# What is a "Chelita" (Mex. Slang?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347 "2017-03-30T14:15:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/1 "2017-03-30T14:15:06Z")
From this strip, he uses the phrase “Ay Chelita” but I can’t find anything exact that explains it. Is it a proper name, or “little fair one”, or some such thing? [http://www.trino.com.mx/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/fabulas28marWEB-1024x447.jpg](http://www.trino.com.mx/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/fabulas28marWEB-1024x447.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/2 "2017-03-30T14:22:35Z")
[Blonde](http://www.wordmagicsoft.com/dictionary/es-en/chelita.php). That’s from the net, not from my personal knowledge or experience. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/3 "2017-03-30T14:27:56Z")
Well… blond/blonde is _rubio/rubia_;\* Chela\* is beer. (_Chelo_ is cello.) Chelita would be “little beer,” at least in exact translation. I can see beer -\> blonde (as a color; lots of beers with this in the name) -\> colloquial use meaning either a blonde person or something little and dear. But I am not a colloquial Spanish speaker, just a former Californian with a Texican border first wife. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/4 "2017-03-30T14:28:40Z")
No cite, but I seem to recall that ‘chelita’ is a slang for beer in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/5 "2017-03-30T15:37:58Z")
You all might want to spend some time reading [this](http://www.wordmagicsoft.com/dictionary/es-en/chela.php) and my link above. Apparently “chela” and “chelita,” like many words, have more than one meaning; and there’s more than one way to say “blonde” in Spanish. Again, I don’t know Spanish but if the OP thought it might mean “little fair one” then it seems to me that “blonde” is pretty likely the meaning in that particular context. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/6 "2017-03-30T15:59:52Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > You all might want to spend some time reading [this](http://www.wordmagicsoft.com/dictionary/es-en/chela.php) and my link above. Apparently “chela” and “chelita,” like many words, have more than one meaning; and there’s more than one way to say “blonde” in Spanish. A formal meaning of “beer” (for which there are also multiple words in both languages), with the assumption that it’s a pale golden beer or a “blonde” in craft brew parlance, would lead to something a lot like “little blonde/fair one” with a barroom spin. Makes perfect sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/7 "2017-03-31T12:01:13Z")
Also nickname for Marisela. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/8 "2017-03-31T15:51:07Z")
Along the lines of the beer references, “Chelada” is the term that the big beer companies use in the US for their pre-mixed beer-tomato-clam juice concoctions that [someone](http://www.avclub.com/article/chelada-28191) [somewhere](http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/tomato-beer-smackdown-bud-clamato-vs-modelo-especial-1602435948) apparently must find appealing. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/9 "2017-04-03T02:08:18Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Also nickname for Marisela. Agreed. “Chelita” could mean “Little/Young Chela.” “Chela” is a nickname for the Spanish names “Graciela, Griselda, Marcela, etc.” I have a cousin named “Graciela” and we always called her “Chela” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/10 "2017-04-03T08:01:25Z")
On the other side of the Atlantic, I know a Consuelo daughter of Consuelo daughter of Consuelo who is called Chela to distinguish her from her mother Chelito and her grandmother Chelo. She’s been known to threaten to come up with a fourth generation (Chelita). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/11 "2017-04-04T10:19:08Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Along the lines of the beer references, “Chelada” is the term that the big beer companies use in the US for their pre-mixed beer-tomato-clam juice concoctions that [someone](http://www.avclub.com/article/chelada-28191) [somewhere](http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/tomato-beer-smackdown-bud-clamato-vs-modelo-especial-1602435948) apparently must find appealing. Isn’t that a short form of “michelada”? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/12 "2017-04-04T14:19:03Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Along the lines of the beer references, “Chelada” is the term that the big beer companies use in the US for their pre-mixed beer-tomato-clam juice concoctions that [someone](http://www.avclub.com/article/chelada-28191) [somewhere](http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/tomato-beer-smackdown-bud-clamato-vs-modelo-especial-1602435948) apparently must find appealing. It’s not a US term. It’s a Mexican term, and what it means depends on where you are. Generally, a chelada is just beer + lime juice, while michelada is the whole she-bang with tomato or clamato, worcestershire, hot sauce, and lime. Some places skip the tomato/clamato component, so it’s just beer + lime + worcestershire + hot sauce. And some use chelada and michelada interchangeably. It’s a delicious summer drink and really isn’t weird at all if you just think of it as a beer based Bloody Mary, which essentially what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/13 "2017-04-04T14:24:10Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Isn’t that a short form of “michelada”? Michelob-mix? Una blanca more like. ETA: ninja’ed. I actually thought michelada was a joke… ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/14 "2017-04-04T14:25:06Z")
Any notable connotative differences between _cervesa_, _chela_, and _chelita_? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/15 "2017-04-04T18:24:44Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Any notable connotative differences between _cervesa_, _chela_, and _chelita_? _Cerveza_ is the normal word. _Chela_ is informal. Slang, if you will. “Brewski.” _Chelita_ is like _chela_, but dimunuitive. Not very common. Used it you want to be cutesy, or if you’re politely sort of asking permission (“if you don’t mind, we could use a few beers over here…”), or in a situation where there’s some uncertainty about the appropriateness (“I suppose we could bring by a few beers to the office party…”), or if it’s truly a smaller-than-usual quantity, though that’s unlikely in the case of beer. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/16 "2017-04-04T18:43:44Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > _Cerveza_ is the normal word. > > _Chela_ is informal. Slang, if you will. “Brewski.” > > _Chelita_ is like _chela_, but dimunuitive. Not very common. Used it you want to be cutesy, or if you’re politely sort of asking permission (“if you don’t mind, we could use a few beers over here…”), or in a situation where there’s some uncertainty about the appropriateness (“I suppose we could bring by a few beers to the office party…”), or if it’s truly a smaller-than-usual quantity, though that’s unlikely in the case of beer. I just went and asked a couple of the Mexican dudes here at work and this is more or less what they said. He thought it was strange that someone would have it as a nickname. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/17 "2017-04-04T18:50:17Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I just went and asked a couple of the Mexican dudes here at work and this is more or less what they said. He thought it was strange that someone would have it as a nickname. I just gathered over a few more Latin Americans and one of them said that it can also be something you would call a “white girl” and that is definitely the case in that comic. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/18 "2017-04-04T18:53:31Z")
Good researching! Go enjoy a beer (but just a little)! ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/19 "2017-04-04T19:15:55Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > … or if it’s truly a smaller-than-usual quantity, though that’s unlikely in the case of beer. [Seven-ounce pony bottles?](http://www.chuckthomas.com/rrock/images/rrtapac7.jpg) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347/20 "2017-04-04T22:39:13Z")
This turned into quite the discussion at work. I talked to a few co-workers that included people from different parts of Mexico and also Guatemala and El Salvador. It turns out that pretty much everyone here was correct. Depending on the region it can mean: a Caucasian woman, a light skinned Latina, a beer or a nickname for a woman with a name like Graciella. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-chelita-mex-slang/783347.md?page=2)