Take your head off
While on vacation in Panama, my in-laws and I were attempting to repair an old bus. When my brother in-law, Luigi, was complaining about the heat, I suggested to him to quitar su cabeza. Luigi started to pull at his head. I stared at him in disbelief until he explained the difference between una camisa, shirt, and una cabeza, head. Of course I didn't want him to take his 'head' off!
Sent by: Philip
Comments
Yes, a very similar thing happened to my friend who was on touring around South America with her buddy. She kept being met by puzzled looks whenever she went into bars and asked for dos cabezas rather that dos cervezas. Well, they do say two heads are better than one...
This happened when I wanted to show my male friend that I know at least how to order a beer (which is first sentence you learn in any language). I asked for una cabeza por favor, probably because of the similarity in pronunciation.
I helped one of my students prep for an oral exam by giving him the commands: Lava la camisa y peina el cabello, wash your shirt and comb your hair. When he came up with peina la camisa y lava el caballo, comb the shirt and wash the horse, I got a horrible case of the giggles.
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