What is the meaning of "con su tupé " ?

Question

This phrase appeared in the sentence "A los cinco años empezó a sobresalir con su tupé.", about Nadal.

It is translated as "He started to excel at the age of five........ ". But what is the significance of "con su tupé"? It must be an idiom as I doubt very much that he was wearing a toupee at the age of five.

Answer 1

Hola, PeterPierre:

"Sobresalir" is defined to mean “to project, overhang, jut out, stick out, stand out and even to excel.

"Tupé" is defined to mean "quiff, hairpiece, toupée." A synonym for tupé seems to be “mechón” whose meaning in relation to hair is “a lock”.

"Quiff" (the English word) is defined to mean "a tuft of hair brushed up above the forehead."

I’m not clear how all this goes together, but based on the photos I’ve seen of Rafa Nadal, his hair would be the focus of some attention. I believe what you have read and quoted here is “At the age of five he started to let his hair grow out (wild)”

 

Qué pienses/what do you think??

Muchos saludos/Best regards,

Moe

Answer 2

wait when i translated it came out to

his toupee

Answer 3

I am not really sure if it has a literal reference to a toupee or locks of hair.
The full article where the phrase is found, first paragraph under Biografía.

There is a paragraph in Wordreference.com about "tener el tupé" meaning being audacious.

Also Significado de tupé

It may suggest that "At the age of five, he started to excel, in an audacious way" ?

Answer 4

Tupé means bangs (hair) Tupé, copete, fleco.