Comments on: Pizza, Pasta, and a Tree

By: dan

dan — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:56:59 +0000

Yes, over time I’ve come to see it more and more. It does, still seem to be a local colloquial use. For example, Henry was as mystified by the usage as I was, and he grew up speaking Spanish in Peru. At the time, he said he could understand what they were trying to say, like some of my other local friends at the time, but that it just seemed a very odd word to use. These days I see it more and more – even my vegetable supplier uses it their pricelist to note things they think are at the peak of freshness!

By: Camilo Horovitz

Camilo Horovitz — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 06:27:21 +0000

Very old post, very old comments, but passing by I can’t help but add my bit to the translation discussion: “imperdible” does mean “unmissable” in the context of that menu (and it can be used as meaning that in any context).
It is also used as “safety pin” though more infrequently so now (“alfiler de gancho” is more common).
The double meaning comes from the double meaning of “perder” which is both to lose and to miss (as in “to miss a train”). But the use of “imperdible” as “unmissable” is by far the commonest.
I guess maybe at some point when safety-pins were a relatively new thing they were labeled “imperdibles” as they would be hard to lose?

By: Revise or Rehash, That’s the Question

Revise or Rehash, That’s the Question — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:50:59 +0000

[...] or had an off-night myself. It happens. And so, I have at times gone back to re-review one place or another – sometimes to arrive at the same conclusion, and sometimes not. Here, I present a trio that [...]

By: dan

dan — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:20:24 +0000

Jess, in Spanish it means “safety pin” – in English it means “indestructible” or “impregnable”. It also has a definition in Spanish as “something which cannot be lost”, however, used in conjunction with the idea that something has been afixed to something else (as in, with a safety pin or clasp), as opposed to the English idea of unloseable that might refer to a competition. I can’t find any rerefence that it could be used to mean “unmissable”. Perhaps, as I suggested, it’s a colloquial, or street slang usage (and I have occasionally seen it in advertising) – and I did check it out after writing the post with several local friends, all agreed that they’d understand it to mean something like “a safe choice”, but that it’s an odd usage of the word. Then again, advertising/public relations folk have a tendency to do that, yes?

By: Jess

Jess — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:33:47 +0000

FYI, “imperdible” literally means “un-loseable” or “unmissable”–in effect, “not to be missed.” Thanks for the fun blog! I’m newly arrived in BA and can’t wait to check out your empanada and gelato suggestions…

By: SaltShaker » Blog Archive » The (Not So) Wild West

SaltShaker » Blog Archive » The (Not So) Wild West — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:45:47 +0000

[...] a mildly dingy white tiled corner pizza shop with rickety tables. Got the picture? It’s El Cuartito all over again… a place that was maybe once really good, or maybe not, but somehow has become [...]