desmadre
nounVulgar
A Mexican Spanish slang term. Browse all Mexican slang.
What it means
Chaos, a total mess. Of a situation that has come apart.
A wild time. Positively, of a party or night out that got gloriously out of hand.
Whether it is a complaint or a boast depends on context alone.
Examples with translations
La oficina es un desmadre desde que se fue la gerente.
The office has been chaos since the manager left.
Nos armamos un desmadre en su cumpleaños.
We had an absolutely wild time at his birthday.
Where it comes from
Literally 'un-mothering' — madre, mother, is the root of a large family of Mexican intensifiers, and the des- prefix turns it into disorder. The mother-word cluster is culturally loaded enough that desmadre still lands harder than 'mess'.
Other forms
- Similar terms:
- relajo, caos