(Part 3)
Busabos, to my surprise, means slave.
Alila is a servant, later evolving into the more democratic katulong, ate, or the classier “maid.” Once I visited a gay friend whose also gay katulong opened the door, in a uniform and ruffled apron, who introduced herself proudly as “the maid.”
Salapî or pilak (silver) – money; isang salapi is an old term for 50 centavos.
Portamoneda – (“for carrying money”) – wallet or small purse
Sinsilyo – loose change; barya
Bagol – five centavos, limang pera or singko
Isang pula – one centavo or isang pera. (Used to be a large reddish copper coin).
Kusíng – fraction of a centavo (1/2 c). In the old days you could buy “isang kusing na bawang.”
Tansô – lead or fake coin. To be fooled was called “natansô.”
Malipol – annihilate -“Lahat ng sundalo nila ay nalipol.” Also means “to lose.” My Batangueño cousins used to say. “Ay, nalipol ang aking bagol.” (I lost my five centavos)
Paktura – invoice (now a noun, it was once used also as a verb). “Ipinapaktura ko na ang bilin mo.” It was officially sent either by post or via the trusted provincial bus driver.
Pisara – blackboard using chalk to write on (them were the days!); now whiteboard using felt pen.
Pimbrera from fiambrera – a stack of dinner pails used for the delivery of cooked food. (Replaced by disposable plastic or styropore containers)
Pinawa – unpolished rice, once food of the poor.
Bumulos – to get a share of cooked rice from the platter “Bumulos ka na ng kanin bago lumamig.”
Vanilla ice cream
Mantecado – buttered or larded; now refers to vanilla ice cream.
Pata – leg of an animal, as in crispy pata, but a child’s fat thigh is also humorously described as pata. (Ang pata ni Quinito)
Patâ – dead tired. “Maghap-on kaming naglakad. Kaya patang-patâ na ako.”
Patupat – smoky cigar in the mouth. Now usually refers to a long suman bought in Pangasinan.
Pindáng – salted meat or beef jerky; tapa. “Pindang damulag” is tapang kalabaw. Damulag was old word for carabao.
Lumalangutngut – crackling sound when chewing something tough. A heretic children’s rhyme goes: Antanda ng (in the name of) kundot-kundot/ balumbalunan ng manok/ ilaga ma’y di lumambot/ kainin ma’y lumalangungot.
Ibubô – “to spill” soup or milk or any liquid. “Nabubo ang sabaw ng mangkok.”
Mangkók – bowl
Mumò – grains of cooked rice that fall off the plate. “Maglinis ka na, puro mumò ang lamesa.”
Kulasím – slightly fermented, as in milk on the way to spoiling.
Kisa – to augment cooked rice with small cubes of camote or gabi during hard times (like the Japanese Occupation)
Bingbang or bimbang – Japanese time term for “to slap on both cheeks.” “Binimbang siya ng sentry dahil nakalimutan niyang sumaludo.”
Kasilyas from the Spanish casilla (little house, toilet)
Kubeta (from the Spanish cubeta, small barrel, cask, tub or pail – toilet. Banyo (or baño) is still used by those who do not like the baduy term CR. “Magbabanyo muna kami” or “Magla-ladies muna kami.” The old bathrooms then were roomy, often combining bathtub, toilet bowl and bidet (a separate bowl with spray for washing one’s butt).
Palikuran – a structure “behind.” An even more lost word meaning outhouse or toilet.
Ya-i – from bayaan mo na, “Let it be.”
Uyayi – old word for duyan (roughly, “swinging cradle”). The old duyan was big enough for adults and babies being put to sleep. It was made of rattan, shaped like a quarter moon and hung from each end by ropes. Babies’ duyan could just be a cloth blanket bunched on each end and tied to two house posts.
