guagua

What it means

1. 1.

   A bus. The only word most Cubans use; autobús sounds like a textbook and ómnibus like a timetable.

2. 2.

   Coger la guagua, to catch the bus — and, given the service, a phrase that appears in an enormous amount of complaining.

Examples with translations

• Llevo hora y media esperando la guagua.

  I've been waiting an hour and a half for the bus.

• La guagua venía tan llena que no pude ni subir.

  The bus was so packed I couldn't even get on.

Where it comes from

Shared with the Canary Islands, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The frequently repeated story that it comes from 'Washington, Walton and Company', an American bus manufacturer, is folk etymology with no evidence behind it. A Canarian origin, possibly onomatopoeic, is the likelier account. Be aware that in Chile and parts of the Andes guagua means a baby.

First attested: 19th century