pedo
noun, adjectiveVulgar
A Mexican Spanish slang term. Browse all Mexican slang.
What it means
A problem, hassle or bit of trouble. Often in the negative: no hay pedo, 'no problem'.
Drunk, as an adjective: estar pedo.
The situation, the deal. In ¿qué pedo? it means 'what's up?' or, sharply, 'what's your problem?'
One of the most semantically overloaded words in Mexican Spanish.
Literally: Fart.
Examples with translations
No hay pedo, yo te cubro.
No worries, I'll cover for you.
Llegó bien pedo a la boda.
He turned up to the wedding completely drunk.
¿Qué pedo contigo, por qué no avisaste?
What's the matter with you, why didn't you say something?
Note: Confrontational. The friendly ¿qué pedo? greeting is the same words with different intonation.
Where it comes from
The literal meaning is crude, and the word's enormous semantic range is a good illustration of how Mexican Spanish builds whole families of expression out of a single taboo root.
Other forms
- Similar terms:
- bronca, problema