take your point.

Maybe he means something like "what's up with you?" or "are you feeling all right?".

But perhaps the likeliest implication is your second idea, "what of it?". "¿Qué pasa?" in this situation could almost mean "Do you have a problem with that?". Annoyance, yes, but more "what do you mean by asking me that?" rather than directly "stupid!".
translation1201 (asker) Mar 15, 2012:
Hi, thanks for posting your opinion John and Charles. There is more context that i should have added (sorry). Both speakers are young adults from a lower class neighbourhood in seville. They have already greeted each other so the 'que pasa picha' part is not a greeting. I get the impression that he's somewhat annoyed at the question. I believe the sense is one of the two options that i posted in my original question and was hoping to get opinions as to which option suits best. I'm Irish myself and although I am aware how the English like to stereotype us as stupid i don't think begorrah fits well here. These guys are young and begorrah is a very outdated word. Also, I think to capture the sense of what he is saying, it would be necessary to stray quite far from a literal translation.
John Anderson Mar 14, 2012:
That's about it, yes. Only further info I can povide is that the man fixing the radio is from Cádiz. Pisha is a local expression used much in the same way as "mate", even though it literally means "Penis".

Proposed translations

+2
11 hrs
Spanish term (edited): ¡Si un destornillador! ¿Que pasa pisha? Es un destornillador.
Selected

Of course it is! What? Have you never seen a screwdriver before? Dick… (or "Retard")


As far as I can see, it’s a sarcastic expression for stating the obvious. A screwdriver is a very recognisable object, so if someone were to ask me what I had if I was using one, I’d almost feel obliged to have a dig. It’s a bit like seeing a friend speaking on the phone and asking “what’s that you’re speaking into?” — it almost requires a sarcastic response. “Pisha” is used in an endearing sense, I reckon. And I’d say “retard” would be a good alternative here.
Peer comment(s):
agree Suzanne Donnelly
49 mins
Cheers Suzanne.
agree Matt Horsman : Absolutely agree with the endearing part, almost like he's saying "course it's a bloody screwdriver you prat"
1 day 1 hr
Thanks. ElGuiri. I reckon "course it's a bloody screwdriver you prat" captures the sense really nicely actually.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.

Reference comments

20 hrs
Reference:

pisher

It is a Yiddish word which has several meanings, some of them derogatory.

Selected Yiddish Words and Phrases - impress your friends and family A BI GEZUNT: So ... PISHER: A bed-wetter, a young inexperienced person, a person of no consequence.
www.sbjf.org/sbjco/schmaltz/yiddish_phrases.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisher

Urban Dictionary: pisher
Yiddish term for a small penis...usually used as an insult to someone. I couln't sleep with Harold..he had such a pisher I almost laughed!! or Jimmy is such a pisher ...
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pisher
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