# Gratuties in Mexico. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gratuties-in-mexico/386962 "2007-01-06T20:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gratuties-in-mexico/386962/21 "2007-01-08T03:52:09Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Cool kid, told us where the best “chi chi” bar was. No sister offered, though. I since learned that’s mostly a myth…mangeorge [/QUOTE] “Chi chi” in Jamaica means gay. Just so you know. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gratuties-in-mexico/386962/22 "2007-01-08T04:26:29Z")
[QUOTE=JillGat] “Chi chi” in Jamaica means gay. Just so you know. [/QUOTE] Really? I know it’s also a nickname. But, iirc, it’s casual slang for breast. Used much as we do titty. Or maybe booby. Commonly used by a mother to her baby. Do I remember this wrong? It’s possible. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gratuties-in-mexico/386962/23 "2007-01-08T04:50:12Z")
[QUOTE=JillGat] “Chi chi” in Jamaica means gay. Just so you know. [/QUOTE] He wasn’t in Jamaica, he said in Tijuana. In Spanish, _chichis_ are breasts. ---
**Author:** ![ChicanoRojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@ChicanoRojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChicanoRojo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gratuties-in-mexico/386962/24 "2007-01-08T04:51:05Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Really? I know it’s also a nickname. But, iirc, it’s casual slang for breast. Used much as we do titty. Or maybe booby. Commonly used by a mother to her baby. Do I remember this wrong? It’s possible. 🙂 [/QUOTE] “Chiches” is a word in Spanish used in Mexico for breasts. “Chichi” is also used. ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gratuties-in-mexico/386962/25 "2007-01-08T05:04:57Z")
I’ve heard the word “chi chi” in Mexico, but not “chi chi bar.” I just added the fact about Jamaican patois for contrast. Just thought it might be a good factoid to file away in case you ever go to the Caribbean. You’re likely to be decapitated if you ask for a chi chi bar in Jamaica. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gratuties-in-mexico/386962/26 "2007-01-08T05:07:59Z")
[QUOTE=ChicanoRojo] “Chiches” is a word in Spanish used in Mexico for breasts. “Chichi” is also used. [/QUOTE] Around here (Jalisco) “chichis” is the far more common form. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gratuties-in-mexico/386962/27 "2007-01-08T05:18:58Z")
See how quickly a thread about the customs of a foreign country gets turned into a linguistics discussion 'round here? Leave it to Dopers… ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gratuties-in-mexico/386962/28 "2007-01-08T06:19:16Z")
So, how does comic actor “Cheech” Marin’s first name translate? Is this a whole different category? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gratuties-in-mexico/386962/29 "2007-01-08T14:29:26Z")
[QUOTE=JillGat] I’ve heard the word “chi chi” in Mexico, but not “chi chi bar.” I just added the fact about Jamaican patois for contrast. Just thought it might be a good factoid to file away in case you ever go to the Caribbean. You’re likely to be decapitated if you ask for a chi chi bar in Jamaica. [/QUOTE] And filed it is. Thanks. In Tijuana the local entrepreneurs are quick to pick up on tourist (sailor) lingo. I stopped in Calexico (and Mexicali) and it was easy to forget when you had crossed the border. This was long before Homeland Security, thankfully. My visit was a very enjoyable experience. There was a thriving chinatown in Mexicali when I was there, a fact which delighted this unsophisticated Bakersfield native. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gratuties-in-mexico/386962.md?page=1)