The Norwegian embassy explains the meaning of the phrase that has gone viral about Spaniards

There is a Spanish woman who has lived in Norway since 2019 and who has brought to light on our screens an expression that is used in that country and that refers to Spain: “Make a Spanish woman”, or said in Norwegian, “Jeg tok en spanksk en”. The content that the tiktoker @lauraenelvalhalla, a nurse in the Nordic country, published a few days ago on her social networks has gone viral and has generated curiosity among social media users in Spain. We wanted to find out more about the origin and use of these words. To achieve this, we have asked the Norwegian Embassy in Spain, based in Madrid, directly.

“It is commonly used. It means looking for an easy solution that skirts the rules, but nothing serious, no crime,” says Lotte Katrine Tollefsen, the embassy’s cultural and press attaché. She says that it is said a lot, that it refers to “something simple and shameless, to little lies or unimportant shortcuts,” and that the origin of this expression is in the language of sailors. It is one of the details that @lauraenelvalhalla addresses on TikTok: “The subject of navigation and fishing has been very important for Norwegians and Spaniards. In a book of proverbs it is said that to load and unload ships, the easiest way was to use a pulley that the English called the Spanish pulley.” She refers to the Spanish windlass.

According to the Spanish TikToker , this is just one of the hypotheses. The others refer to the stereotypes they have of Spaniards as mischievous and bold people, to the bravery of Spanish society in war contexts, and also to trompe l'oeil. In the video, she also mentions the Norwegian Academic Dictionary and points out that it is usually used in two contexts: “One when one is on the edge of legality, due to the Spanish roguery that precedes us, and the other refers to blatant lies, to excuses.” “Roguery?” we asked the embassy. “Yes,” they replied.

The Norwegian embassy in Madrid has not turned a blind eye -another expression that is compared to this one because of its use but which has nothing to do with it-. They have not ignored it and have shared with us some examples of its use in everyday life, including “adding garlic to a jar of mayonnaise and calling it aioli”:

- How could you get here so early? “Jeg tok in spansk en ” and I parked in a double row.

-How did your dinner for friends turn out? “Jeg tok en spansk en” and I bought it pre-cooked.

Content creator @lauraenelvalhalla has shared more interesting facts about Norway, including the custom of displaying the country's flag when someone has a birthday or a baptism.