Ponerle Jorge al niño

Mon, Mar 14, 2016

¿Le ponemos Jorge al niño? = Wanna make love? Literally, name the baby Jorge.

Although the verb nombrar exists, it is used not for giving someone a name but rather for naming (appointing) someone to a post. Lo nombraron como su representante. They chose him to be their representative.

Ponerle un nombre

If you want to talk about naming a baby, the verb you want is poner.

You can use poner not only for naming people but also for naming things:

Recall that for nicknames we often use decir: Me dicen Lalo. My friends call me Lalo.

Ponerle Jorge al niño

A cutesy and safe-for-mixed-company euphemism for having sex is ponerle Jorge al niño, literally, name the baby Jorge. Perhaps ponerle Jorge al niño works as an albur because ponerle con in general means to have sex with someone: Prométeme que no le vas a poner con ningún italiano, cosa. Promise me you won't get it on with any Italians. (movie dialogue)

© 2003-2024 Mark R. Alexander