Have you heard someone commenting “¡Qué papelón!”?

Papelón is a very accurate word to describe something embarrasing, and despite it’s mysterious origins, it works very well.

Its usage is widespread across Spanish-speaking countries and it’s often employed colloquially in everyday conversations, as well as in media and literature, to describe situations that elicit feelings of shame or embarrassment.

These are just some examples I found on Google:

• Papelón de Francia en el Mundial de futsal: su arquero se dejó hacer los goles para evitar un cruce complicado en octavos.
• Papelón: Descendieron y se agarraron a las piñas con hinchas rivales.
• Corte Suprema: Javier Milei, a un paso del papelón.
• Papelón: Chiquito Romero agredió a los hinchas de Boca tras perder contra River.
• Papelón: por qué Susana Giménez no vuelve con su programa este domingo.

As you can see, it’s widely used and I’m sure you’ll spot it again real soon.

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