Spanish speaking people have something in common with French speaking people – their word for spanking is derived from their word for buttocks. This removes any possible doubt about which part of the body is being struck. When a French or Spanish person threatens a spanking they are literally saying:
“I’m going to give you a good buttocking!”
I always think that “fesser”, the French word, sounds a bit hissy, but “nalgadas”, the Spanish one, is a good strong satisfying word to say. I also like the idea of a word that contains THREE whole syllables! I don’t know if it’s the correct way but Nal-GA!-das – with the emphasis in the middle sounds best.
In English, short words ending in ‘k’ tend to be “dirty” words. Keyword lists, even on non-kinky sex websites, usually include “spank” somewhere before the similar sounding “spunk” and “wank”. This has led to the word being appropriated by the porn industry in a way that you can’t imagine ever quite happening to fesser or nalgadas.
As a result, you rarely hear the word spanking used in radio-friendly popular song. There are one or two notable exceptions of which Madonna’s Hanky Panky is the most famous. Christine Aguilera also used it in a song on her Back to Basics album: (although this was during her “dirty” phase which rather proves my point)
oh no, oh there I go again
I need a spanking, ’cause I’ve been bad
so let my body do the talkin’
I’ll slip you that hot, sweet, sexy loving
I can’t think of any other famous examples, but if you turn to Spanish-speaking artists, there is a Columbian singer called Verónica Orozco who had a hit single in 2006 called Las Bragas, which means “Panties”
It uses the word nalgadas in a cute non-threatening kind of way that doesn’t frighten off the teenage girls who are presumably her target audience (whilst providing an unexpected thrill for their dads).
The word is the very last one in the song too, which places quite an emphasis on it.
Si de repente una noche me levanto a tu hermana
y amanece en mi cama,
con la boca pintada, toda desarreglada
y le doy tres nalgadas
Apparently, the song was considered quite controversial, not because of the spanking, but because it hints at lesbianism. I put the lyrics into an internet translator, but still couldn’t make much sense of them.
If suddenly one night I get up at your sister
and sunrise on my bed,
with their lips painted, any disorderly
and I three spanking
Hmm…
But, whatever it means, I do know it sounds pretty hot when sung in Spanish – especially followed, as it is, by Veronica’s sexy giggles.
I googled Veronica Orozco and found this picture of her SPANKING her teddy bear.
And another one of her as a schoolgirl sitting at a desk with her PANTIES around her ankles. (I’m sensing some repeating themes here!)
Is there a pop singer who could get away with an English language version of Las Bragas?
Katy Perry does seem to have a similar image. And after “I Kissed A Girl”, another song with lesbian overtones wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. But could she reclaim the word spanking and make it sound naughty not nasty? I’d like to hear her try.
Extra Trivia Note: Las Bragas is used as the theme tune of S.O.S.: Sexo y otros Secretos, a Mexican TV version of Sex and the City which is currently in it’s second season.
hermione
/ November 23, 2008“A good buttocking” – love it!
You could say “a good bottoming” but that would mean a good, thorough cleaning in British English.
Hugs,
Hermione
Brushstrokes
/ November 25, 2008Thank you for the language lesson! I have been waiting for someone to do this forever
js666
/ November 25, 2008Say what you will, but I retain a soft spot for our own word. There’s something about “spank,” said aloud, that puts you right there. You can almost hear the hand, etc., connecting with the soft flesh.
Valdor
/ November 25, 2008JS: Don’t get me wrong, I love the word too. I just feel that it’s become a bit corrupted. Another example of this would be the phrase “spanking the monkey”. Yuk!
Brushstrokes: Hi Brushstrokes. Great to get a comment from you. Thanks for the compliment, and I’m glad this post was of interest to you.
Hermione: I remember once reading a story (which was supposed to be a true life account but probably wasn’t) about a teacher who warned his class that he issued “handers” for a first and second offence, but a third offence would earn “a good bottoming!”.
I don’t think he meant cleaning
Dave
/ November 26, 2008just wanted to say: that teddy-bear-spanko/Veronica pic is one heck of a great find!
Muy bueno.
Davido de la Spanka
Dean
/ November 27, 2008Great post. Love the pic of her at her desk. Caliente!
The song/video is pretty hot too. Here’s a translation which I hope gets a bit closer to the truth:
“If suddenly one night I get up and go to your sister / and she wakes up next day in my bed / with lipstick on and all dishevelled / and I give her three spanks”…
The title of the song comes in an earlier line: “If suddenly one night I get up and go to your sister / and take her knickers off” ["...y le quito las bragas"].
The song seems to be about whether Veronica is actually such a good girl after all. I think we probably know the answer to that one!
Valdor
/ November 28, 2008Thanks a lot Dean, I was hoping someone might come up with a proper translation. Great to have it confirmed that this is an F/F spanking reference. It sounds quite explicit for a mainstream pop song – no wonder it caused some controversy. Why three spanks rather than any other number I wonder? I’ve had an email telling me that there is another Spanish word for spanking: “zurra”. I certainly agree Veronica needs a good zurra with bragas down!
Dave: The picture was just a lucky find, but I really like the way she’s got that teddy bear’s rump tilted at the perfect angle for a spanking. Thanks for linking to the post – the comments and emails I’ve received on this one have been quite a language lesson for me!