5
09
2005
“Pet” phrase
Araceli was in Nordstrom Cafe the other day with the kids. She was speaking to the hispanic waiter in Spanish, as is her habit. She ordered hot dogs for the kids, but instead of using the Spanish word for hot dog (salchicha) she used a Spanglish term for hot dogs that I made up years ago, my idea of a linguistic joke that has stuck as a family phrase.
There was an awkward silence as the waiter decided how to react: How do I explain that this is not on the menu? What is she talking about, anyway? Araceli had asked for perritos calientes—“hot little dogs.”
Update: Apparently I was wrong about this word’s status as a neologism. 
Now that’s funny! I’m a geek who loves word humor.