# Spanish speaking Dopers: translate please? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2003, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-speaking-dopers-translate-please/165223 "2003-03-30T15:19:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-speaking-dopers-translate-please/165223/1 "2003-03-30T15:19:36Z")
A very short story first. I went to dinner with the wife the other night to El Azteca. Mediocre food, but it was close, and at the end, I paid for the diner with my Mensa Mastercard (supposedly for every $100 I spend, I get 1 IQ point… a few more months and I’ll be Stephen Hawking). The waiter takes the card up to be swiped and as he is doing so, he calls over another waitress and laughs as he points out the word ‘Mensa’ on the card. She joins in on the chuckling and they say something I could not here (nor likely understand I am sure). As he gets ready to bring the card back, he shows it to another waiter and he gets a chuckle too. At my table he keeps a perfectly straight face, I pay and leave. Today I went to [http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr](http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr) and entered Mensa to go from Spanish to English, and what comes out but the word ‘stupid’. After laughing my OWN ass off, I find I have to ask. Is the name for the society of geniuses the same as the Spanish word for ‘stupid’ or is AltaVista having a good laugh at my expense (and I know the real meaning of the group comes from the Latin word for table)? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-speaking-dopers-translate-please/165223/2 "2003-03-30T15:40:26Z")
Mensa means dumb or silly. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-speaking-dopers-translate-please/165223/3 "2003-03-30T15:43:44Z")
Dang – didn’t mean to submit that yet. I was saying… _Mensa_ means dumb or silly, like the av translation indicates, but in the feminine form. Not generally in the sense that _stupid_ indicates as far as harshness, but more like _dumb_. Since you went to dinner with your wife, I’ll assume you’re a bona-fide dude. The term _menso_ would aptly apply to you. ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-speaking-dopers-translate-please/165223/4 "2003-03-30T15:46:09Z")
_Mensa_ is the feminine for “silly or stupid”. I’m not sure where it’s used because “tonto” means silly and “estúpido” means stupid. But it does mean silly/stupid. Pretty ironic isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-speaking-dopers-translate-please/165223/5 "2003-03-30T16:01:06Z")
I’ve heard it used as such in Mexican, as opposed to PRican/Venezuelan/Colombian/Argie/US-Hispanic TV programming. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-speaking-dopers-translate-please/165223/6 "2003-03-30T17:49:45Z")
Menso/a is Mexican Spanish for stupid or dull. It is slang. In Spanish there is a word “manso” that means docile or gentle - I don’t know if the two are related. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-speaking-dopers-translate-please/165223/7 "2003-03-30T18:00:35Z")
> [@](#): > > _From **[Mensa’s website](http://www.mensa.org/info.html)**:_ > > What does “Mensa” mean? > The word “Mensa” means “table” in Latin. The name stands for a round-table society, where race, color, creed, national origin, age, politics, educational or social background are irrelevant. So there is a reason for the name, but it’s still pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-speaking-dopers-translate-please/165223/8 "2003-03-30T19:08:34Z")
Odd that Spanish has roots in Latin, but somehow derived “mesa” from “mensa” (i’m assuming), yet “mensa” means something completely different… ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-speaking-dopers-translate-please/165223/9 "2003-03-30T20:21:19Z")
_Menso_ is Mexican slang and is synonymous with _tonto_ which can mean dumb, foolish, silly and a few other things. _Hacerse el tonto (menso)_ is to play the fool or act dumb. _¡No te hagas menso!_ = don’t act dumb! Others synonyms are _baboso, lelo, y zonzo_.