pifia

See also: pífia and pifiá

Catalan

Pronunciation

Verb

pifia

  1. inflection of pifiar:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpifja/ [ˈpi.fja]
  • Rhymes: -ifja
  • Syllabification: pi‧fia

Etymology 1

Deverbal from pifiar.

Noun

pifia f (plural pifias)

  1. (colloquial) small flaw, defect
    Synonyms: defecto, desperfecto, falta
    • 1895, José María de Pereda, Peñas arriba:
      cuanto más me empeño en enmendar las pifias, peor lo pongo.
      the more I try to put the defects right, the worse I make it.
  2. (colloquial) mistake, fault, error
    Synonyms: error, fallo, patochada, desliz, tarro, tropiezo, gazapo
    cometer una pifiamake a mistake
    • 1891, Benito Pérez Galdós, Ángel Guerra:
      Reunirse en Atocha, para subir luego a dar el ataque a las tropas monárquicas, o esperarlas en aquella hondonada, parecíame a mí una gran pifia. Pero no me atreví a contradecir a los militares.
      Joining up in Atocha, then going on to attack the pro-monarchic troops, or waiting for them in that depression, seemed to me a great error. But I dared not contradict the soldiers.
    • 2009, Iñigo Vallejo-Nagera, Santa Locura:
      Ya la fastidió al perder la fórmula de los santos espíritus y ahora no puede permitirse otra pifia del mismo estilo.
      He already made one mistake by losing the holy spirit formula and he can no longer allow a similar blunder to occur.
Descendants
  • Portuguese: pífio

Verb

pifia

  1. inflection of pifiar:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

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