noun General Slang

Punga

/ˈpuŋɡa/ · noun · slang

A pickpocket, or the act of picking pockets, from the old porteno underworld.

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Definitions

1

The act or craft of pickpocketing itself.

“Vivia de la punga. (He made his living by pickpocketing.)”
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2

A pickpocket. The source is debated within thieves' cant; the Academia Portena del Lunfardo notes the underworld attestation but does not fix a single foreign root with confidence.

“Cuidado con los pungas en el subte. (Watch out for pickpockets on the subway.)”
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3

The verb 'punguear' means to pick someone's pocket.

“Lo punguearon en el colectivo. (They picked his pocket on the bus.)”
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Punga In A Sentence

Ese punga es famoso en la estacion. (That pickpocket is famous at the station.)
Old tango milieu was thick with pungas and malandras.
Le punguearon la billetera. (They lifted his wallet.)

Origin & Usage

Lunfardo from the early-1900s Buenos Aires underworld and recorded by the Academia Portena del Lunfardo; because it belongs to thieves' cant, its precise etymology is shaky and the Academia treats the foreign source as uncertain.

Variants punguearpunguista
Tags #lunfardo#spanish#argentine#tango#argot#crime

People Also Ask

What does punga mean?

It means a pickpocket, or the act of picking pockets.

Where did punga come from?

From the early-1900s Buenos Aires underworld; its exact root is uncertain, as with much thieves' cant.

What is punguear?

It's the verb meaning to pick someone's pocket.

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