pifia

See also: pífia, and pifiá

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [piˈfi.ə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [piˈfi.a]

Verb

pifia

1. inflection of pifiar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpifja/ [ˈpi.fja]
• Rhymes: -ifja
• Syllabification: pi‧fia

Etymology 1

Deverbal from pifiar.

Noun

pifia f (plural pifias)

1. (colloquial) small flaw, defect

   Synonyms: defecto, desperfecto, falta

   • 1895, José María de Pereda, Peñas arriba:

     cuanto más me empeño en enmendar las pifias, peor lo pongo.

     the more I try to put the defects right, the worse I make it.

2. (colloquial) mistake, fault, error

   Synonyms: error, fallo, patochada, desliz, tarro, tropiezo, gazapo

   cometer una pifia ― make a mistake

   • 1891, Benito Pérez Galdós, Ángel Guerra:

     Reunirse en Atocha, para subir luego a dar el ataque a las tropas monárquicas, o esperarlas en aquella hondonada, parecíame a mí una gran pifia. Pero no me atreví a contradecir a los militares.

     Joining up in Atocha, then going on to attack the pro-monarchic troops, or waiting for them in that depression, seemed to me a great error. But I dared not contradict the soldiers.

   • 2009, Iñigo Vallejo-Nagera, Santa Locura:

     Ya la fastidió al perder la fórmula de los santos espíritus y ahora no puede permitirse otra pifia del mismo estilo.

     He already made one mistake by losing the holy spirit formula and he can no longer allow a similar blunder to occur.

Related terms

• pifiar

 

Descendants

• → Portuguese: pífio

Etymology 2

Verb

pifia

1. inflection of pifiar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “pifia”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28