--- title: "echar carrilla" translation: "To rib someone. To roast a friend." type: "word" category: "expression" url: "https://consalsa.app/words/echar-carrilla" canonical: "https://consalsa.app/words/echar-carrilla" published: "2026-11-02" updated: "2026-11-02" author: "Andrey the Nomad" site: "ConSalsa.App" license: "https://consalsa.app/terms#ip" --- # echar carrilla URL: https://consalsa.app/words/echar-carrilla Translation: To rib someone. To roast a friend. Pronunciation: /eˈtʃaɾ kaˈri.ʎa/ Category: expression Region: Mexico Register: casual, affectionate between friends, unkind to a stranger Variants: traer de la carrilla, tirar carrilla, aguantar carrilla, traer carrilla, carrilludo Literal meaning: Carrilla means teasing in Mexico. Where it came from is disputed and the version the press repeats is a story, not a finding. Tone & safety: Fine between friends who already trade it. From somebody new, or aimed at something a person is actually sensitive about, it stops being funny fast. Published: 2026-11-02 Quick answer: - Echar carrilla means to rib somebody - teasing aimed at one person, in front of the group. - Between friends it is affection, and being teased means you are in rather than out. - Aguantar carrilla is taking it well, and it is most of the skill. What it means: - Teasing pointed at one person, usually in front of everybody. It is not an argument and it is not a fight - it is the group entertaining itself, and the target is expected to enjoy it too. - The social reading matters more than the words. Getting carrilla means you are inside the group, and the person who never gets any is the one who has not been let in. Literal meaning: - Carrilla means mockery or teasing in Mexican Spanish, and the dictionary of americanismos records it that way - along with both verbs, echar and tirar. Beyond that the trail goes cold. - The story you will find online is that it comes from carrilleras, the ammunition belts of the Revolution, with soldiers calling for toda la carrilla against somebody they hated. It is repeated in the Mexican press regularly and there is no evidence for it. It is folklore, and this page is not going to pretend otherwise. - Echar is the verb doing the work, in the same shape as echar porras or echar aguas - Mexican Spanish uses it for throwing an action at somebody. How Mexicans use it: - At a table it is constant and it rotates. Everybody takes a turn being the subject, and the group moves on quickly - staying on one person too long is what makes it uncomfortable. - Traer de la carrilla is the sustained version. Me traen de la carrilla con eso means they have not let a subject go for weeks, and it is said with more affection than complaint. - Aguantar carrilla is the compliment. Sí aguanta carrilla is a real thing to say about somebody, and no aguanta carrilla is a mild but genuine criticism. - Carrilludo is the person who gives it constantly. Not an insult, but it does carry a note of being a bit much. - And there is a sense with no joke in it at all. Traer carrilla, without the de la, is being run off your feet - traigo una carrilla en el trabajo, or just ¡qué carrilla! about a week. Tone and safety: - Between friends it is warm and expected. From somebody who has just met you, it lands as presumptuous - the license to tease is something you get after a while, not on arrival. - The subject matters more than the volume. Weight, money, a breakup, a family problem - the group already knows where those lines are and steps around them. Somebody new does not, which is the whole risk. - The safest position as a foreigner is receiving. Take it, laugh, do not over-explain, and give it back only once you have been on the other end a few times and know what is off-limits. Common mistake: - Reading it as hostility. The reflex from a US-shaped social instinct is that teasing is a small attack. Here it is the opposite signal, and getting visibly hurt by it changes how the group treats you. - Giving it before you have taken it. Carrilla from a newcomer aimed at a subject nobody warned them about is exactly how a warm table goes quiet. Examples: - No le hagas caso, nada más te está echando carrilla. — Ignore him, he's just messing with you. - Me traen de la carrilla desde que llegué tarde. — They haven't let up on me since I showed up late. - Ese sí aguanta carrilla. — That guy can take a joke. - Ya, no seas carrilludo. — Come on, ease up. Mini dialogue: A: ¿Otra vez el mismo suéter? B: Ya empezaste. A: Es que lo traías el viernes. Y el jueves. B: Échame toda la carrilla que quieras, está calientito. A: Eso es lo que me gusta de ti. Sí aguantas. FAQ: Q: What does echar carrilla mean? A: To tease or rib somebody - teasing aimed at one person, usually in front of the group. Q: Is echar carrilla friendly or mean? A: Friendly by default. Between friends it signals that you are inside the group, and the person nobody teases is the one who has not been let in. Q: What does aguantar carrilla mean? A: To take teasing well. Sí aguanta carrilla is a compliment; no aguanta carrilla is a mild but real criticism. Q: What is a carrilludo? A: Somebody who gives out teasing constantly. Not an insult, though it carries a note of being a bit much. Q: Where does carrilla come from? A: Not established. The bullet-belt story the Mexican press repeats every few years is folklore with no evidence behind it. What is documented is the meaning: the dictionary of americanismos records carrilla as Mexican for mockery, with both echar and tirar. Q: What does traer carrilla mean? A: Being run ragged. Without the de la it is about workload rather than teasing - traigo una carrilla en el trabajo, or just ¡qué carrilla! about a week. Q: When does it stop being funny? A: When it is not mutual, or when it hits something somebody is genuinely raw about. The group already knows where those lines are; a newcomer does not. Q: Should I tease back as a foreigner? A: Take it for a while first. Receiving carrilla is safe from day one; giving it before you know what is off-limits is how a warm table goes quiet. Related words: cotorrear, cagado, relajo, menso, chismoso