Misunderstood expression ‘Hacerse el sueco’
The meaning of ‘hacerse el sueco’ refers to someone who pretends not to hear what is being said.
It comes from the latin word ‘soccus’, a kind of shoe that actors used 
in antique roman theatre.
From soccus comes the words zueco (wooden shoe) and zoquete (a piece of thick, short wood). This last word was used to mean that a person is either clumsy or a fool.
However another theory about the origin of this expression comes from past centuries when Swedish sailors would arrive at Spanish ports with little knowledge of Spanish and only understand what was convenient for them.
As all good things come in 3s there is another theory about this expression that actually refers to being Swedish.
This ‘hacerse el sueco’ is a Spanish version of the French phrase ‘Faire la soured oreille’ (turning a deaf ear). It comes from Napoleon’s unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with a Swedish diplomatic who pretended to not understand what Napoleon was saying in order not to accept the emperor’s requests.
Hope you enjoyed this misunderstood expression of the week.
Conchi
Vamos Let's Learn Spanish. Spanish courses in London. Spanish courses in Valencia.
Keep on learning Spanish
Have fun learning Spanish as we upload the A1 and A2 episodes of Cava Baja, our cartoon soap in Madrid.
For higher levels, we'll test your Spanish with specially written articles from topics we find of interest from the news each week.Plus we'll keep you in touch with Hispanic culture in London, our teacher blogs and social events in the school. Have fun learning with Vamos.
Recent Posts
