Chamuyar
To sweet-talk, spin a line, or talk your way into (or out of) something.
Related lesson: Dating in Spanish, From Ligar to Te Quiero.
Hear it in context
Se pasó toda la noche chamuyando a la chica del bar.
He spent the whole night chatting up the girl at the bar.
No me chamuyes, sé que no leíste el informe.
Don't give me that line, I know you didn't read the report.
Ese vendedor es un chamuyero, no le creas nada.
That salesman is a smooth-talker, don't believe a word.
Tiró un chamuyo bárbaro y lo dejaron entrar igual.
He spun a great line and they let him in anyway.
What It Actually Means
Chamuyar is a lunfardo verb with two intertwined meanings: to sweet-talk someone romantically (to chat up, to flirt with words), and to improvise persuasive talk that’s light on truth — to spin a line, to blag. The common thread is verbal charm deployed to get something. It’s an old word from the Buenos Aires underworld slang of tango days, and it’s still completely alive.
The Word Family
The noun chamuyo is the line itself: “eso es puro chamuyo” (“that’s pure talk / that’s a load of smooth nonsense”). A chamuyero or chamuyera is the person who does it — depending on context, a charming flirt or an unreliable talker. Tirar un chamuyo means to deliver the line.
The Rule That Matters
Whether chamuyar is a compliment or an accusation depends on outcome and tone. “La chamuyó y le dio el teléfono” can be said with admiration. “Me chamuyó con la entrega” (“he fed me a story about the delivery”) is a complaint about being played. Either way, the speaker is signaling that the words were performance, not plain truth.
Common Pitfall
Learners sometimes treat chamuyar as a neutral “to chat” — it isn’t. For innocent conversation, use charlar. Call someone’s explanation a chamuyo and you’re saying, with a smile, that you don’t believe them.