EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

"Admit it. I'm a better Consuegro than you." The answer is there's no word for that in English. Though of course there are CONSUEGROS and CONSUEGRAS in their culture but for some reason there is not one specific term to refer to these members of our extended families. What you can do is to introduce this person as "my son or my daughter's father / mother in law" That should be enough.

"Ants...Ants...Where are thou?" This singular animal with physical features that seem taken from other animals is called an AARDVARK. It lives in Africa and just like the famous Ant Bear from South America, it feeds on ants though it also eats other insects. Perhaps the fact that is a nocturnal animal explains why not so many people know about AARDVARKS. In the Spanish-speaking world many people mistakenly call it OSO HORMIGUERO, just like the ANT BEAR, but a more precise name would be CERDO HORMIGUERO though AARDVARKS are not really related to pigs.

Well, there are things that you will never find in any of the standard EFL books, and this is one of those. The word CERUMEN is that greenish brown secretion that appears in our internal ears. The technical word in English is precisely CERUMEN just like in Spanish but unlike Spanish there is a non-technical word for CERUMEN in English that is also more popular and commonly used: EAR WAX.   

So many sundries, so little time! SUNDRIES  is a word that refers to several objects at the same time. These objects are usually of small value, and size, which is why they are not mentioned separately but altogether under the label SUNDRIES. You can find SUNDRIES in small stores, drugstores or souvenir shops. The best possible translation I found was MISCELANEOS or OBJETOS DIVERSOS (again too diverse and cheap to be worth mentioned one by one). Those living in Guayaquil can find SUNDRIES in stores such as EL DOLARAZO or basically in any bazaar. SUNDRIES is an remarkable word because as a noun it only exists in plural form. It can be used in singular form (SUNDRY) but then is not a noun but an adjective. In that case SUNDRY means diverse, various, miscellaneous.

What? Food? Did you say food? There is not a direct translation of MICHU, MICHU in English.  MICHU, MICHU is the way we call cats in Ecuador, or at least in Guayaquil. Sure we have names for our cats but whenever we need their attention,  MICHU MICHU is what we say. In the USA, when you call a cat you say : "HEY, KITTY. KITTY, KITTY..." If you're uncertain, don't worry. Just put some tuna in your hands and say whatever onomatopoeia: regardless of what you say, the cat will come.

  Does it look like a Skeleton to you? A SKELETON KEY is basically a master key, one that has been modified or created to grant its possessor passage to all the rooms in a dwelling. The reason why it  is called a "SKELETON" KEY is due to its shape that somewhat resembles that of a skeleton. Well, at least it resembled a skeleton to those who used those keys.  In Spanish there is not an equivalent to SKELETON KEY, or Passkey as it is also called. But a Master Key is called LLAVE MAESTRA.

For one of those super hot afternoons! A GRANIZADO is an iced soft drink which initially was prepared with lemons or oranges but these days you can use pretty much any soft drink. In fact in some countries there are GRANIZADOS  made of coffee. All you need to prepare a GRANIZADO is crushed ice and a non-alcoholic beverage. In Guayaquil you can find GRANIZADOS everywhere, especially in our hot sultry afternoons. There are street vendors who go up and down the streets selling GRANIZADOS which are prepared with crushed ice and flavored drinks such as mint, strawberry, also fruit juice and even sodas. If the GRANIZADO is prepared with Mint or Strawberry liquor, you can even ask  your GRANIZADO to be topped by sweetened condensed milk. All depends on what the customer wants.  It is called Raspado de Granada or Granita in Spain, just Raspado in Mexico, and even Piragua in Dominican Republic. In Ecuador it remains just GRANIZADO and in English it would be SLUSH. Do not confuse with