Madrid Slang

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A visitor to Madrid relying on rusty high school Spanish may not hear much slang, known as "argot" or "jerga," while in Spain's capital. Not because it's rare, but because people tend to speak so fast that unless you're born and bred here you'll struggle to make out individual phrases amid a machine-gun babble of speech. Madrileños (residents of Madrid) delight in flouting the restrictions imposed by the venerable Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy), which tries to enforce standards for the Spanish language. So put down your high-school textbook and bone up on this list of common Madrid slang terms and phrases.