Spanish slang for courage or bravery, literally referring to testicles; used in English to mean guts or nerve.
From Spanish 'cojones' (literally testicles). Entered English through Spanish-speaking communities and has become part of American English slang.
Many languages use body parts as metaphors for courage or guts—English speakers say 'balls' or 'guts,' Spanish speakers say 'cojones,' Italian speakers say 'coglioni'—it's a universal pattern of metaphor that transcends languages!
Spanish slang using male anatomy to denote courage or audacity; encodes masculinity as the default for boldness, implicitly feminizing timidity.
Replace with 'courage,' 'nerve,' or 'grit' to avoid gender coding of virtues.
["courage","nerve","grit","fortitude","boldness"]
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