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Órale, the onda this week of Caló is ñañaras. It means a feeling of revulsion, foreboding or goosebumps. It’s a general, not a specific, feeling in reaction to the sight or thought of something or somebody. “I got ñañaras when I was walking out the back and saw the door had been knocked down.”

Órale, the onda this week in Caló is friegos. It means abundance, a lot, beacoups, or much. It comes from the term for Death, La Fregada, or the bald one. And it follows the same logic as that with the most magical of all Caló words that can’t be said on public radio. In other words, friegos means a proportion that only La Fregada can produce. “Lot’s more than tons, friegos!”

Órale, the onda this week of Caló is ñango. It means someone who’s clumsy, awkward, maladroit or ham-handed. The word comes from the name of an African tribe who’s people were very tall and, because of that, appeared lanky and unsteady to the Iberians who saw them. One can be ñango physically, socially or tactically. Can’t play sports? Ñango. Can’t dance? Ñango. Can’t work with tools? Ñango.

Órale, the onda this week of Caló is puchy. It comes from the name of the Mayan god of Death, Ah Puch, who’s iconic representation is that of a rotting corpse. In Caló, puchy is the expression one would use to express revulsion or even nausea over something or someone. “Puchy! Who has the upset stomach back there?”

Montezuma quail are an avian conundrum. They’re among the most visually stunning birds in Far West Texas: The males have sky-blue bills, black-and-white striped faces and chestnut bellies covered in white polka dots. But they’re also masters of concealment. You could spend a lifetime here and never see one.

Órale, the onda this week is cincho. It’s Spanglish for sure thing. It comes from the English nuance of cinch, a strap with a buckle, that means secured, certain, or easy, as in something is a cinch. In modern Spanish, however, cincho only relates to a strap with a buckle or the act of buckling something, as in a business deal has been cinchado or closed. In Caló, however, the word cincho solely means secured or certain. You use it to say something is cincho going to happen or cincho it’s gonna be proven right.

Órale, the onda this week is refulata. It means counterculture or, in general, that which goes against the grain or challenges the reigning zeitgeist, that is, the intellectual and/or cultural norm. It doesn’t have to be an organized movement or act or even intentional. The refulata can be a solo act, a meme, a fluke or even a lost cause or an unrequited aspiration. It’s refulata if it catches attention and inspires people to see things differently. La refulata doesn’t mean, invokes or even actually causes change. It often loses out, but not always, to the times. But it presents an adaptable alternative to bedrock thinking about what’s real, what is and isn’t valuable, and what’s certain vs what’s not certain.

Robert Anderson, a senior research scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, has journeyed from South America to Southeast Asia studying this group of insects. And in our region, he’s discovered creatures previously unknown to science, including some found nowhere else on Earth.

An interstate might seem an arbitrary boundary. But an attentive West Texas traveler driving north of Interstate 10, on Highway 54 from Van Horn to the Guadalupe Mountains, can see they’ve entered a different landscape.

Órale, the onda this week is the expression, clausula Lincoln (Lincoln clause). It’s an expression you use as an indirect negotiation tactic when you’re trying to make a movida with a chota on the border. The Lincoln clause is a sly but clear way of offering a $5 bribe that you can plausibly deny making if necessary. To be sure, we use the Lincoln clause here in reference the entire series of dollar denominations. Because inflation has obliterated the viability of a Washington clause, the Lincoln is likely the bottom end or opening of such a negotiation. Presumably, the highest you can go is the Benjamin clause, unless of course the other party invokes section 2 or higher of that clause.