No. 8,899 in Spanish
tongo
A "tongo" in Spanish refers to a rigged deal, fix, or fraud, often in competitions or elections.
In a sentence
Ese concurso estuvo amañado, fue un tongo.
That contest was rigged, it was a setup.
Here, 'tongo' is used colloquially to describe an unfair or manipulated situation in a competition.
No confío en los resultados de las elecciones, me pareció un tongo.
I don't trust the election results, it seemed like a sham to me.
In this context, 'tongo' expresses suspicion about the validity or fairness of the election process.
Dicen que aquel partido de fútbol fue un tongo, los jugadores no se esforzaron.
They say that football match was fixed, the players didn't put in any effort.
This usage of 'tongo' refers to the idea of a sporting event being arranged or fixed so that the outcome is predetermined.
Hear it in real podcasts
The recording above is a synthetic voice. Hear how people say “tongo” in actual Spanish podcasts.
Find “tongo” in podcastsLearn it from shows you like
LangTurbo plays Spanish podcasts with a transcript and the English under every line. Tap a word like this one and it tells you what it means right there.
Get the appSpanish books and courses on Amazon (an affiliate link: a purchase through it supports this site).