tusa

What it means

1. 1.

   The specific misery of a recent break-up: heartbreak with a soundtrack, a duration and an expectation that friends will take you out. Not grief in general.

2. 2.

   Estar entusado is to be in that state; the verb form is as common as the noun.

Literally: Corn cob stripped of its kernels.

Examples with translations

• Está con una tusa tenaz desde que la dejó.

  He's been in bits since she dumped him.

• La saqué a rumbear para quitarle la tusa.

  I took her out dancing to get her over the break-up.

Where it comes from

From tusa, the bare cob left when the kernels are gone — stripped of what made it worth anything. Long-established Colombian usage; Karol G's 2019 hit put it in front of a global audience but did not coin it, and older Colombians have used it all their lives.

Other forms

Spellings and variants:

entusado, entusarse

Similar terms:

despecho, mal de amores