EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

What's a SWANK? Well, I'm one. I'm Hillary Swank! SWANK is one of those English words that can be either an adjective, a noun or a verb. Luckily, the meaning remains the same. Something that is SWANK is usually ostentatious, flashy, a bit too elegant or proud, but it may also be just smart. When used as a verb this word means Show Off, so the idea is not that different, is it? FANFARRONEAR, when this word is a verb, and FANFARRÓN if it is a noun or an adjective are good translations in Spanish.  In Informal Guayaquilean Spanish we would say SACAR LAMPARA (v) or LAMPAROSO (n).

"Hmm, why do I have this nagging feeling that someone is watching me watching?" In Spanish, a MIRADOR is any place that allows a privileged view of the surroundings. In English, a MIRADOR is a VIEWPOINT or a LOOKOUT. Another possible translation is VANTAGE POINT, though in a tourist context this term is a bit less common.

The result of SHORTLISTING all the suitable candidates to become our  next president. A SHORTLIST is that precisely a: short list, one with the names of people who are participating in some sort of competition and have been deemed suitable. It can also been a verb, so you can say things such as "SHORLISTED candidates". In Spanish, we say SELECCION or SELECCIONAR, but it´s not necessarily the same. To say LISTACORTA or LISTACORTAR would not make much sense to us.

"See, Mom? I STUBBED my big toe again. I need to wear shoes!" When you accidentally strike your big toe, or any of your other toes or fingers, against something else that is called MACHUCAR (not to confuse with Machacar). The word in English is TO STUB.  The essential difference is that STUB is a verb and a noun, but as a noun, it has a different meaning: it is the what is left after a cigarette or a pencil after being used. MACHUCAR, the verb, or MACHUCON, the noun, is pretty much the same.

A DISINGENUOUS act indeed. DISINGENUOUS means Not Sincere. Anyone who gives a false appearance of frankness falls into that description.  Easily, DISINGENUOUS could be used to describe what a politician is like, since most of them are exactly that: DISINGENUOUS. In Spanish the word would be FINGIDO, FALSO, DESHONESTO.

Nope, this is not a Flying Saucer. It is a TAMBOURINE! An instrument that is as common as the Piano or the Violin and yet most English learners (in Ecuador, at least) don't know what is called in English. Perhaps, the answer to that lies in the fact that most of the English names for musical instruments are relatively similar in spelling to their Spanish versions so...         ENGLISH       SPANISH         piano              piano         violin             violín         guitar             guitarra         flute               flauta         trumpet          trompeta     In this case, the word we are looking for is TAMBOURINE. Not quite similar...

So this is a CHOMPA and without buttons, it would be a JUMPER (or not?). This is an easy one because CHOMPA is actually JUMPER. The difference is that a CHOMPA is much more general in meaning and for instance, a sweater with buttons is a CHOMPA, but a JUMPER does not open in the front. CHOMPA is commonly used only in some English speaking countries such as Ecuador and Peru.