The name "Tuco"

[dave jenkins]

The Ugly One seems promising to me.

But did it mean that before the film, or only after? Remember, GBU has had a tremendous influence, both on culture and language. Of course, now "Tuco" can mean "the ugly one" because that's how the character with that name was identified in the movie.

[stoicamerican]

But did it mean that before the film, or only after? Remember, GBU has had a tremendous influence, both on culture and language. Of course, now "Tuco" can mean "the ugly one" because that's how the character with that name was identified in the movie.

Well the website I hit gives no indication in either direction. Here's the link:
http://www.bounty.com/baby-names/name-dictionary/tuco

[O'Cangaceiro]

My mother tongue is Spanish, and I never heard the word "Tuco" being referred as a person's name; at least, not in Spain. I always thought that Tuco was a name made-up for the GBU movie.

My old Collins Spanish/English dictionary has four entries for the word "Tuco"

First entry

1- a) (Latin American expression)  maimed, limbless, lacking a finger or a hand. b) (Central American expression) squat. 2- (Latin American, anatomy) stump. 3- Tuca, cripple.

Second entry

(Andean region, South America) glow worm.

Thrid Entry

(Central America) Namesake

Fourth Entry

(Andean Region, South America) Tomato Sauce.

It is also possible that the name Tuco was taken from the tuco-tuco, which is a rodent found in the Patagonia (Argentina). However, if the name Tuco in GBU refers to this rodent, then Leone or whoever made the script would have made a significant geographical error, as apparently there are no "tuco-tucos" in Mexico.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuco-tuco

Apparently, "Tuco" is also the slang word for "terrorist" in Peru; but again, Peru is not Mexico.

In summary, I don't know the answer for sure; but right or wrong, I still believe "Tuco" was a name specifically made-up for the character in GBU.

[Smokey]

This is an interesting discussion. It would seem, in general at least, that "tuco" conveys something undesireable,
"amputation", "rodent", "worm", "terrorist".

[cigar joe]

Could it just be a nickname, a shortened affectionate version of a formal name that means nothing, like something a grandfather/mother would call a grandson/son etc., etc., ,  something along the lines of Tuco a "nick" version of Benedicto?

[Groggy]

I thought CJ that maybe Tuco was a variation on "Tico", which to my knowledge is a fairly common Spanish name.

[O'Cangaceiro]

Could it just be a nickname, a shortened affectionate version of a formal name that means nothing, like something a grandfather/mother would call a grandson/son etc., etc., ,  something along the lines of Tuco a "nick" version of Benedicto?

That could very well be, Cigar Joe. In fact, I think you may have hit the nail in the head. In Spanish, given names are altered when referring to little boys or girls. For example, the name Pedro (Peter in English) can be altered to mean "Little Peter" in a number of ways, such as "Pedrito", "Pedrete", Pedrillo, Pedruco, etc. It is therefore possible that the name Benedicto would have been altered to "Benedictuco" to refer to "Little Benedicto", which ended being "Tuco" for abbreviation.

Now, being Spanish, that would make complete sense to me!!!!!  However, there is only one small region in Spain (Cantabria) where "uco" and "uca" are being used for that purpose (no idea about Mexico). And, coincidentally, it was in Laredo (Cantabria) where Leone filmed "The Colossus of Rhodes".  Does someone see a connection here?

[dave jenkins]

That could very well be, Cigar Joe. In fact, I think you may have hit the nail in the head. In Spanish, given names are altered when referring to little boys or girls. For example, the name Pedro (Peter in English) can be altered to mean "Little Peter" in a number of ways, such as "Pedrito", "Pedrete", Pedrillo, Pedruco, etc. It is therefore possible that the name Benedicto would have been altered to "Benedictuco" to refer to "Little Benedicto", which ended being "Tuco" for abbreviation.

Great, great stuff. Thanks so much for posting this. Hmm, I think I sense a new SL Encyclopedia entry emerging . . .

[Groggy]

The obvious solution, Jinkies, is for you to get off your ass and do it!

[Novecento]

1- a) (Latin American expression)  maimed, limbless, lacking a finger or a hand.

Well seeing as Clint's character is called Manco in "For a Few Dollars More" which has a similar sense to this definition of Tuco, maybe this is the intended meaning.

[Novecento]

That could very well be, Cigar Joe. In fact, I think you may have hit the nail in the head. In Spanish, given names are altered when referring to little boys or girls. For example, the name Pedro (Peter in English) can be altered to mean "Little Peter" in a number of ways, such as "Pedrito", "Pedrete", Pedrillo, Pedruco, etc. It is therefore possible that the name Benedicto would have been altered to "Benedictuco" to refer to "Little Benedicto", which ended being "Tuco" for abbreviation.

Now, being Spanish, that would make complete sense to me!!!!!  However, there is only one small region in Spain (Cantabria) where "uco" and "uca" are being used for that purpose (no idea about Mexico). And, coincidentally, it was in Laredo (Cantabria) where Leone filmed "The Colossus of Rhodes".  Does someone see a connection here?

That's an interesting suggestion, but Benedictuco with its five syllables hardly rolls off the tongue!

[cigar joe]

which would necessitate shortening it to Tuco.

[stoicamerican]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_name
Here's a wikipedia article which mentions the name Tuco: if you go down to the section Spanish hypocoristics and nicknames, it mentions Tuco as a diminutive of Alberto. No mention of Benedicto, although frankly that sounds a lot closer to Tuco than Alberto.

[O'Cangaceiro]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_name
Here's a wikipedia article which mentions the name Tuco: if you go down to the section Spanish hypocoristics and nicknames, it mentions Tuco as a diminutive of Alberto. No mention of Benedicto, although frankly that sounds a lot closer to Tuco than Alberto.

As I said before, my mother tongue is Spanish, so I will give you a few examples of Spanish names (including Alberto) that can end in "tuco" when used as diminutive.

Alberto-Albertuco
Roberto-Robertuco
Benedicto-Benedictuco
Norberto-Norbertuco
Evaristo-Evaristuco
Gilberto-Gilbertuco
Clemente-Clementuco
Vicente-Vicentuco
Cuarto-Cuartuco
Dante-Dantuco
Ernesto-Ernestuco
Adalberto-Adalbertuco
Filiberto-Filibertuco
Jacinto-Jacintuco
Heriberto-Heribertuco
Hipolito-Hipolituco
Honorato-Honoratuco
Huberto-Hubertuco
Santo-Santuco


All of the above diminutives are "grammatically correct" in Spanish, but what makes "Benedictuco" the prime suspect in our case is that one of Tuco's names in Benedicto.

Checking a dictionary, Wikipedia, etc is fine, but you may also want to check with someone whose mother tongue is Spanish (other than yours truly) and see what they say.

[stoicamerican]

Damn, that's a lot of names.
Anyways, sorry if I offended you. I didn't mean to take on the role of some kind of pseudo-intellectual who believes he can understand a language by reading an article on wikipedia. I was just noting that Benedicto seems a lot closer to Tuco (phonetically) than Alberto.