Avispa -- Meaning other than Wasp

Question

Hi all,

I´m trying to find out what else Avispa could mean, besides the obvious translations from here on SpanishDict.com and on WordReference.

The whole phrase is

¿Mira cómo me dejó la avispa?

It is part of a caption in a cartoon with two nuns, and is being said by the first nun (and I´d rather not post the rest in this generally very clean forum)

It pretty obviously doesn´t mean wasp. Could it be the title or nickname of some other figure, probably feminine, such as a head nun, or a mother superior, or some such?

Any other ideas?

thanks roger

I fear I must flag you.. ON this forum it's not allowed, you know. - annierats, Jun 5, 2012

jaja obispo-avispa, lol @annie, I wish I had been here - diagonx, Jun 5, 2012

Wait, flag? What's that about? And what does it mean? I was pretty careful not put anything inappropriate in here. - rogspax, Jun 6, 2012

Answer 1

As the actress said to the bishop..

Bishop: obispo, I think, a very similar sounding word, but perhaps the avispa stings more?

Gracias, amigo. - annierats, Jun 6, 2012

Answer 2

In Mexico it can mean thief. In other countries it can mean a generally sly or shrewd person. Im not sure if its relevant, but Avispa is also a spanish recording label for heavy metal. Im curious to see if any of these are relevant. Hope it helped

Interesting. Thanks for the extra insight. Much to learn here. And maybe I´ll check out that label. - rogspax, Jun 5, 2012

Answer 3

Well jttor is right, or at leat partly, at least in Colombia one would say avispado or avispada to refer to shrewd or cunning individuals, but what I see there in the question doesn't make much sense to me, maybe more context would help, or it may be a regional usage of the word.

Ha, well, that´s probably well above my usage level (as apparently, the entire cartoon was) but I appreciate the input just the same, and will try to squirrel it away in some recess of my brain. - rogspax, Jun 5, 2012

Answer 4

OK, those last two answers are of course it.

I messed up by not quite understanding dejó (which I thought was a form of decir, when it is actually a form of dejar), and by not understanding that they really did mean wasp.

I also (call it gringo eyes-ears) didn´t really note how phonetically similar avispa and obispo are.

In this case, it seems dejó....me means ´left me with´

The first nun says ¨Look what the wasp left me with¨ The second nun says ¨Look what the bishop left me with¨

The adventurous will have to google for the cartoon as jttorbey did (or PM me)

Darn, I have a long ways to go on this Spanish road. But thanks for the help along the way all.

Answer 5

hahah. I looked up the cartoon. I think annie is right. Its a play on words because the two are fairly similar sounding and it would be funny because its two nuns. Know what I mean?