Tener morro
To have some nerve — the Spanish art of shameless cheek, measured in snout.
Related lesson: Fed Up in Spanish — Frustration Like a Native.
Hear it in context
¡Qué morro tienes! Llegas tarde y encima te quejas.
You've got some nerve! You show up late and then you complain.
Tiene mucho morro: siempre se va justo cuando hay que fregar.
He's so cheeky — he always leaves right when the dishes need doing.
Se coló en la fiesta por el morro.
He crashed the party without an invitation, cool as you like.
Menudo morrazo, me pidió el coche para irse de vacaciones.
Unbelievable nerve — he asked to borrow my car to go on vacation.
What It Actually Means
Morro is literally an animal’s snout — and by some very Spanish leap of logic, tener morro means to have the nerve, the cheek, the brazen shamelessness to do something and not even blush. The friend who never brings anything to the potluck but takes home leftovers tiene morro. The coworker who leaves early every Friday and still complains about workload tiene mucho morro. It’s the national unit of measurement for audacity.
Common Constructions
- ¡Qué morro (tienes)! — “the nerve!”, “you’re unbelievable!” — the indispensable reaction.
- Tener (mucho) morro — to be shamelessly cheeky.
- Por el morro — for free, without asking or deserving it: “Entró por el morro” (“he walked right in like he owned the place”).
- Ser un morro / un caradura — to be a chancer; caradura (“hard face”) is its exact synonym.
- Morrazo — augmented nerve, for special occasions.
The Cultural Note
What makes morro untranslatable-ish is the tone: it’s usually said with as much amusement as indignation. Spaniards have a grudging respect for well-executed cheek, and “¡qué morro!” often comes with a laugh — outrage and applause in the same breath. English “what a nerve” is close but grumpier.
Common Pitfall
Don’t confuse it with the Mexican morro/morra, which means “kid” or “young guy/girl” and has nothing to do with audacity — same snout, different metaphor. And note that morro alone in Spain can also just mean lips (“ponerse de morros” means to sulk). Context sorts it out: if someone’s being shameless, it’s cheek; if someone’s pouting, it’s lips.