perogrullada

Spanish

FWOTD – 17 October 2020

Etymology

Perogrullo + -ada, after the folk character Pedro Grullo, known for making unnecessary, obvious statements.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /peɾoɡɾuˈʝada/ [pe.ɾo.ɣ̞ɾuˈʝa.ð̞a]

• IPA^(key): (most of Spain and Latin America) /peɾoɡɾuˈʝada/ [pe.ɾo.ɣ̞ɾuˈʝa.ð̞a]
• IPA^(key): (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines) /peɾoɡɾuˈʎada/ [pe.ɾo.ɣ̞ɾuˈʎa.ð̞a]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /peɾoɡɾuˈʃada/ [pe.ɾo.ɣ̞ɾuˈʃa.ð̞a]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /peɾoɡɾuˈʒada/ [pe.ɾo.ɣ̞ɾuˈʒa.ð̞a]

• Rhymes: -ada
• Syllabification: pe‧ro‧gru‧lla‧da

Noun

perogrullada f (plural perogrulladas)

1. truism (obvious truth)
   • 2015 August 2, Zsófia Bán, ““Perdón por nuestro Gobierno””, in El País‎^[1]:

     Uno suele pensar que las perogrulladas son verdades generales, aprende a aceptarlas como se aceptan las reglas que se enseñan en el colegio, que el aceite no se mezcla con el agua o que las ballenas no son peces sino mamíferos.

     One tends to think that truisms are general truths; we learn to accept them like the rules taught in school are accepted, that oil doesn't mix with water or that whales aren't fish but rather mammals.

Further reading

• “perogrullada”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10