# Jarabe de Palo



## sotiseb

OK so I love the band "Jarabe de Palo". I lived in Barcelona for a year and discovered them there.

When I mention the band to my Cuban or Mexican friends here, though, they laugh and tell me that it means something dirty in Latin America, but they won't tell me what.

Anyone want to clue me in??


----------



## Akasha

sotiseb said:


> OK so I love the band "Jarabe de Palo". I lived in Barcelona for a year and discovered them there.
> 
> When I mention the band to my Cuban or Mexican friends here, though, they laugh and tell me that it means something dirty in Latin America, but they won't tell me what.
> 
> Anyone want to clue me in??


 
In spain it doesn't mean something dirty. 
Jarabe de palo is what our grammas said to children they would give them if they have a bad behavior: Hitting them


----------



## mirx

Akasha said:


> In spain it doesn't mean something dirty.
> Jarabe de palo is what our grammas said to children they would give them if they have a bad behavior: Hitting them


 

So that's what it is? 

I've been wondering all my life what the godamn phrase meant.


----------



## sotiseb

Yeah, I know in Spain it's not dirty, but some Latin americans I know say it does mean something dirty on their side of the Atlantic... but they won't tell me what.

Does anyone know the non-Spain meaning?


----------



## Niriel

I guess palo means penis or something for latinoamericans xD
I really don't know


----------



## Feldan

Niriel said:


> I guess palo means *penis* or something for latinoamericans xD
> I really don't know


That is the missing clue, use your imagination since it is almost self-explained. 

See you around.


----------



## Akasha

mirx said:


> So that's what it is?
> 
> I've been wondering all my life what the godamn phrase meant.


 
Well, it was very common to say to somebody "te voy a dar jarabe de palo" o "lo que te mereces es jarabe de palo" meaning that what they deserved was a hard punishment


----------



## Zusenna

I know jarabe means syrup, and I looked up "palo" in the dictionary. It said that palo could also be "a blow," as in a blow with a stick.


----------



## sabbathically

jarabe de palo is what a mom would say if you dont do ur homework...but in latinamerican (im from chile) since our minds are twisted, people can think of palo as penis... it actually means that. like.."esta noche te van a dar jarabe de palo"  (tonight this dick will cure your illness) 
ew. XD
it can have 2 meanings..but the band names is "a medicine of blows with a stick" (if the child doesnt stop...such medicine will cure him)


----------



## mirx

At least in México absolutely everything is sexualized, so palo means penis and jarabe means semen. That's what my dirty mind leads me to believe. It is not a usual phrase though, I think we all know it for the band and then again mexicans will look for any resemblance with sexual matters in words and phrases just to have a good time.

I personally don't believe this phrase is so charged with a bad meaning, just avoid using it with masons, and bus drivers.


----------



## Filis Cañí

So, it´s either "tough medicine" or "sexual healing".


----------



## tommyboy544

I don't know about this "penis" thing.  I'm not Latin American but I've gotten around a bit, mostly Mexico, Nicaragua and Venezuela.  And I've been out with the boys and heard the jokes and songs, and never once heard it referred to as "un palo."  Usually it means "tree," though I know that never shows up in the dictionary.  Maybe they mean maple syrup.


----------



## la gitana

I'm presently in Mexico and have just recently become acquainted with the music of Jarobe de Palo.  I asked a Mexican friend about the meaning of the word "jarobe" and he said it was sort of a concentrated liquid/substance...and then he said that, in his opinion, "jarobe de palo" is a play on words (he suggested that the jarobe de palo means semen; the substance that comes from the "palo" or penis).  

So!  It appears that this train of thought is relatively common -- at least among certain latin americans!


----------



## avizor

The prescription of a good stick syrup treatment is a smooth menace for a wrong behaviour.


----------



## borgonyon

As a Mexican, the first thought that came to mind mind, as I read the title of the thread, was the sexual connotation that has already been talked about. I had no idea it meant punishment but I guess it goes along the line of "bistec con chancleta" that my Cuban side of the family uses . . .


----------



## tommyboy544

la gitana said:


> I'm presently in Mexico and have just recently become acquainted with the music of Jarobe de Palo. I asked a Mexican friend about the meaning of the word "jarobe" and he said it was sort of a concentrated liquid/substance...and then he said that, in his opinion, "jarobe de palo" is a play on words (he suggested that the jarobe de palo means semen; the substance that comes from the "palo" or penis).
> 
> So! It appears that this train of thought is relatively common -- at least among certain latin americans!


 
Ok, I guess there's some evidence for the sexual interpretation.  Still, I'm more comfortable listening to a group called "Syrup" as opposed to "Semen."


----------



## la gitana

tommyboy544 said:


> Ok, I guess there's some evidence for the sexual interpretation. Still, I'm more comfortable listening to a group called "Syrup" as opposed to "Semen."


 
Ha!  I like your "Maple Syrup" idea.  A much softer interpretation than the one I offered above...though somehow I'm not convinced that the band's name refers to the jarobe found in a maple tree!


----------



## ufotofu9

Venga no es dificil, también por un guiri como yo. Jarabe signifa cough syrup y palo es stick...por tanto jarabe de palo signifa algo como: 
Getting hit by a stick will cure you as if it were medicine.

De palo también significa ¨fake¨ o ¨sucks¨ como ¨this sucks.¨


----------



## ufotofu9

Oye acabo de darme cuenta, jarabe de palo peude ser: A really serious epic style beating or beatdown. I like "beatdown" as a translation the best.


----------



## Heredianista

For what it's worth, answers.com says that Jarabe de Palo (the band name) is 'strictly translated as "wood syrup" in English'. 

Fabulous thread. Such interesting multiplicities of possible meanings. (My question: Why would they choose this as their band name?)


----------



## Xiroi

Heredianista said:


> For what it's worth, answers.com says that Jarabe de Palo (the band name) is 'strictly translated as "wood syrup" in English'.


Translated by someone who wasn't Spanish and didn't know the meaning of the expression such a common expression as wood syrup is not something you say in English meaning physical punishment to correct someone's behaviour. 

And sorry to disappoint all of you with creative theories about a sexual meaning. In Spain it just doesn't have those implications, nor are we familiar with the sexual implications palo may have in America. Palo has several meanings in Spain, it could also be slang for something hard/expensive/disappointing: ¡Vaya palo!



Heredianista said:


> (My question: Why would they choose this as their band name?)


It stems from the 80's when bands made a point of choosing odd names that could not possibly be used with "Los". The tradition goes on until now. So there were/are names like "Un pingüino en mi ascensor" "La dama se esconde" "Polanski y el ardor" "Dinamita pa' los pollos" "No me pises, que llevo chanclas" "La oreja de Van Gogh" "Ya te llamo yo". Jarabe are just part of that tradition.


----------



## Heredianista

Actually, since I am "friends" with them on Myspace, I think I will ask them! Have you all seen their video for "Déjame vivir"? It is _stunning. _
Genève

Re: 





Heredianista said:


> For what it's worth, answers.com says that Jarabe de Palo (the band name) is 'strictly translated as "wood syrup" in English'.
> 
> Fabulous thread. Such interesting multiplicities of possible meanings. (My question: *Why would they choose this as their band name?*)


----------



## isabatt

They chose to use a common phrase with an innocent meaning: a beating. _Jarabe_ meaning the kind of liquid medicine you may buy over the counter or make at home for common ailments such as a cold, it's being interpreted as a solution for something. _Palo_ would be something with which you would hit an unruly kid -in very abusive households, of course.

I have also heard the dirty interpretation: the liquid (as _jarabe_ refers especifically to *liquid* medicine) that comes out of the penis (as _palo_ suggests; after all, even though phallus is of Greek origin, it does strikingly resemble the word palo). It could be so that they had such intentions. It could be so that they didn't.


----------



## laJardinera

Heredianista said:


> For what it's worth, answers.com says that Jarabe de Palo (the band name) is 'strictly translated as "wood syrup" in English'.
> 
> That's what we in the business would call a transliteration and definitely not a translation! I saw the same quote on Pandora, and it just makes me sad... Sigh. As others have said, jarabe de palo is a very well known term in Spain, where the band is from, though I certainly assume the band is hinting at a double entendre.


----------



## marvanalsca

I know am a little late for the discussion. 

In Venezuela we don't use the expression "jarabe de palo", but I think it would have a similar meaning to the one in Spain. Actually, we have the expression "jarabe de lengua", which means to receive a very lengthy telling off; hence "jarabe de palo" would more likely be interpreted as being "told off" with a stick or any wooden-like instrument...  ouch!!


----------



## ORL

*jarabe
~** de palo.* * 1.     * m. coloq. U. para aludir a una paliza como medio de disuasión o de castigo.


DRAE


----------



## Heredianista

Thank you all for your contributions to this thread! It seems pretty clear that the band name roughly translates as "a beating" (as a kind of abusive punishment). It just surprises me, because that name doesn't correspond at all with the kinds of lyrics they write (Bonito... Déjame vivir... A tu lado... La flaca... etc.). Nor does it correspond to their stage presence, which tends to be either wildly joyful, or beautifully soulful. 

I was hoping that there would be a different meaning for their band name—something life-affirming. But that's how it goes. Who knows what they were thinking when they chose this name? 

(And I apologize for even mentioning the answers.com 'definition' in this discussion. "Wood Syrup" really is ridiculous. Whoever posted that on answers.com did a disservice to the band and its fans.)


----------



## miklo3600

I think jarabe de palo is an expression that can be translated like "knuckle sandwich"

Jarabe is like a cough syrup (medicine) and palo is a stick...a beating with a stick will "set you straight"
just like in English we say to naughty kids "You're gonna get a knuck sandwich" (a smack in the mouth)

Please let me know what you think  Saludos.


----------



## Leo Leon

The original meaning of  the band's name considering it is a Spanish band, might be the one it is commonly understood in Spain: a sarcastic way of referring to a beating. However, the question was the interpretation of that name in some countries in Latin America. In Mexico in particular, there is a "game" that is always on, it really never ends, "the albur" which is taking any phrase from anyone at any time and twist its meaning in a sexual manner. If both the person who said that phrase and the others understood it at the same time the same way, then there is a connection established between them and some laughter/eye contact follows. But the real joy is whenever the person who said it does not realize the unintended sexual twist connotation and the others continue to reference to it teasing him/her. The longer it lasts, the more the joy. It is similar to "that's what she said in the US". In this context, anyone saying I will give you your "stick syrup" would immediately be understood as I will give you a "cum shot". Is not that Mexicans refer to semen as syrup or penis as stick. Both are uncommon, but in the context of the "albur game" even 10-12 year olds would identify the analogies. The funny thing is that, it is extremely likely that Pau Donés was aware of this at some point of his career (even though it might have not been his original intention) and in light of this you can wonder about the name of his last album before passing away  which is "Do you swallow it or do you spit it?" After all, that is the end of any Jarabe de Palo, right ?


----------



## rajulbat

Leo Leon said:


> "Do you swallow it or do you spit it?" After all, that is the end of any Jarabe de Palo, right ?


Wrong. Multiple other outcomes possible. 
I rate your post 75% informative and 25% pervy.


----------



## Rocko!

No conocía el significado de la expresión “jarabe de palo”, pero jamás pensé en algo grosero o de doble sentido. Yo creía que hacía referencía a una miel de sabor (limón, uva, etc) servida en un vaso con hielos.  Y lo de “palo” pensaba que solo era parte del nombre en algún país caribeño o cercano (pensaba en Colombia)


----------



## rajulbat

Rocko! said:


> No conocía el significado de la expresión “jarabe de palo”, pero jamás pensé en algo grosero o de doble sentido. Yo creía que hacía referencía a una miel de sabor (limón, uva, etc) servida en un vaso con hielos.  Y lo de “palo” pensaba que solo era parte del nombre en algún país caribeño o cercano (pensaba en Colombia)


Yo pensaba que era algún tipo de té . . .  palo refiriéndose al árbol o sus ramas o raíces.


----------



## OtroLencho

Rocko! said:


> No conocía el significado de la expresión “jarabe de palo”, pero jamás pensé en algo grosero o de doble sentido.



Serás mexicano pero nada de defeño; creo que la mayoría de mis amigos chilangos irían casi directo al matiz grosero.


----------



## Richard Dick

Para los latinos tiene connotación sexual; especialmente (que yo sepa)  en México y Centro América.


----------



## michelmontescuba

He escuchado la banda en alguna que otra ocasión y el nombre nunca me ha sugerido nada sexual. Ni siquiera estaba al tanto de su significado en España. Como a casi todo en esta vida, se le puede buscar un doble sentido, pero no creo que sea algo obvio.


----------



## Leo Leon

rajulbat said:


> Wrong. Multiple other outcomes possible.
> I rate your post 75% informative and 25% pervy.


I beg to differ : ) Once you have taken the syrup, "te voy a dar tu jarabe" i.e. it is in your mouth, what other outcome is there apart spitting it or swallowing it?  The second thing is that the post is not 75% informative and 25% Pervy. It is 50% informative as you learned something  new (relevance may be debatable ) and it is 50% pervy as that is the whole point of the explanation to the original thread question: "~why Mexican/cuban friends giggle when I say jarabe de palo" is to make people understand within this specific context what causes the laughter and thus the phrasal/cultural interpretation.


----------

